Overpopulation in India: Effects of Malnutrition and Poverty

Location:

Figure 1 :

 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India_population_density_map_en.svg

Overpopulation and consequential hunger problem is a national problem of India. The issue is specifically worse in urban areas such as Delhi and Mumbai, which also suffer from various kinds of water, air and terrestrial pollution due to poor regulations. Many ecosystems in India have been collapsing, which increases India's dependency on other country's aid to sustain its population. Fresh water has been significantly decreasing as water policies failed to uphold a certain standard of cleanliness for drinking water. Dense forests, which sustain many of the poor people in India, are becoming conflict zones as many recourse-hungry institutions try to own them. Adding on to this political war, climate change is diminishing the area of these forests, which further threatens the livelihoods of the poor people in India. This problem also hinders the economical growth of India.

Specifics of the Problem:

Though India gained independence and earned the rights to self-govern since 1947, the future has not looked very bright. Despite the fact that India has the potential and power to become one of the strongest military, economic and labor forces of the world, the prospects of the future seem unpromising as the majority of the population suffers from hunger, malnutrition and various kinds of pollution and agricultural hardships due to overpopulation.  As of now, India is "where the dynamics of overpopulation and overconsumption are most acute, where the lifelines between water, food, fuel, and 1.17 billion people—17 percent of humanity subsisting on less than 2.5 percent of the globe's land—are already stretched dangerously thin." (Whitty, 1). 

As the second most populated country in the world, India's population has already reached 1.3 billion as of July 2014. A more pressing problem is that India's population is expected to surpass China's population by 2025. Due to migration, India experienced a population boom, which causes staggering problems in the economy and space utilization to support all these people. Policies were in pressing need for reform, and everything was lacking-- water, food, space. Policies just could not hold this population together. People started to live and sleep out in the streets as living space keeps getting smaller and infant mortality rate keeps spiking up. It is impossible to enforce many rules, as they are frequently broken for the sake of survival. The environment is often the last thing on these people's minds. Slash agriculture persists to meet the demands of the hungry people, but causes serious ecological changes. Moreover, access to clean water is jeopardized. It is estimated by the CIA that 37% of people have no access to safe water.  All these factors combine to make Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai three of the world's ten most polluted cities. 

Another huge problem is that India is running out of topsoil, due to over exploitation and erosion. 

It is estimated that almost a quarter of India's land is undergoing the process of desertification. McKinsey & Co., the global management consulting firm, forecasts gloomy news. They expect that the need for water for irrigation will surge-- it is estimated that by 2030, the need will be doubled. India's agriculture relies heavily on rice, wheat and sugar. At a time where population is constantly increasing, it does not help that they are experiencing significant reduction in agricultural grounds. 

Figure 2:

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The desertification impacts crop yield, which is also known as agricultural input. This is due to the rise in temperature, which impacts photosynthesis. An example of such a case would be heat waves. Crops like rice and wheat are also known to be exceptionally sensitive, adding to this problem.  "A 20% to 30% decline in crop yields in the next 80 years was predicted by a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science which examined a combination of peak oil, peak topsoil, and global warming." (Whitty, 2). Overpopulation spurs this hunger strike. According to the CIA, as of 2010, 29.8% of population currently lives under the poverty line. 53% of children under five are severely malnourished. 

It also doesn't help that India faces serious societal and cultural problems regarding gender discrimination. It seems that India still prefers male to female children, and such preferences reflect serious injustices in Indian culture.

Some alarming figures are that of the 48% of the illiterate adult population, 62% are women. Women are still seen as laborers and mere child bearers. Reform is needed for the betterment of welfare and status of women. Having more women in the academic field means that the age of marriage can be delayed. This could bring about positive changes such as having fewer children. Moreover, educating women of contraceptive methods and ensuring them of the freedom to make their own family plans could greatly help the population control problem in India. As of now, close to two hundred million women have no access to contraception, resulting in one out of four unplanned births, 50 million abortions each year, which results in 68,000 maternal death. (Facts from Mother Jones). If only women are empowered to make their own decisions regarding raising their children, then there will exist a “form of population control that's peaceful, voluntary, and efficient” (Whitty, 3).

Larger Consequences of the Problem:

Hunger induced by overpopulation is an issue in many more places than just India in the world today. Overpopulation poses a threat to many developing countries as well as the world on an even larger scale as Earth reaches its carrying capacity for humans. Because poverty is one of the primary causes of hunger, countries with higher poverty tend to experience more hunger and overpopulation. Although the world as a whole produces enough food to feed every human, there is significant difference in food availability and security between the most developed regions and rural areas in developing countries. Some of the areas suffering the most from hunger and undernourishment are Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, India, and many parts of Asia. About 13.5 percent of people (or one in eight) in the developing world remain chronically undernourished, which indicates the large scale and significance of this problem. 

