Population and environment

The relationship between population growth and environmental degradation may appear to be rather straight forward. More people demand more resources and generate more waste. Clearly one of the challenges of a growing population is the mere presence of so many people sharing a limited number of resources strains the environment.

Many of the world's population live in underdeveloped countries had already strained by food insecurity; inadequate sanitation, water supply and housing; and an inability to meet the basic needs of the current population. These same countries are also among the fastest growing places in the world.

As populations grow, competition for fertile land and the uses of limited resources increases. Meeting the increasing demand for food is probably the most fundamental challenge and the most salient population and environment crisis.

Traditional agricultural farming in developing countries with increasing population growth rate often involves the cultivation of fragile soils that are difficult to farm, such as drylands, highlands, and forests (Figure 1). When farmlands expand towards fragile lands to keep pace with the needs of a growing population in a region, it can lead to deforestation, erosion and desertification