UNIT 4

Human Population and Environment

POPULATION GROWTH
Population is a group of organisms of a particular species, sharing
a particular characteristic of interest, most often that of living in a given
area at a specific time.

Population growth is the change in a population per unit time. Population

growth can be positive, static or negative.

Major Periods of Growth of Human Population

As of January, 2023, the human population of the world is 7.9 billion
(estimated by the United States Census Bureau).

The growth of human population is summarized in the following four

periods:
(i) Hunter-gatherer Era: It refers to the earliest period of
human history. Humans were mainly hunters and used to live in
forests.
(ii) Agricultural Era: Humans learnt agricultural practices and
cultures were evolved.
(iii) Era of Industrial Revolution:
This era was of scientific
developments and industrial advances.
(iv) Modern Industrial Era: Scientific and industrial revolution
touched every sphere of human life: health, education, living
style, etc.
Human populations in these periods are summarized in Table:

Era Period Total population

Hunter-gatherer Era (From evolution— Less than 1 million
9000 BC)#
Agricultural Era 9000 BC–1600 AD 500 million (by 1600 AD)

Era of Industrial 1600 AD–1950 AD 1800 million (by 1900 AD)

Revolution
Modern Industrial 1950 AD–till date 7 billion (by 2011 AD)
Era
Major periods of growth of human population

BC = Before Christ, AD = Anno Domini, 1 million = 10 lakhs; 1 billion = 1000

million = 100 crores # 100,000–10,000 years ago
Population Explosion
Population explosion means extremely fast rise in the number of people.

Population of India dUring 1951–2001

Year 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 2021

Population 361 439 548 683 846 1028 1210 1393
(Millions)

Population Explosion in Indian Context India alone has about 16% of

the world’s population. India has a population growth rate of about
2.15%. Population growth is the reason for every environmental
problem faced by Indian citizens:
(i) About one-third of the total population is poor and is
subject to live below the poverty line.
(ii) About 53% of India’s total land area is prone to soil erosion.
(iii) Forests have been declining.
(iv) Water and other natural resources are diminishing.
(v) Major population lacks basic amenities of living such as
water, food, health care, etc.
(vi) Ecosystems and biodiversity is in danger.
(vii) India is facing energy crisis.
(viii) Due to upcoming shelter needs for the growing population,
agricultural land is shrinking and leading to food crisis.
(ix) Population explosion has resulted in overcrowding, creation
 of slums, etc.
(x) Because of unemployment, rural people are migrating to
urban cities; so the government is not able to provide jobs
to all.

So efforts must be done to tackle population explosion

• Minimum age of Marriage

• Family planning
• Raising the Status of Women
• Spread of Education
• Adoption
• Change in Social Outlook
• Social Security
• More employment opportunities

Population Policy
Population policy means measures instituted by a government to
influence size, growth, distribution or composition of population.

The objectives of a good population policy are the following:

(i) Proper child care.

(ii) Provide universal access to family planning and reproductive
health programmes and to information and education
regarding these programmes.
(iii) Ensure that men fulfill their responsibility to ensure healthy
pregnancies, proper child care, promotion of women’s worth
and dignity, etc.
(iv) Make women equal participants in all aspects of
society—by increasing women’s education, health and
employment.
(v) Recognize that economic development is essential for
environmental protection.
(vi) Provide information for adolescents (by increasing their
access to education) to prevent unwanted pregnancies,
unsafe abortion, and the spread of AIDS and sexually
transmitted diseases.

To sum up, a good population policy aims at striking a balance between

population (P) and resource consumption (RC) so that biodiversity (B) and
ecological integrity (EI) is not lost.

Population Stabilization
Population stabilization means the attainment of zero growth, in which
the number of births in a population equals the number of deaths.

Population stabilization occurs when parents have enough children

to replace them in population. In industrialized countries, a total
fertility rate of 2.1 is considered to be a replacement-level fertility
needed for population stabilization.
Population Structure
India alone has about 16% of the world’s population which needs
support from only 2.4% of the world’s area, available in India.
Population structure of a country is given below.

