Environmental Science
Chapter 2 – Addressing Population
Short Answers
1. What are UN’s popula on projec ons?
1. Ans. According to UN news sources, popula on is growing rapidly. The
popula on predic ons are as below-
a. Medium projec on is 10 billion while low projec on is only 7.5
billion.
b. We could achieve low projec on through popula on control
ac vi es & human development focused on women.
c. The high projec on is 12.5 billion which the planet will probably
not be able to support.
This is because though popula on growth has slowed in developed
countries, in developing countries popula on is s ll growing rapidly.
2. State 2 factors that affect popula on of a place
Ans. The 2 major factors affec ng the popula on of a place are
1. Medical technology & access to medical facili es
2. Birth rate & infant mortality
3. Increase/ decrease in average life span.
4. What are the factors responsible for popula on increase?
Ans. The factors responsible for popula on explosion are
1. Advance of medical technology leading to Decreased infant
mortality & Increased life expectancy
2. Accelera ng birth rate
3. Increase in food produc on a er the green revolu on & various
advances in agriculture
4. Improvement in public health due to increasing awareness
through technology using social media
5. Improvement in distribu on systems due to improvement in
infrastructure
5. How is increase in popula on causing a change in the climate?
Ans. Below are the reasons how popula on growth is affec ng the climate
1. Forests are being cleared to meet the food, fuel & shelter demands of
the popula on. This disturbs the water cycle
2. The excess use of fossil fuels leads to accumula on of green house
gases leading to global warming
3. Demand for more goods is leading to more number of industries
which released pollutants into the air causing air pollu on
4. Increase in household size increases the carbon footprint
6. What choices do we have in the future to curb climate change &
achieve development?
Ans. Human beings need to follow sustainable development principles for a
be er future to arrest climate change & to ensure the safety of the
planet.
1. Alternate sources of energy should be used instead of fossil fuels
2. Use of public transport should be encouraged
3. Decrease the consump on of resources
4. Increase the green cover through afforesta on & reforesta on
5. Stop wastage of energy by switching off appliances when not needed
6. Conserva on of water
7. Control popula on growth by spreading awareness
7. What are the effects of poverty on people?
Ans. Poverty is a lack of basic human needs like food, clothing & shelter.
Below are the effects of poverty on people
1. Poverty causes health concerns. People living below the poverty line
have low life expectancy & high infant mortality
2. Poverty leads to lack of educa on as poor people cannot afford to
send their children to school
3. Poverty also leads to crime & violence. It is a cause of human
trafficking, slavery & child labor
4. Poor people risk losing their homes increasing the risk of
homelessness
5. Since poor people lack basic ameni es, there is a complete lack of
sanita on leading to rapid spread of diseases.
Long Answers
1. What are the strategies which can be used for popula on control?
Ans. Various strategies can be adopted to control popula on. They are as
below
1) Family welfare programmes which include educa ng people on
proper diet, mother child welfare, immuniza on of children etc
should be conducted
2) Affordable Health care should be made available even in remote
areas
3) Educa on & Awareness campaigns should be carried out to
emphasizing importance of various methods of contracep on,
right age for marriage, delaying birth of first child, advantages of
small family etc
4) Economic development – Improvement in economic condi ons
improves living standards of people. Government also provides
incen ves to families for steriliza on
2. Write a note on women centered human development.
Ans. Women centered development aims at improving the quality of life for
women & girls. Women centered strategies typically focus on following-
1) Providing basic & higher educa on to women & girls
2) Increasing their knowledge about health choices, birth control, family
planning
3) Making them economically independent by increasing their incomes
4) Increasing the decision-making power of women by empowering them
5) Reducing the exposure of women to gender based violence & domes c
& making such violence punishable by law.
6) The government of India has passed various policies for that are women
centered. Some of them are –
a. Dowry prohibi on Act 1961
b. Family courts act 1984
c. Indecent representa on of women (prohibi on) act 1986
d. Na onal policy for empowerment of women 2001
e. Protec on from domes c violence bill 2002
3. How can poverty be alleviated? Or What is the framework for poverty
allevia on?
Ans. Poverty can be alleviated through 4 aspects as described below
a. Social mobiliza on – Social mobiliza on as per UNICEF is a process
that engages & mo vates a wide rage of partners & allies at na onal
& local levels to raise awareness through dialogue. Community
networks, religious groups work to reach specific groups of people.
Self help groups have proved to be the most effec ve in this regards
to mobilize poor into self reliance
b. Agricultural development – since 60% of India’s popula on is s ll
engaged in agriculture efforts are being taken to increase the income
from farms using be er technology, HVYs & modern methods of
agriculture. Decrease in food process due to growth in agriculture will
also ensure be er food security.
c. Small scale industries – India is a developing country with a lot of
unu lized resources & manpower. Small scale industries are labor
intensive & can mobilize resources & manpower
d. Human development – Human development is defined as process of
improving the well being of people along with their opportuni es.
Some human development ini a ves of the government of India are
i. Nehru Yuva Kendras
ii. Na onal service scheme
iii. Na onal scheduled castes & scheduled tribes finance &
development corpora on
iv. Development of women & children in Rural areas etc
4. Why is growing popula on in developing countries a cause for concern?
Write a note on rising consump on in developed countries.
Or
Views of northern & southern countries
Ans. The developed countries are of the opinion that the uncontrolled
popula on growth of the developing countries is a major cause of
environmental degrada on.
i. Growing popula on demands more food, fuel & shelter pu ng pressure on
resources
ii. Conversion of forest land to agricultural leads to disturbance in water cycle
iii. Industries increase pollu on
Thus, northern countries advocate need for urgent popula on control.
But the developing or southern countries debate that the northern countries
need to reduce their level of consump on. They argue that-
i. The US alone consumes a major share of transport energy which all
developing countries together do not
ii. It has been calculated that every 1000 babies born in developed countries
consume 3 to 4 mes as much of resources as nine thousand born in
developing countries.
iii. The southern countries also feel that deforesta on is because they need to
repay na onal debt by selling forest products to developed countries.