Human overpopulation as a social problem is simply a situation where the number of people that live in a given geographical region exceeds the required capacity taking into consideration the resource availability (Wilmoth & Ball, 1995). I am much interested in this topic because, currently, the increasing number of rates of the population has turned into a global concern because of the massive environmental implications associated with it. I believe that in a situation where the population is more than the available resources then, there might be problems ranging from social, economic in addition to health issues. A study carried out in the year 2009 established that the global population was approximately 7.1 billion people and was further forecasted to have grown by about 2.4 billion by the year 2050 (Wilmoth & Ball, 1995). Increased population has been associated with massive social problems that affect the quality of life and maintains the poverty cycle.
Overpopulation has been established to have numerous detrimental impacts both demographic and environmental. First, it has been shown to result in natural resource depletion. It is worth noting that the environmental ecosystem has what can be considered as a regular cycle with limited capabilities (Wilmoth & Ball, 1995). Studies have pointed out that overpopulation often exhausts natural resources at an increasing rate than can be replenished by the ecosystem since individuals compete for a limited available. On the other hand, there are those resources that are irreplaceable once they are exhausted (Wilmoth & Ball, 1995). Irreplaceable resources for example minerals exploitation need proper management to make sure that they are not exhausted in one era.
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The rising population further results into depletion of vegetation cover on the earth’s surface making the soil prone to soil erosion and flooding (Vaggi & Groenewegen, 2003). Additionally, with increasing population, there would be increased illegal tree login and illegal wild hunting fires which all will impact life negatively. It is worth noting that human overpopulation has contributed greatly towards environmental degradation and this has made the earth unhealthy to support life (Wilmoth & Ball, 1995).
According to Wilmoth & Ball (1995), overpopulation will lead to increased dependence on natural oil and gas increasing their demand. This will lead into over-exploitation which will further destroy the natural beauty of the earth and results into increased environmental pollution from released carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide gas accumulation in the earth’s atmosphere will result in the formation of the ozone layer which will retain radiation causing global warming (Wilmoth & Ball, 1995). Global warming has adverse domino effects to the environment: global warming melts polar ice caps that lead to over flooding of the ocean and displacement of settlers along the shorelines.
Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) is considered one of the vital figure in the analysis of population statistics (Vaggi & Groenewegen, 2003). In his argument, he asserted that as a result of the two sexes strong attraction, then population would increase rapidly every twenty years. He went further to argue that population would rise rapidly such that the current production of food would not be sufficient enough stating that “Population when unchecked increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio” (Vaggi & Groenewegen, 2003). According to this theory, overpopulation is a major problem in the society and might increase the poverty levels if caution is not taken into consideration (Vaggi & Groenewegen, 2003).
According to Wilmoth & Ball (1995), there is the need to come up with an effective solution to overpopulation which in this case is the family planning. This strategy will offer a birth control solution, and the government would be required to promote it extensively for it to be adopted and used. Studies have pointed out that the success of Family Planning Program will be dependent on strict policies promoted by the central government such as programs that promote contraception to cut the number of children per couple (Vaggi & Groenewegen, 2003).
Family planning will help to check the rapidly increasing population, particularly in the developing states. This population control program creates a conducive environment, sufficient reformation and opening to the global economies. According to Wilmoth & Ball (1995), family planning program will support the change of marriage concept, bearing of children and even the concept of family. According to Wilmoth & Ball (1995), family planning program creates a constructive environment suitable for economic growth, and this has improvement people's wellbeing and their living standards substantially. With a small population, the burden to sustain the residents will go down, and this will result in improved quality of lives enhancing their purchasing power.
In conclusion, it has been established that overpopulation is a major social concern and has led to increased levels of poverty. Family planning program is one of the most efficient programs in most developing countries to address the problem related to overpopulation. Overpopulation has caused massive problems in the society making life unbearable on the earth’s surface. There is thus the need to adopt and implement family planning programs to counter the problems caused by overpopulation. When a country adopts this program efficiently, a country will be able to improve its overall wellbeing and maintains a stable global population. The family program has the potential to slow down population growth which will ion the process reduce the dependency ration and governments’ burden.
References
Vaggi, G., & Groenewegen, P. (2003). Thomas Robert Malthus, 1766–1834: Population and Effectual Demand. In A Concise History of Economic Thought (pp. 127- 136). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Wilmoth, J. R., & Ball, P. (1995). Arguments and Action in the Life of a Social Problem: A Case Study of “Overpopulation” 1946-1990. Social Problems , 42 (3), 318-343.
