factor impacting population growth is the child mortality rate> A fall in the fertility rate, on the other hand, is generally associated with a rise in living standards. In 2008, for the first time in history, the percentage of people living in urban areas exceeded 50 percent. Many of these (urban) inhabitants are poor people. To get an idea of the extent of this growth, the urban population in Asia is expected to double between the years 2000 - 2030!
There are many (negative) consequences of this growth in population... But, says the author, instead of tackling the root cause of the problem, we are looking for superficial solutions such as:
i.. What sort of housing should be made available to the poor?
ii. What sort of jobs should be provided for the unemployed?
iii. How can the working of the administration be improved?
iv. What sort of controls are needed?
Another problem is that most of the plans - and planning - goes towards the bigger metropolises; nobody seems to be unduly bothered about what is happening in the smaller towns and cities. There is a need to tackle the pressing social and economic problems on a war-footing. But, given the rapid rise in population it has become increasingly difficult to fulfill even their basic needs (food, water supply, health and education).
There is a direct relationship between population and poverty. Ironically, the root cause of poverty is that population increase has been the most rapid in the poorest nations of the world! As a result, there is a shortage of land - and a paucity of basic infrastructural needs.Another, related problem, is that this mass of poor persons are caught in a poverty trap (a sort of vicious cycle). Being poor - and often diseased and malnourished as well - they are not able to earn enough money to come out of their state of poverty.
Another way of putting it is the wide disparity between the birth rate and the death rate. On an average, for every three persons who are born, only one dies! This is an unnatural state of affairs - something has got to give. This state of affairs has been brought about due to the widespread availability of medicine and antibiotics this century. Also, due to the propagation of new technologies, the availability of foodstuffs has vastly increased. To put it buntly, the number of people living on the earth has exceeded its carrying capacity - and the situation is only likely to get worse.
In practical terms, more money needs to be spent upon family planning, and in creating awareness about family planning. Some states have proposed a system of incentives - and disincentives - as a means for curtailing population growth. However, the most positive signs relate to the growing consciousness of parents about their responsibility to their children, and to their future.