Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

also make up 70% of the world’s poor and 60% of the875 million illiterate adults worldwide who can neitherread nor write.Women’s representation in governments has beengradually increasing. Yet, only 11 of the world’s 190heads of state are women, and women hold just 14% ofthe seats in the world’s parliaments.According to United Nations Population Agency’sexecutive director Thorya Obaid, “Many women in thedeveloping world are trapped in poverty by illiteracy,poor health, and unwanted high fertility. All of thesecontribute to environmental degradation and tightenthe grip of poverty. If we are serious about sustainabledevelopment, we must break this vicious cycle.”Breaking out of this trap means giving womeneverywhere full legal rights and the opportunity to becomeeducated and earn income outside the home.Achieving this would slow population growth, promotehuman rights and freedom, reduce poverty, andslow environmental degradation—a win-win result.Empowering women by seeking gender equalitywill take some major social changes. This will be difficultto achieve in male-dominated societies but it canbe done.Good news. An increasing number of women in developingcountries are taking charge of their lives andreproductive behavior. They are not waiting around forthe slow processes of education and cultural change.As it expands, such bottom-up change by individualwomen will play an important role in stabilizing populationand providing women with equal rights.Percentageof worldpopulationPopulationPopulation (2025)(estimated)Illiteracy (% of adults)Population under age 15 (%)Population growth rate (%)Total fertility rateInfant mortality rate1.7%0.6%17%22%17%20%1.1 billion1.3 billion1.4 billion1.4 billion36%6410-4 CASE STUDIES: INDIAAND CHINAWhat Success Has India Had in ControllingIts Population Growth? Some Progress butNot EnoughFor over five decades India has tried to control itspopulation growth with only modest success.The world’s first national family planning program beganin India in 1952, when its population was nearly400 million. In 2004, after 52 years of population controlefforts, India was the world’s second most populouscountry, with a population of 1.1 billion.In 1952, India added 5 million people to its population.In 2004 it added 18 million. Figure 10-22 comparesdemographic data for India and China.India faces a number of already serious poverty,malnutrition, and environmental problems that couldworsen as its population continues to grow rapidly. Byglobal standards, India’s people are poor. Nearly halfof India’s labor force is unemployed or can find onlyoccasional work.India currently is self-sufficient in food grain production.Still, about 40% of its population and 53% ofits children suffer from malnutrition, mostly becauseof poverty.Furthermore, India faces serious resource and environmentalproblems. With 17% of the world’s people,it has just 2.3% of the world’s land resources and2% of the world’s forests. About half of the country’scropland is degraded as a result of soil47%IndiaChina3.1 children per women (down from 5.3 in 1970)1.7 children per women (down from 5.7 in 1972)32erosion, waterlogging, salinization, overgrazing,and deforestation. In addition,over two-thirds of India’s water is seriouslypolluted and sanitation services oftenare inadequate.Without its long-standing familyplanning program, India’s populationand environmental problems would begrowing even faster. Still, to its supportersthe results of the program have beendisappointing for several reasons: poorplanning, bureaucratic inefficiency, thelow status of women (despite constitutionalguarantees of equality), extremepoverty, and lack of administrative andfinancial support.Life expectancyGDP PPP per capita$2,65062 years71 years$4,520Figure 10-22 Comparison of basic demographicdata for India (green) and China (yellow)in 2004. (Data from United Nations andPopulation Reference Bureau).http://biology.brookscole.com/miller14191