Poverty and Overpopulation

INTRODUCTION TO POVERTY

Definition:

Wikipedia Encyclopedia :

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary :

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.

www.gov.mu :

Poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon which has no single or common definition.  It is perceived in different ways for example in terms of income scarcity, hunger and malnutrition, poor housing living conditions, no education level, etc.

www.dictionary.reference.com :

Poverty is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support.

Britannica Encyclopedia :

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.   Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs.  In this context, the identification of poor people first requires a determination of what constitutes basic needs.  These may be defined as narrowly as "those necessary for survival” or as broadly as “those reflecting the prevailing standard of living in the community." 

United Nations :

Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a

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school or clinic to go to; not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation.

World Bank:

Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life. 

The Copenhagen Declaration of 1995 :

Poverty is “a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information.”

Scottish Information Unit :

Poverty is defined as relative to the standards of living in a society at a specific time. People livein poverty when they are denied on incomesufficient for their material needs and whenthese circumstances exclude them from takingpart in activities which are an accepted part of daily life in that society.

Sayings on Poverty:

“Do we have the will to make poverty history”-Bono

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StatisticsPoverty incidence in Mauritius (according to poverty analysis 2006-07)

Poverty was more prevalent among:-

• Households headed by divorced/ separated persons: 17.3%

• Households with one parent and unmarried children only : 13.5%

• Households headed by persons with educational attainment below CPE: 13.2%

• Female headed households: 11.9%

• Single member households :10.3%

• Households with at least one child : 10.1%

1.

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2. Almost half the world-over 3 billion people- live on less than $2.50 a day.

3. The World Bank estimates 1.3 billion people are living on less than $1.25 per day.

4. 1.02 billion people go to bed hungry every night.5. 1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty. According to UNICEF.

22, 000 children die each day due to poverty.6. The world’s poorest people are now concentrated most heavily in Sub-

Saharan Africa after China’s huge leap in pulling its citizens out of extreme poverty in recent decades, according to new estimates released Wednesday, 17 April 2013 by the World Bank.

7. The UN Millennium Development Goal of reducing extreme poverty rates by half was met five years ahead of the 2015 deadline.

8. The World Food Programme says, “The poor are hungry and their hunger traps them in poverty.” Hunger is the number one cause of death in the world, killing more than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

9. According to the UN,

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The global poverty rate at $1.25 a day fell in 2010 to less than half the 1990 rate. However, projections indicate that in 2015 almost one billion people will still be living on less than $1.25 per day.

Globally, 456 million workers lived below the $1.25 a day poverty line in 2011—a reduction of 233 million since 2000, heavily influenced by progress in East Asia.

About 850 million people, or nearly 15 percent of the global population, are estimated to be undernourished.

Despite some progress, nearly one in five children under age five inthe developing world is underweight.

Types of poverty

There are two types of poverty:

Absolute poverty

Relative poverty

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Absolute poverty

Absolute poverty, also known as destitution and extreme poverty, refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education.

The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee defines absolute poverty as the lack of sufficient resources with which to keep body and soul together. 

The World Bank anchored the poverty line as living on less than US$1.25 (PPP*) per day.

PPP*: Purchasing Power Parity is an economic theory and a technique used to determine the relative value of currencies, estimating the amount of adjustment needed on the exchange rate between countries in order for the exchange to be equivalent to (or on par with) each currency's purchasing power.

The poverty line threshold of $1.25 per day, as set by The World Bank, is controversial. Each nation has its own threshold for absolute poverty line; in the United States, for example, the absolute poverty line was US$15.15 per day in 2010 (US$22,000 per year for a family of four), while in India it was US$ 1.0 per day and in China the absolute poverty line was US$ 0.55 per day, each on PPP basis in 2010.

Relative poverty

Relative poverty is the economic inequality in the location or society in which people live, or simply, the measure of income inequality.

Usually, relative poverty is measured as the percentage of population with income less than some fixed proportion of median income. There are several other different income inequality metrics.

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Relative poverty measures are used as official poverty rates in several developed countries. The main poverty line used in the OECD** and the European Union is based on "economic distance", a level of income set at 60% of the median household income.

OECD**: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum of countries committed to democracy and the free-market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, and identify good practices and co-ordinate domestic and international policies of its members.

Causes of PovertyCountless are the reasons why poverty is so prominent all around the globe in today’s world. Some countries like Africa have the richest natural resources and yet are poor and stagnant in development. Hence, the pertinent questions arise: “Why is it that poverty has still not been eliminated? Why has it even started in the first place? “

Some of the main reasons are:

CorruptionCorruption is both a major cause and a result of poverty around the world. It occurs at all level of society.