S. Population =Description
N characteristics
o.
1 Population Size = No. of individuals
2 Natality (birth rate) = No. of offsprings produced per
female per unit time
3 Mortality (death =No. of deaths of individuals per
rate) unit time
4 Population density = No. of individuals per unit area or
volume
5 Population growth =Net result of births, deaths and
rate dispersals
6 Total fertility rate =The average number of children
each women has over her lifetime,
expressed as a yearly rate
7 Population profile =A bar graph plotting numbers of
males and females for successive
ages in the population, ending with
the oldest at the top

8 Crude Birth Rate =The number of births per

(CBR) thousand of the population per
year, when consideration is not
given to what proportion of the
population is young or old, female
or male
9 Crude Death Rate =The number of deaths per
(CDR) thousand of the population per
year, when consideration is not
given to what proportion of the
 population is young or old, female
or male
10 Doubling time = The time it takes for a population
to double its size when population
is growing at a given growth rate
Population Pyramids
Age distribution influences both birth and death rates. In any ecological
population, there are mainly three age groups: Pre-reproductive (0–
14 years), reproductive (15–44 years) and post-reproductive (45 years
and above). The proportion of different age groups in any population is
generally expressed graphically in the form of population (or age) pyramids.

There are three types of population pyramids.

Broad-based Pyramid or Expanding-age Pyramid: In a rapidly

growing population, birth rate is high, and population growth is
exponential. So each successive generation will be more numerous
than the preceding one, and the shape of the age structure is like a
pyramid.

Age distribUtion and population pyramids

Bell-shaped Polygon: As the rate of growth of a population slows

and stabilises, the reproductive and pre-reproductive age groups
become almost equal in size while the post-reproductive group is the
smallest and thus a stable age pyramid or bell-shaped polygon is
formed.

Urn-shaped Pyramid: If the birth rate is drastically reduced, the

pre- reproductive group decreases in proportion to the reproductive
and post-reproductive groups and thereby, an urn-shaped pyramid is
 formed. This type of age pyramid is also known as a diminishing-age
pyramid and it is the representation of a population that is dying off.

FAMILY WELFARE PROGRAMMES

Family includes children, women, men, and the aged, handicapped and
less privileged.

Welfare means protection from hunger, poverty, undernourishment,

under development, etc.
Aims of Family Welfare Programmes

Family welfare programmes aim at improving the quality of life by

providing food, shelter, education, medical and developmental
assistance.
Objectives of Family Welfare Programme
The objective of the National Family Welfare Programme, launched
in 1951 in India has been to stabilize the population at a level consistent
with the requirement of the national economy by reducing the birth rate to
the extent necessary.

The main objective of family Welfare Programme is to stabilize the

population and to provide qualitative health services including
immunization to both pregnant mother and children.
Problems of Family Welfare Programmes
There is no AIM with respect to the welfare of family.

A: Awareness (poor): Inadequate awareness about family

welfare programmes, like Pulse-Polio Movement.

I: Infanticide (girl child): (ii) Due to female infanticide, male–female sex

ratio has reached an alarming stage at the national as well as state
levels.

M: Male dominance: (iii) Due to male dominance in society, women

are generally forced to adopt means of family planning.

Family Welfare Programme Jobs, safe water supply, environmental

sanitation, healthy work conditions, and smart investments in
education and healthcare are extremely effective in improving welfare of
families. A focused approach in this direction will improve productivity
and economic growth.
ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH
Resource depletion, waste generation,
disturbance of ecosystems, consumerism,
discharge of air or water pollutants, etc.,
are some of the human activities which
have continuously been changing our
environment. As a result of this, human
health has been adversely affected.

The following facts are indicators which

support that health is an outcome of the
interactions of humans with their
environment:

 Due to exposure to the air pollutants

released by industries, motor vehicles,
smoking etc. humans suffer from
respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis and lung cancer.

 Due to consumption of impure water, cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea,

dysentery, etc., are caused.

 Due to contamination of water through harmful pesticides,

cancer, infertility and neurological diseases are caused.

 Due to scarcity of water and consequent unhygienic conditions,

tuberculosis, tetanus and leprosy are caused.

 Due to stagnant water, mosquitoes breed and spread malaria.

 Due to high-rise buildings, visual pollution and mental strain is

caused.

 Due to untreated human excreta, several kinds of virus and

bacteria grow which give rise to diseases like cholera, typhoid,
jaundice, diarrhoea, etc.

 By direct contact with blood of infected persons or by exchange of

body fluids during sexual contact, Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS) is caused.

