Population and the environment
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_h7irc9
1. How is the - July 2015, world pop. 7.3B
world's popula- - September 2025, world pop. 8.2B
tion changing? - Could reach 11B in 2100, but slowing pop. growth
- Exponential growth from 1800s - will we be exceeding the carrying capacity of
the planet?
What will the impact be on quality of life? Is it sustainable?
- 1950s 1 in 5 babies died before reaching 5, now 1 in 27 globally
- Fertility rate 5 to 2.5 in 50 years 1962-2012 - slowing growth.
- Over 50% of all countries already have fertility below the replacement level
- 83M ppl added to the world's pop. every year
2. What is the pat- - Population is growing in most countries of the world, at about 0.5-1.5% increase
tern of popula- per year
tion change? - Only a few countries, mainly in Eastern Europe where the population is decreas-
ing.
- The population of most of Africa is rapidly growing (over 2% per year). Fastest
growth in LDEs
3. - Availability of food - famine, drought
- Water scarcity (And impact on food)
, Population and the environment
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_h7irc9
Factors affect- - War
ing population - Provision of healthcare - infant mortality
change - Education - empowerment of women - social change
- Government laws
- Soil, climate, resource availability
- Birth control availability
- Development level
4. Niger, case study - Landlocked country. Approx 2/3rd of its country is Sahara Desert.
intro - 6th lowest HDI in world 2023
- 27M population 2024
- 2023 Niger life expectancy 12 years below global average
- Political instability since independence from France 1960 with 5 coups since
then
- Today they struggle with frequent droughts (7 major droughts since 1960),
insurgency, wide-spread poverty (2024 extreme poverty rate at 45%)
- Niger is betting on increased oil exploration + gold mining to help modernise
its economy
- But basic right issues like slavery - only banned in 2003 - but still a problem
- Still issues like low literacy (38% in 2022) + disease
- But poverty alone cannot explain the increased population growth rate
, Population and the environment
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_h7irc9
5. Niger climate - Northern area of Niger typically only receive 200mm ppt. per year
- In S.W increases to 600mm
- Last 50 years, ppt. has been declining + droughts (and subsequent impact on
food) are common
- Underdeveloped infrastructure means in times of crises, food aid cannot be
distributed without difficulties
6. Farming in Niger - Without a real political will to invest in irrigation systems, planting of crops tends
to be limited to the more fertile soil in the South, bordering Lake Chad and River
Niger
- Elsewhere, subsistence farming dominates the arid, resource-deficient soils,
particularly the nomadic herding of cattle, sheep, goats.
- However, overgrazing + loss of cattle during droughts forced farmers + their
families to give up this traditional method of farming + move to towns to find work
- Larger family sizes are both a cultural norm (polygamy is common) + also
considered an economic necessity for subsistence farming as children can work
on the land + earn money from jobs as they get older (but more ppl to feed)
- Niger cannot feed itself alone - around 2.2M people are food insecure 2025
7. Intro to patterns - Nutrition is central to human functioning. It determines our capacity to work
of food produc- (+productivity of workforce - economy) + our quality of life.
- Patterns of food production + consumption shows remarkable contrasts.
, Population and the environment
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_h7irc9
tion + consump- - The FAO (a UN organisation) estimated that in 2014-16, 780M were suffering
tion from chronic undernourishment - almost all of them lived in developing coun-
tries.
- In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 4 are undernourished
- Malnutrition includes: undernourishment, undernutrition, micronutrient defi-
ciency + overnutrition and globally this is now a more serious issue.
- 2014, over 1 in 10 adults obese worldwide
- It is an SDG goal to end hunger.
8. Patterns of food - Europe, N.America, Oceania have enough farmland to provide the food they
production + con- need, with surplus to export.
sumption - In contrast, 50% of all LDEs lack sufficient farmland + technology to be self-suf-
ficient + are often too poor to import
- Enough food is currently produced to feed the world and the 2015 MDG to halve
the proportion of hungry people was almost met - despite pop. growing 2B
- However 1/3rd of all food produced worldwide is still wasted
- Undernutrition will persist until food is more evenly distributed and waste
reduced
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_h7irc9
1. How is the - July 2015, world pop. 7.3B
world's popula- - September 2025, world pop. 8.2B
tion changing? - Could reach 11B in 2100, but slowing pop. growth
- Exponential growth from 1800s - will we be exceeding the carrying capacity of
the planet?