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Example: Nigeria, Mexico

WarWar and unending conflicts are indeed one of the major causes of poverty and suffering. They kill and injure thousands and leave many orphaned and homeless. They destabilise economies, traumatise communities and make the poorest people even poorer. Example: Syria, the West African country of Mali

OverpopulationOverpopulation, the situation of having large numbers of people with too few resources and too little space, is closely associated with poverty. It can result from high population density (the ratio of people to land area).Example: Philippines

Lack of EducationIlliteracy and lack of education are common in poor countries. Governments of developing countries often cannot afford to provide for good public schools, especially in rural areas. Without education, most people cannot find income-generating work. Poor people also often forego schooling in order to concentrate on making a minimal living. In addition, developing countries tend to have few employment opportunities, especially for women. As a result, people may see little reason to go to school.Example: Somalia, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe

Brain drainIt is fairly obvious that the brain drain affects the human capital accumulation and economic performance of certain countries. It is also largely recognized that lack of economic growth and rampant poverty (going hand in hand with discrimination, political repression and lack of freedoms) is what motivates people to flee their own country.Example: Singapore

Environmental DegradationIn many parts of the world, environmental degradation — the deterioration of the natural environment, including the atmosphere, bodies of water, soil, and

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forests — is an important cause of poverty. Environmental problems have led to shortages of food, clean water, materials for shelter, and other essential resources. As forests, land, air, and water are degraded, people who live directly off these natural resources suffer most from the effects.Example: Africa

Population

A population is a summation of all the organisms of the same group or species, which live in the same geographical area, and have the capability of interbreeding.

In sociology, population refers to a collection of human beings. Demography is a social science which entails the statistical study of human populations.

As of today's date, the world population is estimated by the United States Census Bureau to be 7.082 billion. 

 In 2007 the United Nations Population Division projected that the world's population will likely surpass 10 billion in 2055.In the future, world population has been expected to reach a peak of growth; there it will decline due to economic reasons, health concerns, land exhaustion and environmental hazards. According to one report, it is very likely that the world's population will stop growing before the end of the 21st century.

Theory of Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834),

Malthus reasoned that human population tends to grow at a geometrical rate, while our ability to produce subsistence increases at a merely arithmetical rate — and so we

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Theory of Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834),

Malthus reasoned that human population tends to grow at a geometrical rate, while our ability to produce subsistence increases at a merely arithmetical rate — and so we

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OVERPOPULATION

Definition: Overpopulation occurs in a group of humans if the number of humans in the group exceeds the carrying capacity of the region occupied by the group. The term often refers to the relationship between the entire human population andits environmentthe Earth, or smaller geographical areas such

as countries. 

The world's population has been booming for years.  The population is now threatening to reach the stage where there are simply too many people for the planet to support. Around 1850, the world population reached one billion.  By 1987, it was at five billion and still rising rapidly.

Overpopulation has been disastrous for the planet. Greater populations have polluted and consumed more, ruining the environment and creating or intensifying a variety of problems. Also, with the food supply limited, increases in population make shortages in many parts of the world even worse.

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Effects of human overpopulation

Some problems associated with or exacerbated by human overpopulation and over-consumption are:

Inadequate fresh water for drinking as well as sewage treatment and effluent discharge. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, use energy-expensive desalination to solve the problem of water shortages.

Depletion of natural resources, especially fossil fuels.

World energy consumption & predictions, 1970–2025.

Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and noise pollution. Once a country has industrialized and become wealthy, a combination of government regulation and technological innovation causes pollution to decline substantially, even as the population continues to grow.

Deforestation and loss of ecosystems that sustain global atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide balance; about eight million hectares of forest are lost each year.

Changes in atmospheric composition and consequent global warming.

Irreversible loss of arable land and increases in desertification. Deforestation and desertification can be reversed by

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adopting property rights, and this policy is successful even while the human population continues to grow.

Mass species extinctions from reduced habitat in tropical forests due to slash-and-burn techniques that sometimes are practiced by shifting cultivators, especially in countries with rapidly expanding rural populations; present extinction rates may be as high as 140,000 species lost per year. As of February 2011, the IUCN Red List lists a total of 801 animal species having gone extinct during recorded human history.

High infant and child mortality. High rates of infant mortality are associated with poverty. Rich countries with high population densities have low rates of infant mortality.

Intensive factory farming to support large populations. It results in human threats including the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria diseases, excessive air and water pollution, and new viruses that infect humans.

