Overpopulation and development

Overpopulation

Overpopulation

• The number of people in a region is greater than the ability of the land to support them
• Carrying capacity= no. of people a region can support with its basic resources

• Optimum Population – no of people in a region with high standard of living given regions level of development and natural resources at any time
• Under population – no of people living in area cannot exploit fully the natural resources
• Inward migration improves SOL for all
• Ireland 1997-2007 – labour shortages

Causes of overpopulation

• High birth rates: demand on basic resources increase ie. The Sahel
• Migration: people forced to leave areas puts new areas under pressure ie. Darfur in Sudan
• Overuse of sources: resources that the population depend on becoming overused leading to overpopulation ie. Cod banks in the north atlantic

Factors to increase carrying capacity

Factors	How these factors work
1. Decreasing population	Reduces demand for basic resources
2. Fertilisers	Increase food supply and feed more people
3. New farming methods	Feed more people
4. Irrigation	Raises crop yields, more water
5. Better crops/ animals	Feed more people
6. Land reclamation	Provides new land for settlement and farming

Factors to decrease carrying capacity

Factors	How these factors work
1. Population growth	Raises demand for basic resources
2. Soil erosion	Reduces food supply
3. Deforestation	Reduces fuel supply/ increases soil erosion
4. Flooding	Destroys living space and farmland
5. Overgrazing/ over cropping	Damages soil and reduces food supply
6. Urbanisation	Raises demand for resources/ reduces farmland
7. Climate change	Makes land areas uninhabitable

Case study: The Sahel

• An area stretching across northern Africa
• 5,0000km long and 300km wide
• a semiarid zone
• extends from Senegal (west) through Mauritania, Mali, Burkino Faso, Niger, Northern Nigeria, Sudan to Ethopia.

Case study

• Focus on Sudan
• Same size as France
• Barren land
• 33% of population live in 7% of land
• Capitol city Khartoum
• Stage 2

Factors contributing to overpopulation and overuse of soils

• 1. Birth rate:
• birth rate = 33 per thousand
• death rate = 10.28 per thousand
• Population 43million
• Infant mortality rates= 81 per thousand
• ½ population under 18= HDR
• Led to a number of problems:
• Overgrazing: status of cattle
• Deforestation: need of fuel, manure often used (no natural fertilizer in the soil)
• over cultivation: use of cash crops to pay debt

Factors contributing to overpopulation and overuse of soils

• 2. Migration and conflict:
• Civil war and famine led to internal migration
• Since 2003 Darfur has become a human rights crisis region
• 120,000+ fled to Chad or to area at the east of Sudan
• Suffering brain drain
• Influx of 1milliion+ from Ethiopia

• XATAMOV ABDULAZIZ TAQDIMOT ISHI