What will the impact be on quality of life? Is it sustainable?
- 1950s 1 in 5 babies died before reaching 5, now 1 in 27 globally
- Fertility rate 5 to 2.5 in 50 years 1962-2012 - slowing growth.
- Over 50% of all countries already have fertility below the replacement level
- 83M ppl added to the world's pop. every year
2. What is the pat- - Population is growing in most countries of the world, at about 0.5-1.5% increase
tern of popula- per year
tion change? - Only a few countries, mainly in Eastern Europe where the population is decreas-
ing.
- The population of most of Africa is rapidly growing (over 2% per year). Fastest
growth in LDEs
3. - Availability of food - famine, drought
- Water scarcity (And impact on food)
, Population and the environment
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_h7irc9
Factors affect- - War
ing population - Provision of healthcare - infant mortality
change - Education - empowerment of women - social change
- Government laws
- Soil, climate, resource availability
- Birth control availability
- Development level
4. Niger, case study - Landlocked country. Approx 2/3rd of its country is Sahara Desert.
intro - 6th lowest HDI in world 2023
- 27M population 2024
- 2023 Niger life expectancy 12 years below global average
- Political instability since independence from France 1960 with 5 coups since
then
- Today they struggle with frequent droughts (7 major droughts since 1960),
insurgency, wide-spread poverty (2024 extreme poverty rate at 45%)
- Niger is betting on increased oil exploration + gold mining to help modernise
its economy
- But basic right issues like slavery - only banned in 2003 - but still a problem
- Still issues like low literacy (38% in 2022) + disease
- But poverty alone cannot explain the increased population growth rate
, Population and the environment
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_h7irc9
5. Niger climate - Northern area of Niger typically only receive 200mm ppt. per year
- In S.W increases to 600mm
- Last 50 years, ppt. has been declining + droughts (and subsequent impact on
food) are common
- Underdeveloped infrastructure means in times of crises, food aid cannot be
distributed without difficulties
6. Farming in Niger - Without a real political will to invest in irrigation systems, planting of crops tends
to be limited to the more fertile soil in the South, bordering Lake Chad and River
Niger
- Elsewhere, subsistence farming dominates the arid, resource-deficient soils,
particularly the nomadic herding of cattle, sheep, goats.
- However, overgrazing + loss of cattle during droughts forced farmers + their
families to give up this traditional method of farming + move to towns to find work
- Larger family sizes are both a cultural norm (polygamy is common) + also
considered an economic necessity for subsistence farming as children can work
on the land + earn money from jobs as they get older (but more ppl to feed)
- Niger cannot feed itself alone - around 2.2M people are food insecure 2025
7. Intro to patterns - Nutrition is central to human functioning. It determines our capacity to work
of food produc- (+productivity of workforce - economy) + our quality of life.
- Patterns of food production + consumption shows remarkable contrasts.
, Population and the environment
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_h7irc9
tion + consump- - The FAO (a UN organisation) estimated that in 2014-16, 780M were suffering
tion from chronic undernourishment - almost all of them lived in developing coun-
tries.
- In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 4 are undernourished
- Malnutrition includes: undernourishment, undernutrition, micronutrient defi-
ciency + overnutrition and globally this is now a more serious issue.
- 2014, over 1 in 10 adults obese worldwide
- It is an SDG goal to end hunger.
8. Patterns of food - Europe, N.America, Oceania have enough farmland to provide the food they
production + con- need, with surplus to export.
sumption - In contrast, 50% of all LDEs lack sufficient farmland + technology to be self-suf-
ficient + are often too poor to import
- Enough food is currently produced to feed the world and the 2015 MDG to halve
the proportion of hungry people was almost met - despite pop. growing 2B
- However 1/3rd of all food produced worldwide is still wasted
- Undernutrition will persist until food is more evenly distributed and waste
reduced