 By consuming arsenic-contaminated water for more than 5 years,

humans develop colour change on the skin, cancer of skin,
bladder, kidney, lungs and legs.
  Deforestation has resulted in biodiversity loss and depleted flora
and fauna. Thus, the sources of large number of medicines
which are essential for maintaining human health are badly
affected.

We must work for a sustainable environment, which ultimately will

result in good health for all.

A sustainable environment and good health is achieved through

C (i) avoiding consumerism,

A (ii) anti-smoking movements and campaigns,
P (iii) population control,
T (iv) using public transport, controlling transport emissions,
A (v) afforestation and reforestation,
I (vi) preventing industrial pollution, preferred use of
renewable nonconventional energy instead of thermal power
generation, and
N (vii) reduction in the consumption of natural resources,
protection and conservation of natural resources.
HIV/AIDS

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Under normal

circumstances, CD4 cells (or CD4 helper lymphocyte cells: a type
of defence cells in the body) help the immune system to function
normally and fight off certain kinds of infections by acting as
messengers to other immune-system cells telling them to become
active and fight against an invading germ.

A person infected with HIV is referred to as an HIV positive

person. In them, the HIV attaches to these CD4 defence cells,
infects them and uses them to multiply resulting in loss of ability of
CD4 cells to do their job of fighting infections. As the immune
system becomes weak, such people are unable to fight off many
infections, particularly cancers, pneumonia, tuberculosis,
meningitis, etc. The name for this condition is Acquired Immuno
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). In the absence of an immune
system, a minor disease may be fatal.

AIDS is one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded

history. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and
the World Health Organization estimated that AIDS has killed
more than 40 million people as of January 2023 since it was
 first recognized on December 1, 1981.
(A) Transmission of HIV The most common ways for the
transmission of HIV from one person to another are described
below:
(i) From an infected mother to her baby before birth, during
birth and after birth. Breast milk can also transmit HIV
infection to the infant.
(ii) HIV is mostly transmitted through semen and vaginal
fluids during unprotected sex.
(iii) Sharing of syringes and needles among intravenous drug
users can transmit HIV from an infected person to a normal
person. Some nurses/doctors have become infected after
being stuck with needles containing HIV infected blood or
through splashes inside his or her nose or into their eyes.
(iv) By transfusion of blood having HIV, the virus can be
transmitted to healthy persons.

It is very difficult to stop the spread of HIV in India because of

poverty, illiteracy and poor health.

(B) Symptoms of AIDS In a person infected with AIDS, symptoms can

include
(i) Sweating at night
(ii) Swollen lymph glands
(iii) White spots in the mouth or throat
(iv) Loss of memory
(i) Consistent cough
(ii) Rapid weight loss
(iii) Extreme weakness or fatigue
(iv) Frequent long fevers
(v) Chronic diarrhoea that lasts for more than a week
(vi) Minor infections that cause skin rashes and sores in the
mouth, annus or genitals
(vii)Pneumonia
(viii) Depression and other neurological disorders
It should be remembered that each or any of the above
symptoms can be related to other illnesses. A test for HIV
infection is the only way to certainly find out whether a person
has AIDS or not.
(C) Prevention of AIDS To ensure an HIV/AIDS free society, the
following awareness and proactive actions need to be
implemented:
(i) Having a faithful monogamous sexual relationship with an
uninfected partner
 (ii) Spreading awareness, proper medical care for HIV positive
pregnant women can prevent HIV infection to the newborn.
(iii) Use of condoms (safe sex)
(iv) Transfusion of unaffected blood ensured by proper test for
HIV freeness.
(v) Use of sterilized dispensable syringes

(D) Social and Economic Impacts of AIDS Impacts of AIDS are

briefly summarized below:
(i) Millions of young people are dying every year due to
AIDS. Increased mortality of earning members results in
loss of family income.
(ii) Expenditures on treating the sick, caring for AIDS
orphans, training to replace sick workers keeps on
growing.
(iii) Victims of AIDS, who are still alive are unable to work.
They require special medical care. Newly trained workers
have little knowledge and work experience so the
productivity reduces, increasing pressure for the state’s
finances.
(iv) Many orphans are left behind.
(v) The resources available for public expenditures (such as
education) reduce.
(vi) Slower growth of economy is the result.
(vii) Social unrest in the society is the outcome.
(viii) Taxable population reduces as a result of mortalities, due to
AIDS.

ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ENVIRONMENT

AND HUMAN HEALTH
Applications of IT in the Environment
Some of the important applications of IT in the field of environment
and ecology are listed below:
(i) Weather forecasting through Geographical Information
System (GIS) for agricultural production, water resource
management, etc.
(ii) Exploring the possible availability of crude oils, gold mines,
metal ores, geothermal power sources, etc., using Remote
Sensing Information System (RSIS). Optimum selection of
sites for railways or industry, etc. Biodiversity conservation by
mapping and monitoring various natural resources—flora
and fauna.
(iii) Disaster management in calamity-hit areas by extracting
information. Monitoring of environmental pollution through
 remote sensing.

(iv) Simulation of environmental scenarios for analysis,

prediction, decision making and development activities.
Collaboration, communication and coordination among
environmental scientists for decision making.
Applications of IT in Human Health
Some of the applications in which IT is playing an important role
for better human health are listed below:
(v) Information on health, epidemics and their prevention is
maintained on web sites of the World Health Organization.
(vi) Through electronic media; dengue fever, bird flu and
other epidemics are brought to the attention of people.
(vii) Dates of immunisation and sanitation programmes are
transmitted to public using television, computers, satellite
communication, etc. Bioinformatics is used in the Human
Genome Project (HGP) to create a map of the entire set of
genes (genome) in the human cell by decoding the three
billion units of human DNA.
(viii) Help and expert opinion can be obtained from expert doctors
of any part of the world through telemedicine.
(ix) Health training is imparted using satellite communication
system.

VALUE EDUCATION

Value
Value means ‘the ultimate worth’ of an action or a thing. For
example, the nonviolence movements of Mahatma Gandhi were of
high value.

However, the misuse of power, killing of millions of persons and

other such actions of Hitler, leading to World War II have no value or
have a negative value.
Thus, values are one’s own beliefs, feelings, perceptions, principles and
behavior to judge what is right or wrong.
Value Education
Value education is defined as
the education that develops
moral, spiritual and cultural
sense; and makes one able to
take right judgments in one’s
own life.

In the context of the

environment, value education
teaches us values for nature,
culture, social justice, human
heritage, equitable use of
resources, and sharing
common natural resources.

It also teaches us to avoid

consumerism, wastefulness
and overexploitation
of nonrenewable natural
resources.

Illustrations and Examples of High and Low Values

The following examples and illustrations help us to understand high
and low values.
 Goals and Functions of the National Resource Centre on
Value Education (NRCVE)
The goals and functions of NRCVE are
(i) To develop educational materials and other teaching aids,
to document and disseminate information
(ii) To design strategies for effective implementation
(iii) To develop plans, activities and programmes for value
orientation of school education
(i) To provide extension and consultancy services
(ii) To serve as a treasure house for any help
Objective of Value Education
The major objective of value education is to inculcate good
values in individuals and to help them lead a life as responsible
future citizens of India with feelings of universal brotherhood.

Case Study
Value Education

Seeing the acts of environmental degradation committed by

humans all around us, we are left to wonder if most humans
have forgotten their responsibility to-wards the environment.

Children learn best through the good manner exhibited by

their parents/ teachers and through their ethically correct
conduct. Most people are unknowingly harming the
environment. A lot of difference can be made by talking to
these young people who are looking for guidance and love.

Environmentally friendly behaviour will automatically develop in

the society by teaching core values like honesty, trust, respect,
integrity, commitment, open minded, individuality and equality
to the youth.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Community based environmental education helps in building

knowledge and skills. It also helps in building an infrastructure for
change that is sustainable, equitable and empowering. Community
based environmental education is capable of protecting health and
habitat from the various problems existing in the world.
Challenges
In India, the development and environmental protection challenges
are enormous due to the following reasons:
(i) Poverty: It is a big challenge in reaching out to large population
cost-effectively because financial sources are very limited.
(ii) Increasing Population: India’s annual population increase
is equal to the population of Australia.
(iii) Less Land: With about 16% of the world population and a
little over 2% of its land, there is already enormous pressure on
our resources.
(iv) Low Literacy Levels: The environmental educators face many
challenges to spread awareness regarding conservation and
environmental management.
(v) Low Awareness: Poor Indian citizens have low or no
awareness about importance of environment.
(vi) Less Resources and Corruption: Putting environmental
education on the agenda of educational decision makers and
policy makers is also a big challenge primarily because of less
resources and more corruption.
(vii) No Applicability of Global Solutions: The environmental
educators face difficulties in meeting the objectives of effective
and local specific environmental education because environmental
conditions and environmental concerns vary from one region of
the state to another.
Environmental Education and Its Focuses
Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach how
natural environments function and how people can manage their
behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably.

