Introduction
Human society is governed by interaction and cooperation with other human beings.
Latest trends in technology and medical knowledge are available to control human population
growth and to improve the health. Still population continues to increase and poverty become
greater than ever before. Humans are social animals who have freedom of choice. They
largely take decision by heart rather than mind. It is evident from historical records, social
situations, ethical and religious considerations and personal desires. Today the greatest
hindrance to controlling human population is no more biological but falls into the province
of philosophers, theologians, politicians, sociologists, and others. The cause of the population
problem is to be understood if we are to deal successfully with the population problem.
Carrying Capacity
The carrying capacity of an area is the number of individuals of a species that can
survive in that area over time. In most populations, four broad categories of factors determine
the carrying capacity for a population. These factors are: (1) the availability of raw materials,
(2) the availability of energy, (3) the accumulation of waste products and their means of
disposal and (4) interactions among organisms. The total of all of these forces acting together
to limit populations size is known as environmental resistance, and certain limiting factors
have a primary role in limiting the size of a population. In some cases, these limiting factors
are easy to identify and may involve lack of food, lack of oxygen, competition with other
species, or disease.
Population Characteristics
A population can be defined as a group of individuals of the same species inhabiting
an area. Some of the characteristics or a population are nasality (birth rate), mortality
(death rate), sex ratio, age distribution, growth rates, and special distribution.
Natality refers to the number of individuals added to the population through
reproduction. In human populations, natality is usually described in terms of the birth
rate, the number of individuals born per one thousand individuals in the population per
220CHAPTER
Environmental Science :
(^7) Human Population and Environment