Figure 3: https://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llqh491CfM1qkxa4ao1_500.jpg

There are several potentially devastating global consequences to overpopulation and the hunger that it causes. Hunger is only one of the effects of overpopulation among many others, like resource depletion, war and social conflict, overcrowding, air pollution, global warming, and other environmental problems. Hunger serves as an indication of environmental injustice due to poverty and unequal access between countries to natural resources. Overpopulation even perpetuates hunger because it brings about increased poverty, as more humans must live with dwindling resources in the world. Around the world, about 25,000 people die each day due to malnutrition and other hunger-related diseases, 18,000 of which are children under five years old. Similar to India, several countries in Africa also experience severe hunger problems. One major problem related to hunger in these regions is stunting, which affects children who do not consistently get enough to eat. In Tanzania, for example, over 40 percent of all kids are stunted, which shows that hunger problems exist in significant ways outside of just India. Overpopulation has been linked to other global problems as well, such as the collapse in biodiversity in several regions, like China, Mexico, and Brazil. Across the entire planet, overpopulation remains the leading driver of hunger, desertification, species depletion, and other environmental and social maladies. Overpopulation and poverty, which are interrelated occurrences, lead to hunger in places all around the world, causing potential for wide-scale environmental and social consequences as the negative side effects proliferate.

Solutions:

Figure 4: 

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Due to India’s rapid rate of reproduction, planning and regulation have become a necessity. They have been practicing with dangerous sterilization surgeries on women, which frequently have deadly consequences. India's Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (National Population Stabilization Fund) was formed in 2005 and focuses on trying to stabilize the population. 37% of women have now adopted sterilization as their only source of family planning. This procedure is costly, especially since many doctors were taking cash on the side, which jeopardized the quality of the surgery. The male dominated society submits women to having a limited voice within the relationship, making it hard for condom use to be enforced.

In addition though, Right to Education legislation in India has been passed to keep women in school. With 43-60% of women getting married before they are 18, the chance of obtaining birth control and continuing their education is minimal. By prolonging their child bearing years, the woman’s health can be maintained, as well as the number of children she has. Also, with more education, the women can obtain a better livelihood for themselves, avoiding detrimental poverty conditions in overcrowded cities.

With this overpopulation and lack of resources, India has become the home to about one third of all the malnourished children in the world. Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) & Public Distribution System (PDS) is the largest food distribution network in India. This program focuses on the rural poor. Each family below the poverty line that gets a card is guaranteed 20 kgs of food per month at lower prices. But some families can still not afford the entirety of the cost at once, putting their shipment at risk. Also the distribution process often runs into loss of food; households that may be eligible for the program are disregarded. If the program is initiated as local level, it would be more effective. Food for work was brought back in 2001 due to the drought that India encountered. Work for the government can provide up to 5 kg of food per day. But the government also could not subsidize all the food so they substituted rice for ‘paddy.’ ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme), which started in 1975, targets helping young children under 6 and expectant and nursing mothers. It helps supplement food, immunizations, and some education for its recipients. They are also trying to provide a variation of Nutrition Education, which can help prevent families from reaching malnutrition. There is also a Mid Day Meal Plan program has tried to be circulated to school children, but falls short due to poor administration and corruption among distributors.

Figure 5: 

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Though these programs have aimed at trying to stabilize malnutrition among overpopulated regions, corruption among distributors and lack of organization stops the programs from being fully accessible and successful. The target for these programs should be to implement substations that focus on specific regions. That way there is less space designated to each sector and the maintenance will be easier. In targeting the malnutrition issue of India the main cause is overpopulation, so trying to educate people to modify their reproductive habits will help provide healthier living standards for its people.

Conclusion:

Though there are many different approaches to the difficulties in India, no program has yet to identify the most efficient and effective way to help the populations of people suffering. With the issue of overpopulation gaining more attention and support, more groups are brainstorming methods to help the problem, and stop further repercussions from occurring. But without immediate reversal, the numbers will continue to rise and the problems will kick-start more dilemmas regarding the supply of food, water, and space.

This issue brings to the attention the importance of government intervention that the people of a region rely on the government to maintain their wellbeing. Also, this addresses human’s impact on the communities, and how rapid growth and expansion can quickly exhaust resources and weaken the environment as well as their own safety.

Figure 6: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7669152.stm

Sources:

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm

http://www.howmany.org/environmental_and_social_ills.php

http://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/Why-Does-Hunger-Still-Exist-Africas-Table-Day-One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-tal/overpopulation-is-still-t_b_3990646.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2517637/India-stretched-limit-    overpopulation.html

http://www.overpopulation.org/India.html

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/globalhealth-july-dec11-population_10-19/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-19190437

http://green.tmcnet.com/topics/green/articles/2012/09/17/307965-ibm-analyzes-chatter-social-channels-prioritize-action-plans.htm