Environmental education focuses on efforts to make the world

a heaven like Kashmir is in India:

(i) Increasing people’s awareness and knowledge about the

environment and environmental challenges
(ii) Developing necessary skills and expertise to address the
challenges
(iii) Fostering attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make
informed decisions and take responsible action for solving
environment-related problems
Role of Environmental Education for Environment Protection
Environmental education is a process of recognizing values and
clarifying concepts in order to develop skills and added tools necessary
to understand and appreciate the inter-relationship among humans,
their culture and their biophysical surrounding. It is through this
process of education that people can be sensitized about
environmental issues. Awareness and understanding of environmental
issues help in practicing right actions needed for development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs. These concepts are
illustrated in Fig.

Roles of Women in Environment Protection

(i) An educated woman can easily motivate other women (who are
generally shy).
(ii) She can conduct different campaigns (health care,
environment protection, etc.) for local people located in the
rural and urban areas. Education will enhance awareness
for the preservation of natural resources.
(iii) She can raise the interest of her family members towards
education.
(iv) Only she can discuss sensitive issues like family planning
and the relevant precautionary and preventive measures
needed.
(v) She is capable of attracting the attention of media,
government, NGO’s, etc., regarding initiation of
developmental activities for sustainable development (e.g.
 proper waste disposal, cleanliness, tree plantation, etc.). She
can mobilise funds through voluntary donations for social
activities.

Women and Child Welfare

About women and child development department

The major thrust of the programme of the department of women and
child development is to ensure the all-round development of children
and empowerment of women. The strategy adopted for the
programmes in the areas of women’s development involves
empowerment of women through awareness generation, education
and greater emphasis on skill development and income generating
activities so as to enable women to enhance their earning capacity
and status in life.

Again to ensure that children get protection against neglect, abuse

and exploitation, the department has taken up programmes and
schemes to guarantee their basic rights including survival, protection,
development and full participation in social, cultural, educational and
other endeavour for their individual growth and well-being. The
emphasis has been on improving the delivery of services to the
children and also to achieve convergence of services available for
women and children.

The necessity of women and child care is due to the following

reasons:

 Women carry out a greater part of the household work and toil
for longer hours.
 Women are exposed to dangerous levels of indoor pollution
from burning of biomass fuel.
 Women are more influenced by environmental degradation than
men.
 Women have special problems with regard to water supply and
sanitation.
 Children are more vulnerable toward environmental impacts
and child labours are exposed to hazardous occupations.

Considering the above facts, the objective of women and child

welfare is:
 To improve the social, economical, health and nutritional status
of women.
 To improve the physical, mental, intellectual, and nutritional
status of children.
 To safeguard the constitutional rights of women and children.
  To create awareness regarding different women and child
development programmes amongst the rural peoples.

Women Empowerment Schemes

1. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme
2. One Stop Centre Scheme
3. Women Helpline Scheme
4. UJJAWALA : A Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of
trafficking and Rescue, Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims
of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation
5. Sakhi Niwas
6. Ministry approves new projects under Ujjawala Scheme and
continues existing projects
7. SWADHAR Greh (A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances)
8. NARI SHAKTI PURASKAR
9. Awardees of Stree Shakti Puruskar, 2014 & Awardees of Nari
Shakti Puruskar
10. Mahila police Volunteers
11. Mahila Shakti Kendras (MSK)
12. NIRBHAYA

What Is Child Welfare?

Child welfare, services and institutions concerned with the physical, social,
and psychological well-being of children, particularly children suffering from
the effects of poverty or lacking normal parental care and supervision.

Chula smoke

Chula smoke is the third highest cause of disease and death after dirty
water and lack sanitation. Over half the diseases and premature
death could be avoided in India by providing access to clean water,
sanitation, food and well ventilated homes.