Preview

Sustainable Development, Poverty and Population Growth

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
4560 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sustainable Development, Poverty and Population Growth
“Sustainable development (SD) is maintaining a delicate balance between the human need to improve lifestyles and feeling of well-being on one hand, and preserving natural resources and ecosystems, on which we and future generations depend” (Authorstream, 2010, p 1: ¶ 1). In concurrence, the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) asserts that SD is, “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Authorstream, 2010, p 1: ¶ 2). This essay concentrates on how population growth and poverty issues are interrelated with each other as well as being related to the concept of sustainable development.

Panayotou (2000, p 177: ¶ 2) asserts that in rural, less developed countries such as Sub-Saharan African countries, "population growth, poverty and environmental degradation are entangled in a mutually reinforcing vicious circle." This 'new economic demography' considers population growth as not being exogenous and it attempts to pinpoint fertility influencing factors (Panayotou, 2000, p 177).

It is argued that population growth is one of the leading causes of environmental degradation and resource exploitation, thus preventing sustainable development. It is proposed that since ecological degradation is often assumed to provoke poverty, population growth may lead to environmental degradation, which thus provokes poverty (Pearce and Warford, 1993, p 149). Such an argument is subject to much controversy. It is debated that a decline in population growth is a prerequisite in order to realize a sustainable future. Van Ginneken and van Diepen (1993, p 353: ¶ 3) suggest that, “less population growth certainly contributes to alleviation of problems such as poverty and environmental degradation, but it is not the solution.”

Pearce and Warford (1993, p 150) provide an insightful view on the correlation between ecological degradation, poverty, and population growth (See appendix – figure



References: Authorstream. 2010. Sustainable Development Definitions. [Online]. Available: http://www.gdrc.org/sustdev/definitions.html. [13 October 2010]. Gale, T. 2006. Environmental Refugees from Environmental Encyclopedia. [Online]. Available: http://www.bookrags.com/research/environmental-refugees-enve-01/. [15 October 2010]. Ginneken, J. Van., and Diepen, A. Van. 1993. Decrease in population growth: A condition for a sustainable future. Dutch Committee for Long-Term Environmental Policy. (eds) (1993) The Environment: Towards a Sustainable Future. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Pp. 351-369. Markandya, A. 2001. Poverty, environment and development in Folmer, H., Gabel, H., and Rose, A. (2001). Frontiers of Environmental Economics. Edward Elgar. Panayotou, T. 2000. Population and Environment in Folmer H. and Tietenberg, T. The International Yearbook of Environmental Resource Economics 2000/2001. Edward Elgar. Ch 4, pp. 148-196. Pearce, D.W., and Warford, J. 1993. “World Without End”, Ch 6 Population, Resources and Environment. Tietenberg, T. 2000. Environmental Economics and Policy, “Development, Poverty and the Environment.” Harper Collins Ch 20, pp. 410-433.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    management

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout history, population growth has triggered many different factors in developing countries. Every country, business, and government has felt the impact of the unforeseen disasters and diminishing resources on our planet. I think one way that we can see these changes is through the “Latesvology Conceptual Model”. This model measures changes in society. The changes are economic, societal values and understanding the variances and pressure points that impact changes. Economic patterns over time are essential for understanding these changes, the two assumptions are “ that more is preferable to less”, and that the “ desire for more can never be satisfied”.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The primary concerns for the exponential population growth is how to feed, clothe, house, and support the growing population with gainful employment. Economic growth between and within countries is extremely unequal hindering the overall progress.The promotion of exponential population growth can be done with advances in education, health care, and more freedom and opportunities for women. Exponential population growth is constrained by the abuse and overexploitation of ecosystem resources. This can be improved by provisioning, goods obtained from ecosystems; regulating, services obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes; and cultural, nonmaterial benefits from ecosystems.…

    • 604 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Wenner, J., (2009). Population growth and resource depletion. University of Wisconsin-Oshkosk. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from http://serc.carleton.edu/quantskills/methods/quantlit/popgrowth.html.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Accg 301 Research Paper

    • 4411 Words
    • 18 Pages

    11. World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987), Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford…

    • 4411 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Water is the one of the most important resources in the world because it is vital for life on Earth. Today many people believe that water shortage is the most severe problem, but there are many different other issues such as overpopulation and global warming.…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Easter Island is one of the most unusual places on the planet. In A Green History of the World Clive Ponting notes, “Easter Island is one of the most remote, inhabited places on earth. Only some 150 square miles in area, it lies in the Pacific Ocean, 2,000 miles off the west coast of South America and 1,250 miles from the nearest inhabitable land of Pitcairn Island,” (Ponting, 1991). The extreme isolation of Easter Island or Rapa Nui is not the islands most distinguishing feature. The most interesting feature of Easter Island is the evidence that an advanced civilization once lived there. The most obvious indication of this advanced civilization existing are the moai (pronounced moe-eye). Moai are the huge statues that everyone associates with Easter Island. In Island at the Center of the World Father Sebastian Englert states, “I suppose that for all time the classic symbol of Easter Island will be a gigantic brooding moai, his lips curled with disdain, gazing out to sea from the slopes of Rano Raraku. Perhaps this is rightly so, for the carving, transportation, and erection of these gigantic monuments were an accomplishment worthy of the highest admiration.” (Englert, 1970).…

