Disadvantages Of Overpopulation (Essay Sample)

Disadvantages Of Overpopulation

Overpopulation refers to the condition whereby the number of living persons in a given region exceeds the capacity of the given region or state to satisfactorily cater for the needs of the occupants. This condition is caused by a number of reasons among which includes increased birth rates, low mortality rates, inward immigration, lack of proper education, cultural beliefs, and many other factors. There are a myriad of shortcomings that are brought about by overpopulation and the following section discusses some of these.

Depletion of natural habitats: As the population of the people in a given region grows it reaches to the point where the originally available space for the people to settle on is no longer enough hence forcing them to move to regions originally occupied by other living species. This consequently forces the other species to relocate to other areas that could be less favorable in terms of their survival requirements and some have as a result gone extinct.

Overpopulation leads to increased organic and inorganic wastes. This has emerged as a major cause of deaths from diseases that are in one way or the other associated with organic wastes. Heavily populated areas tend to consume great amounts of energy hence producing great amounts of toxic waste to the environment such as Carbon Dioxide emissions which is a major contributing factor to the ozone layer depletion.

The rise in crime rates can also be linked to overpopulation. When the population exceeds the capacity of the available resources to cater for the basic needs, many will resort to illegal activities as they strive to make ends meet. They will often involve themselves in crimes such as robbery, drug trafficking and other crime related activities.

Poor education; With the occurrence of massive populations in given regions, it becomes very hard to cater for the standard teacher-to-pupil ratio that ensures that the student will receive the best quality of education required. It is also a very great challenge for the government to build enough learning facilities to cater for the needs of the great numbers of young children who need to learn in the densely populated zones.

Poor access to quality health: Just as in the case of education, health is one very important basic need that every citizen should be assured of. However, if the population of a given region or country exceeds the support capability of the country in terms of medical equipment, doctors, nurses or medical supplies; the lives and health quality of the people in the overpopulated areas is at stake.

Depletion of fresh water resources is the other disadvantage of overpopulation. Fresh water is one of the most essential need to the human existence. Over the years, human activity has threatened the sources of fresh water in the planet. Human activity such as logging, charcoal burning, and encroachment to rainforest and water tower zones is continuously posing a major threat to the source of this limited commodity in the human existence.

Increased farming activities: As the human masses inhabit the earth, the attempts to meet the food needs is on the rise. This forces the people to find means by which to proficiently cater for the need for food. Farming is predominantly the most preferred method to the production of food. Increased farming activities lead to deforestation and degradation of the soils on the lands that farming activities have been carried out for a long time. This could lead to the question of where the people will source their foodstuff if all the farming lands is rendered barren and cannot produce any crop anymore.

Increased rate of population and overpopulation leads to emergence and speedy outbreaks of new types of diseases, pandemics and epidemics. The spread of these diseases is even catalyzed by the crowding of people in overpopulated areas, as there are no sufficient means to control such outbreaks. Some examples of these diseases that spread the fastest in overpopulated areas are Tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and cholera.

related articles