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Assignment 1

Name: Ashnita Daleesha Sharma


Id no.: S11120122
Course Name: Introduction to Population Studies
Course code: PD101
Tutorial: Wednesday (8am-9am)

Question 1
Population Growth and Its Effect on Resources
The world has taken a great leap forward but humankind is going over its measures.
Population growth has become one of the most discussed issues with relation to depleting
resources. In recent years the world has witnessed a population explosion which has put
pressure on the worlds resources. The situation is such where the population demand is
greater than the supply of resources. This has shed light on the need to examine the
implications that population boom poses on our resources as I believe population affects us
all. Thus, this essay will consider arguments as to why population growth is unfavourable in
terms of resources.
To cater for the increasing population comes great development. Many people share the
general view that land is wasted unless it is developed, however, my thoughts differ as I
believe it is vital to preserve greenbelt for future generations. Since the population to land
ration is low deforestation takes place and with the heavy use of technology land is cleared
for housing and commercial purposes. Hence, this leads to land degradation which has
disastrous effects. For instance, cleared land is exposed to wind and water that results in soil
erosion which therefore leads to reduced land productivity affecting the economic growth of a
nation. To add on, deforestation also causes damage to the ecosystem along with increasing
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Land degradation costs an estimated US$40 billion
annually worldwide, without taking into account hidden costs of increased fertilizer use, loss
of biodiversity and loss of unique landscapes (Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, 2008). In my opinion, I strongly feel that population growth is not only
destructive to the environment but also to a nations economy and needs serious attention.
Furthermore, the carrying capacity also decreases as it is unable to facilitate the rising
population. The term overpopulation is usually associated with rising population, thus, gives
rise to shanty settlements or squatter settlements. In addition, this causes overcrowding and
leads to the outbreak of diseases and poor hygiene. Notably, there is more vehicle congestion
and as a result more car exhaust causing air pollution along with breathing problems which
can be lethal. Personally, I think asthma patients are more at risk than the others, however, air
contamination cannot be seen or smelled and each and every one of us is vulnerable.
Mutually, there is more emission of gasses into the atmosphere contributing to climate
change. The melting of ice caps in Polar Regions have triggered a rise in sea levels,

subsequently, smaller islands are likely to sink. As a concerned citizen I worry about the
future of my country since my beautiful island nation may end up sinking. At present the
Vunidogoloa village in Vanua Levu, Narikoso village in Kadavu, Denumanu Village in Yadua
Island and Vuya village in Bua have been relocated in Fiji due to climate change (Chandra,
2015). Finally, climate change is not only a threat to submerging islands but also a factor
which leads to bushfires, droughts, and extinction of species such as polar bears and corals
along with changing vegetation patterns. It seems to me that Mother Nature is being
murdered and the people murdering it are its own children.
Moreover, food security and water scarcity are also affected with an overshoot population.
According to Malthus, in his Essay on Principle of Population (1809), the food supply
increases at an arithmetic rate whereas population grows at a geometric rate. I completely
agree with this view and strongly feel that in such an event a time will come when the
population will outrun the increases in food supply. It is a known fact that population and
food are not evenly distributed. More people means that there is more demand for food
supplies but as demand increases the prices also goes up. This results in starvation and
malnutrition and in extreme cases mortality. Accordingly, increasing trends of urbanization
have changed the mindset of some farmers and agriculturists to abundant farming and move
to cities in hope of earning more money. Hence, this causes many unemployment issues along
with underemployment problems in urban areas. A December 2012 report of the Institute of
Applied Manpower Research finds that there is an absolute shift in workers from agriculture
of 15 million to services and industry (Sainath, 2013). This leads to declining food
producers compared to food consumers. Likewise, water is the lifeblood of food. The
current water usage for food production has already reached 7,500 cubic kilometres per year
and supplies are growing scarce (Science in Africa, 2008). In some countries people do not
have enough water or they do not have access to clean water. However, I have observed that
many people waste water since they do not have anything to worry about because they have
easy access to clean water. As far as I am concerned, I think that people need to change this
attitude and understand that just because it is not happening with them does not necessarily
mean it is not happening.
Finally, a growing population tends to have great energy consumption. The non-renewable
resources are under threat since it is used up faster than its formation process which takes
millions of years. The world population heavily depends on the use of fossil fuels along with
crude oil for its wants and comfort. Electricity is generated by the burning of fossil fuels

which billions of people use globally. This draws up a question to my mind as to how much
energy I consume daily. Americans make up less than 5 percent of the worlds population
yet consume 26 percent of the worlds energy (Worldwatch Institute, 2008). To add on, the
use of biomass stoves for cooking is an unsustainable fuel source. As for wood, it provides
80% of the populations energy needs for cooking together with oil being the sole fuel for
transport (World Wide Fund for Nature, 2015). I support the WWFs Earth Hour motion
where individuals turn off their lights for an hour to make an impact on our planet and I
strongly think that it time to think smart and act up before we lose the chance for our future
generation.
In conclusion, population growth has a serious impact on the worlds resources. The natural
resources are on the verge of finishing up while being severely depleted as more development
takes place while land degradation decreases the carrying capacity causing a rise in squatter
settlements. Hence, population explosion also leads to climate change and poses a threat to
food security and water scarcity along with great energy consumption which might not be left
for future generation use. Therefore, it is vital that population be controlled and resources be
wisely utilized. I think we should all question ourselves as to what you and I can do to save
our planet and its resources and we will come up with endless possibilities.

