Title:Population,PovertyandtheLocalEnvironment Source/author:ParthaS.

Dasgupta
DueDate: Name:AphichatTonjai

A.Notes
Causeofincreaseinpopulationgrowthduetopovertyandenvironmentaldegradation.
Argumentthatpovertyisthecausenotpopulationgrowth
poverty,populationgrowthandthelocalenvironmentareactuallyinterconnected.
deleteriouseffectsoflargepopulationinthefuture
Indevelopingcountries,decisionsonwhethertohaveachildandonhowtoshare
education,food,work,healthcareandlocalresourcesareinlargemeasuremadewithin
smallentitiessuchashouseholds
Thosewhoenjoythegreatestpowerwithinafamilycanoftenbeidentifiedbythewaythe
householdsresourcesaredivided
Suchinequitiesprevailoverfertilitychoicesaswell
menwieldmoreinfluence,eventhoughwomentypicallybearthegreatercost(India)
Womenthathaveamoreeducationtendtohavelesskidsthenifilliterate
Oftentherearenormsencouraginghighfertilityrate
Thisdoesnotmeanthatsocietywilllivewithitforever.
Somewillbreakthenorm
ruraleconomywhereavenuesforsavingarehighlyrestricted,parentsvaluechildrenas
asourceofsecurityintheiroldage
Lifemoremanualsearchforwater/food/resources=Morehandsneeded
Theneedformanyhandscanleadtoadestructivesituation,especiallywhenparentsdo
nothavetopaythefullpriceofrearingtheirchildrenbutsharethosecostswiththe
community.
Ifaccesstosharedresourcescontinues,parentsproducetoomanychildren,which
leadstogreatercrowdingandsusceptibilitytodiseaseaswellastomorepressureon
environmentalresources.
Asresourcesdeplete,handsareneededtogatherfuelandwaterfordailyuseTragedyof
thecommons
Resources=>fertilityrate
Thevictimshithardestamongthosewhosurvivearesocietysoutcasts
Familyplanningservicesatthesubsaharaishelpingbirthrateandtogivemorepowerto
thewomen
Helpthepoor

B.AuthorPoint
Thearticleexplaintheinterconnectionofincreaseinpopulationgrowth,poverty,and
environmentaldegradation.Itaviciouscyclethatrequirechangeinthepeopletoaccomplish.
Sincepopulationgrowthisduetoeconomicstrainthatleadtopovertyandthelackofresources
wouldencouragecouplesinpoorcountriestohavemorechildrentogatherthescareresources
thatcausemorescarcityandpopulationgrowth.Duetohavingmorepeople,theeconomyofthe
countrieswouldnotbeabletocatchup.Thefertilitychoicesinmanyofthesecountriesarenot
incontrolofthewomenthatgivebirthtothechild.Itcomparabletothetragedyofthecommon
asmanypeoplecompeteforlimitedresourceslikefoodandwater.
Plantohelpendthecycleislowertherateto2childrenperfamilyandeducation.
Familyplanningservicesatthesubsaharaishelpingbirthrateandtogivemorepowertothe
women.Anotherwayistoaidtheareawhichwouldrequirealotofmoneybutwouldbe
beneficiallongterm.

C.PersonalOpinion
Ipersonallybelievethatthemeasuredimpliedwouldhelptostabilizetheworldpopulation.
Sincesomepartaredecliningandothersareincreasingrapidly.Itwouldrequirenotonlya
changeinhabitbutalsoculturetostabilizetheworldpopulationofcertaincountries.