Administering population caps has prevented additional environmental degradation that would otherwise have occurred had the OCP not been implemented. High-growth populations consume scarce limited resources which have adverse effects on the habitats and ecosystems in the local environment. In a world where the population is too high to sustain its limited resources, this is a major issue and leads to further problems such as environmental degradation and population starvation (Hardin, 1968; Young, 2005).
The OCP has saved resources from being otherwise consumed by those unborn, and prevents China’s rate of environmental destruction from being more massive than it already is. This paper argues that the policy helps environmental sustainability and therefore the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should continue enforcing the OCP. Other nations with high-growth rates should also consider implementing similar policies. Capping may be necessary in order to stop the direst environmental issue of all time – overpopulation.
Capping may lessen the consequences of overpopulation such as its associated environmental challenges, poverty, inequality and economic instability as well (National, 2011).
This paper advocates only for implementing population caps and does not endorse the cruel methods of policy execution the PRC has used for the OCP. Other suggestions for enforcement will be provided in the conclusion of this paper. Why is Overpopulation such a Problem? In 2011, the world’s population has just reached 7 billion people (National, 2011).
The Essay on Over Population Environmental Problem
The population of our planet will quickly reach a point where there will not be adequate amount of resources to support life on Earth. Population control must be enforced to avoid such a catastrophic occurrence. Many economic, social and environmental problems are either affiliated with or are increased due to overpopulation. With an exponentially increasing world population, the problems created ...
Out of those 7 billion, China’s population is now at almost 1. 4 billion people. The main issues with China’s enormous population and high-growth rate are that they pollute the environment around them and consume resources at alarmingly fast rates. Overcrowding can create “environmental spillovers that pose health and safety hazards, especially for those living in neighborhoods without sanitation or drainage and in potential disaster zones” (World Bank, 2003).
Within the last decade, agriculture and manufacturing activities have contributed to surface and ground water pollution while clean water is a resource that is desperately in demand (Jensen, 2010).
As for air pollution, a lot of it “is caused by the combustion of biofuels and fossil fuels in home cooking and heating stoves, industrial boilers, power plants and vehicles” With coal in particular, it releases pollutants such as anthracite, bituminous, and sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides (Banister, 1998).
As more overcrowding occurs in urban areas, these pollutants will only continue to accumulate and create more problems. Since most population increases occur in urban areas where resources are already spread thin, overcrowding puts additional pressures on them. Resource consumption from over-population has directly affected the ecosystems and habitats in the local environment. Over the past 30 years, China has lost millions of hectares of forests, croplands and grasslands to urbanization, desertification and industrial use, contaminated 80% of surface water beyond human use, and [has] heavily polluted the air… [and] has significantly reduced the quality of life” (He, 2009).
Such depletion has caused the loss of biodiversity and the destruction of habitats for many species, thus endangering their survival. With the population straining the environment as severely as it is, imagine if population caps were not in place.
There would be a boom in birth rates, even more people, even fewer resources to go around, and substantially more environmental damage. Policy Background Deng Xiaoping’s One-Child Policy From the early 1970s, the Chinese government was aware of the dangers of rapid population growth to economic and social development. Deng Xiaoping consequently supported carrying out family planning in both urban and rural areas while considering population growth in coordination with the development of China’s economy, society, resources, and environment. Constitution, 2004; Family, 1995).
The Essay on Population of China and Gender Imbalance
China’s one child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit China’s population growth. It was designated as a “temporary measure,” to limit couples to just one child. Those who fail to follow the law are subjected to fines, pressures to do abortion, and forced sterilization. In 1979, the Chinese government embarked on an ambitious program of ...
The One-Child Policy was officially implemented in China during the early 1980’s under Deng’s leadership, and the policy was and still is enforced more strictly in urban and highly populated rural areas than in areas with smaller populations (Banister, 1998).
The policy is incorporated in the PRC’s Constitution, and is considered a priority concern in China’s goals of economic and social sustainability.
