Over Population
... It is when the underdeveloped or third world countries come into play that concerns start to rise. Fertility rates remain high in countries such as Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia. In 40 African nations women still average about 6 children. In Niger the number grows to 7.5 children per women, the highest fertility rate in the world. (Lowy, 1999) Currently, Africa holds 13% of the world’s total population, and is projected to 34% of the world’s population increase over the next 50 years. India and China combined are expected to account for another 25% of the increase.(Lowy, 1999) According to this information it is the third world or underdeveloped countries and some developing that are in the most trouble. These countries have high birth rates and high death rates. Quality of life is not good. These statistics are indicative of poor nations. Most of Africa, for example, is plagued by AIDS, discrimination, inequality, poverty and in some cases even war. Women are not in control of their lives so they have as many children as their husband wants. Little to no pre or postnatal care means that many women will die as a result of pregnancy. Many children too will suffer from malnutrition due to widespread poverty. Amongst all this, incredibly high numbers of children continue to be born into the same situation, and the more people to compound the problem the worse they get and the harder is for any government to handle. Completely aside from how overpopulation can effect quality of life for a nation, is the issue of how our planet is able to deal with the ever-increasing world population. Environmental correspondent Alex Kirby put it like this “if you think of the Earth as a Noah’s Ark, a life-friendly speck floating through the sterile immensity of space, you will appreciate that its passenger capacity is limited.” (Alex Kirby, Planet Feels Strains of People Pressure ,1999,http://news.bbc.co.uk/) For many parts of the world farming is a very important part of life. But, with increased farming, soil becomes depleted. So, this leads farmers to look for new land to farm on hillsides and tropical forests leading to more frequent and more sever floods. The European Environment Agency describes soil loss through erosion and development as “worryingly high” (Alex Kirby,1999) The availability of water to these elevated number of people is also a problem. Most cities obtain water from underground aquifers, and there is worry that with the current trend of more water taken out than is being naturally replaced will become a significant problem. In poor countries some people do not even have access to piped wa...