A child suffering extreme malnutrition in India, 1972

Increased chance of the emergence of new epidemics and pandemics. For many environmental and social reasons, including overcrowded living conditions, malnutrition and inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent health care, the poor are more likely to be exposed to infectious diseases.

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Starvation, malnutrition or poor diet with ill health and diet-deficiency diseases (e.g. rickets). However, rich countries with high population densities do not have famine.

Poverty coupled with inflation in some regions and a resulting low level of capital formation. Poverty and inflation are aggravated by bad government and bad economic policies. Many countries with high population densities have eliminated absolute poverty and keep their inflation rates very low.

Low life expectancy in countries with fastest growing populations.

Unhygienic living conditions for many based upon water resource depletion, discharge of raw sewage and solid waste disposal. However, this problem can be reduced with the adoption of sewers. For example, after Karachi, Pakistan installed sewers, its infant mortality rate fell substantially.

Elevated crime rate due to drug cartels and increased theft by people stealing resources to survive.

Conflict over scarce resources and crowding, leading to increased levels of warfare.

Less personal freedom and more restrictive laws. Laws regulate interactions between humans. Law "serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people". The higher the population density, the more frequent such interactions become, and thus there develops a need for more laws and/or more restrictive laws to regulate these interactions.

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Causes of Overpopulation

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The main causes contributing to excessive growth of population are:

• Cultural influences• Immigration/Emigration• Increased longevity• Increased birth rate• Reduced infant mortality• Decreased death rate• Lack of education

Another reason behind growth in human population is that there is no particular breeding season in human beings. They can mate and have children any time of the year, unlike other animals whose mating season is restricted to only a particular period of the year. Also, developments in the medical field have increased the average lifespan of human beings, thereby boosting population growth. Let's take a closer look at the different causes of overpopulation.

Decline in the Death Rate: Reduced mortality rate is one of the leading causes of overpopulation. Due to medical advancements, many of the once incurable diseases have cures today. Owing to advances in both preventive and curative medicine, diseases have either been eradicated or have more effective treatments now. There are effective ways to control epidemics and there are better measures to treat critical health ailments, thus leading to a drop in death rates. Developments in medicine have led to reduced mortality and increase in the average life expectancy of humans. Infant mortality rates are very low and cases of deaths during childbirth are less frequent. Good prenatal care has improved the chances of survival for both the mother and the baby.

Rise in the Birth Rate: Once again owing to advances in medicine, the average birth rate has gone up. Due to various fertility treatments available today, there are effective solutions to infertility problems, which increases chances of conception. Due to modern medicine, pregnancies are safer. In case of conception after a fertility treatment, there are chances of a multiple pregnancy, further contributing to increasing birth rates. In addition to this,

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there is a social pressure to have children. This further contributes to overpopulation. Early marriages also contribute to population growth as getting married at an early age increases the chances of having more children. And especially so with the uneducated class where family planning is not adopted.

Lack of Education: Illiteracy is another important factor that contributes to overpopulation. Those lacking education fail to understand the need to curb population growth. Modern methods of birth control and family planning don't reach the illiterate sections of society. Furthermore, due to lack of awareness there is resistance in adopting such methods. The illiterate are unable to understand what impact overpopulation can have. The educated class can make more responsible decisions about marriage and childbirth. Thus education is an effective tool to curb overpopulation.

Cultural Influences: The concept of birth control is not widely accepted. Adopting birth control measures is considered taboo in certain cultures. Some cultures foster beliefs where marrying at a certain age or having a certain number of children is considered to be ideal. In some cultures male children are preferred. This indirectly forces couples to produce children till a child of the preferred gender is conceived. Plus, there is a pressure from the family and society to have children. Social norms influence decisions of starting and extending one's family. In cultures where a woman's role is considered to be that of a child-bearer, large families become the norm.

Migration: Immigration is a problem in some parts of the world. If the inhabitants of various countries migrate to a particular part of the world and settle in that region, the area has to face the negative effects of overpopulation. If the rates of emigration from and immigration to a country do not match, it results in increased population density in that country. The area becomes thickly populated. People inhabiting the area experience scarcity of resources. This leads to uneven distribution of natural resources which is a direct consequence of overpopulation. Though migration of people between regions does not affect the world population figure, it does lead to something that can qualify as localized overpopulation.

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CONCLUSION

Increase in population is an increase in the number of human resources which means more working hands. But we cannot ignore the fact that an increase in the number of producers implies an increase in the number of consumers too. We need to strike a balance between population growth and resource consumption. Resources are limited; population growth needs to be controlled so as to make Poverty history.

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