References
Chandra, T., 2015. Village Relocations. The Fiji Times Online, 13 February .
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2008. Land degradation
assessment. [Online]
Available at: http://www.fao.org/nr/land/degradation/en/
[Accessed 10 March 2015].
Malthus, T. R., 1809. An Essay on the Principle of Population, as it Affects the
Future Improvement of Society, Volume 1. Washington: Roger Chew Weightman.
Sainath, P., 2013. Over 2,000 fewer farmers every day. The Hindu , 2 May.
Science in Africa, 2008. No food without water. [Online]
Available at: http://www.scienceinafrica.com/old/index.php?
q=2008/august/worldwatercrisis.htm
[Accessed 21 March 2015].
World Wide Fund for Nature, 2015. Sustaainable Energy. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.wwf.mg/ourwork/footprint/footprintprojects/sustainable_energy/
[Accessed 22 March 2015].
Worldwatch Institute, 2008. The State of Consumption Today. [Online]
Available at: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/810
[Accessed 22 March 2015].

Question 2
Effects of Population Growth and Urbanization in the Pacific Islands
Urbanization has greatly enhanced the financial aspects and qualitative outlook of the Pacific
nations but as population continues to increase it also poses challenges. An increase in rural
to urban drift due to push and pull factors has several implications. I view urbanization
favourably however, I also believe that it should be controlled or else it can be disastrous.
The movement from villages to cities provokes changes in cultural attitudes of people. Many
traditional links are broken causing the breakdown of families and increasing divorce cases as
people struggle to keep up with the transition from subsistence to monetary economies. In my
opinion individuals who move to urban centres get largely influenced by modernization and
switch to western ways of doing things which causes upheavals in the family. Urbanization
also causes an increase in overcrowded squatter settlements consequencing in the outbreak of
diseases due to water pollution, poor hygiene and nutrition along with improper sanitation
while Kiribati is one country where lifestyle diseases are prominent. I think that this will
affect everyone as it can be classified as a health hazard and people need to reconsider
decisions about movement if they cannot afford to live a healthy lifestyle. Moreover,
increased population also brings about environmental catastrophes such as global warming
causing high temperature and risks of cholera outbreaks. It seems to me that Pacific people
are responsible for their own destruction as they are well aware of the dangers of global
warming especially since Pacific island nations are likely to submerge as water levels rises
yet they still ignore the roots of the cause. Also, with the increasing flood of people in urban
areas there is not enough employment along with underemployment. In addition, this gives
rise to poverty. Vanuatu is one of the top ranking countries in the Pacific where poverty rates
are high. This results in increased crime rates together in conjunction with high suicide cases
among the youths. Therefore, these issues if not dealt with are in key position to affect
industries such as tourism. I strongly think that poverty makes people helpless as people are
forced to crime because they need to fend for themselves as well as their family. Furthermore,
with much of the population in the Pacific mostly employed under the informal sector mainly
women with insufficient skills to enter the formal sector and school drop outs results in
formal sector lacking behind in economic growth. To my mind Pacific countries have
inadequate economic resources and they ought to make the best of what they have. Finally,
people in the Pacific are deprived of many opportunities in education. The Pacific countries
have observed the need for education strategies that will boost economic competitiveness and

efficiency while the Marshall Islands has taken the initiative to develop vocational training in
high schools. I am convinced that this action will bring about a great deal of improvement in
the education system as other Pacific Islands may tend to follow and the students will benefit
in the long run. To conclude, population growth and urbanization increase the likelihood of
social and health problems along with rising unemployment and lack of education
opportunities for the Pacific.

Question 3
Computations- Density and Population Growth
a) Density= population/area
Density (km2)
45.67
15.25
18.42
19.06
127.08
293.69
480.19
63.18
6.22
64.01
100.42
137.85
406.31

Country
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)

Fiji
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Vanuatu
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Nauru
Cook Islands
Niue
Samoa
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu

1) Fiji= 837271 / 18333


= 45.67
3) Solomon Islands= 515870 / 28000
= 18.42
5) Kiribati= 103058 / 811
= 127.08
7) Nauru= 10084 / 21
= 480.19
9) Niue= 1611 / 259
= 6.22
11) Tokelau= 1205 / 12
= 100.42
13) Tuvalu= 10564 / 26
= 406.31

2) Papua New Guinea= 7059653 / 462840


= 15.25
4) Vanuatu= 234023 / 12281
= 19.06
6) Marshall Islands= 53158 / 181
= 293.69
8) Cook Islands= 14974 / 237
= 63.18
10) Samoa= 187820 / 2934
= 64.01
12) Tonga= 103252 / 749
= 137. 85

By the data shown in the table, it can be said that Melanesian countries along with
Micronesian and Polynesian countries have high man: land ratio whereas population
density for all countries differ as shown above.
b) Population Growth : P2= P1 ern
r= ln (P2 / P1 ) / n

Fiji= ln (887200 / 837271) / 13


=0.45

Papua New Guinea= ln (8635200 / 7059653) / 9


= 2.24
Solomon Islands= ln (724400 / 515870) / 11
=3.09
Vanuatu= ln (309300 / 234023) / 11
=2.54

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