which region of the world have high conservations of population and why
Answers
We humans are remarkable creatures. From our humble beginnings in small pockets of Africa, we have evolved over millennia to colonise almost every corner of our planet. We are clever, resilient and adaptable―perhaps a little too adaptable.
In 2015 the world population is more than 7.3 billion people. That’s more than seven billion three hundred million bodies that need to be fed, clothed, kept warm and ideally, nurtured and educated. More than 7.3 billion individuals who, while busy consuming resources, are also producing vast quantities of waste, and our numbers continue to grow. The United Nations estimates that the world population will reach 9.2 billion by 2050.
For most of our existence the human population has grown very slowly, kept in check by disease, climate fluctuations and other social factors. It took until 1804 for us to reach 1 billion people. Since then, continuing improvements in nutrition, medicine and technology have seen our population increase rapidly.
Human population has skyrocketed over the last few hundred years. In 1500 there were 425 million humans; in 2000, there were 6 billion; and today, in 2015, 7.3 billion.Human population has seen exponential growth over the past few hundred years. Data source: Our World in Data.
The impact of so many humans on the environment takes two major forms:
consumption of resources such as land, food, water, air, fossil fuels and minerals
waste products as a result of consumption such as air and water pollutants, toxic materials and greenhouse gases
More than just numbers
Many people worry that unchecked population growth will eventually cause an environmental catastrophe. This is an understandable fear, and a quick look at the circumstantial evidence certainly shows that as our population has increased, the health of our environment has decreased. The impact of so many people on the planet has resulted in some scientists coining a new term to describe our time—the Anthropocene epoch. Unlike previous geological epochs, where various geological and climate processes defined the time periods, the proposed Anthropecene period is named for the dominant influence humans and their activities are having on the environment. In essence, humans are a new global geophysical force.
A group of people watching a fountain beneath skyscrapers in DubaiWe humans have spread across every continent and created huge changes to landscapes, ecosystems, atmosphere—everything. Image source: Richard Schneider / Flickr.
However, while population size is part of the problem, the issue is bigger and more complex than just counting bodies.
There are many factors at play. Essentially, it is what is happening within those populations—their distribution (density, migration patterns and urbanisation), their composition (age, sex and income levels) and, most importantly, their consumption patterns—that are of equal, if not more importance, than just numbers.
A FORMULA FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION?
Focusing solely on population number obscures the multifaceted relationship between us humans and our environment, and makes it easier for us to lay the blame at the feet of others, such as those in developing countries, rather than looking at how our own behaviour may be negatively affecting the planet.
Let’s take a closer look at the issues.
Population size
It's no surprise that as the world population continues to grow, the limits of essential global resources such as potable water, fertile land, forests and fisheries are becoming more obvious. You don’t have to be a maths whizz to work out that, on the whole, more people use more resources and create more waste.
But how many people is too many? How many of us can Earth realistically support?
Influenced by the work of Thomas Malthus, ' carrying capacity ' can be defined as the maximum population size an environment can sustain indefinitely.
Debate about the actual human carrying capacity of Earth dates back hundreds of years. The range of estimates is enormous, fluctuating from 500 million people to more than one trillion. Scientists disagree not only on the final number, but more importantly about the best and most accurate way of determining that number—hence the huge variability.
The majority of studies estimate that the Earth's capacity is at or beneath 8 billion people. Data source: UNEP Global Environmental Alert Service / One Planet, How Many People? (PDF)