    • 3679 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Full Text Available Engelman, Michal; Canudas-Romo, Vladimir; Agree, Emily M.; Population and Development Review, September 2010, v. 36, iss. 3, pp. 511-39, Database: EconLit with Full Text…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the world economy weakens, resources continue to become limited and the interdependence among countries increase, different countries have been introducing new policies which seek to control the rate at which the human population is growing. Most of these policies have been geared towards controlling the number of children a single family should have. The main aim of these policies has been to relief the environment and the resources within it some stresses of over exploitation. However while countries like China have been doing this for a long period now, many people see it as an interference with the…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Global Poverty

    • 2633 Words
    • 11 Pages

    [6] Mabogunje, Akin L. "Poverty and environmental degradation: Challenges within the global economy." Environment 1(2002):8. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010.…

    • 2633 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Introduction- In this lab we examined data collected on 230 countries. We examined the human population characteristics and determine if environmental and economic issues impact human population. We collected data from the fields of demography, economy, education, health, geography, and energy. We searched for data that directly correlated with another set of data in a different field. For example; if school life expectancy is low that may directly reflect the rate of individuals under the poverty line. We must first find the correlations in data so therefore we can determine what factors are causing poor numbers in statistics like infant mortality and life expectancy. As a world we want to find a way to distribute our doctors, food supply, energy, and land so that we can live a sustainable life. In this lab we attempt find certain tendencies between nations and regions.…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A global challenge of increased population is the ability to improve living standards and sustain resources without destroying the environment. Natural resources like water shortages, soil exhaustion, air and water pollution, deforestation and the degradation of the coastlines is affecting many areas of the world. Additionally, a challenge around the world is the way populations are distributed. Many areas that are ideal living areas become more densely populated and contribute to depleting the resources in those areas. Many developed economies are consuming resources faster than the resources can be replenished. The rapid population growth of areas around the world makes a need to improve living standards and to replenish the depleted natural…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Demographic Transition

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Namely when analyzing population predictions such as the Demographic Transition Theory, it is evident that population growth will have a significant impact on the Earth’s resources. Specifically, nations around the globe, particularly in developing African countries as well as booming Asian urban areas, place an immense strain on global resources. By having a considerable number of countries, which tend to be located in the periphery or semi-periphery, on the track to industrialization all at one time, we see substantial amounts of high birth rates in tandem with typically low death rates. This also lends itself to questioning the interactions between these nations and the more developed ones in the core as it relates to globalization. Moreover, in these scenarios the core countries often take advantage of the weaker nations, which impedes that nation’s path to industrialization and steadier population dynamics. Ultimately, these types of interactions between a core nation and a periphery one greatly influence my future outlook as it pertains to global people’s wellbeing in general. Conceivably, the underlying significant connection to population dynamics is urbanization and the subsequent urban…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Population policies which gears to reduce future growth represent logical responses to the environmental implications of population size (Stern et all 1995) although fertility diminution cannot be seen as sufficient response to contemporary human induced environmental change. A decrease in human numbers does not necessarily suggest a decrease in environmentally significant behaviours.…

    • 1875 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    On October 31, 2011, the Earth’s 7 billionth person was born,1 bringing to the world another life full of potential and promise. For some people, this is cause for concern in the context of sustainable development. They believe that we cannot continue to meet the needs of each person while sustaining the Earth’s resources. They view each additional person as another burden on the environment or as another mouth to feed, and thus they call for increased provision of family planning services and other means to restrain population growth. Others, however, recognize the potential of each person and the creativity they represent for the development of economic activity and the care of the environment. The more people there are on this Earth, the more creators, innovators, and developers there are. This view understands that it is poverty, not a growing population, that creates problems. The solution is therefore for people to get out of poverty through a focus on human development through education, employment, and access to various forms of capital. This paper begins with an introduction to the components of sustainable development as presented in United Nations conference documents. Next, it discusses the nexus of sustainable development and population-related issues, highlighting the dangerous argument that limiting population growth is a prerequisite for sustainable development. This includes a survey of some countries’ misguided attempts at…

    • 11424 Words
    • 46 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Kibirige, J. (1997). 'Population growth, poverty and health, ' Social Science & Medicine 45 (2): 247-259[Online] Available at; http://www.sciencedirect.com Accessed 40/03/2010…

    • 3746 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays