Unit-7

Human Population and the

Environment
 Population Growth
In 1950, five years after the founding of the United
Nations, world population was estimated at around
2.6 billion people. It reached 5 billion in 1987and 6
billion in 1999. In October 2011, the global
population was estimated to be 7 billion. The
world’s population is expected to increase by 2
billion persons in the next 30 years, from 7.7 billion
currently to 9.7 billion in 2050 and could peak at
nearly 11 billion around 2100.
 Population Growth Curve
• Population growth curve shows the pattern of the
growth of population over time.
 Factors influencing population size
Population size is influenced by growth rate, fertility rate, mortality
rate and age structure of the population.
a) Exponential growth: When a quantity increased by a constant
amount per unit time e.g. 1,3,5,7 etc it is called linear growth. But
when it increases by a fixed percentages it is known as exponential
growth e.g. 2,4,6,8, 16,32 etc.
b) TFR(Total Fertility Rate): It is defined as the average number of
children that would be born to a woman in her lifetime if the age
specific birth rates remain constant.
c) Infant mortality rate : Percentage of infants died out of those born in
a year.
d) Male-female ratio
f) Age structure: Age structure is the proportion of a
population in different age classes.
Population Explosion
 Sixty-one per cent of the global population lives in Asia
(4.7 billion), 17 per cent in Africa (1.3 billion), 10 per
cent in Europe (750 million), 8 per cent in Latin
America and the Caribbean (650 million), and the
remaining 5 per cent in Northern America (370 million)
and Oceania (43 million). China (1.44 billion) and India
(1.39 billion) remain the two largest countries of the
world, both with more than 1 billion people,
representing 19 and 18 per cent of the world’s
population, respectively. Around 2027, India is projected
to overtake China as the world’s most populous country,
while China’s population is projected to decrease by
31.4 million, or around 2.2 per cent, between 2019 and
2050. (Source: World Population Prospects 2019).
• India Population clock
• 1,403,645,107 Current population
• 724,739,028 Current male population (51.6%)
• 678,906,079 Current female population (48.4%)
• 26,501,639 Births year to date
• 48,689 Births today
• 9,621,614 Deaths year to date
• 17,677 Deaths today
• -532,370 Net migration year to date
• -978 Net migration today
• 16,347,655 Population growth year to date
• 30,034 Population growth today
 Consequences of Population Explosion
• Pressure on natural resources
• Pollution
• Poverty

Other effects include:

i) Unemployment
ii) Increase in crime rate
Family Welfare Programmes
and
Family Planning
 India was the first country in the world to have
launched a National Programme for Family
Planning in 1952.In 1970’s forced family planning
campaign was done by govt. In 1978 the
government raised the legal minimum age of
marriage from 18 to 21 for men and 15 to 18 years
for women.
 Family planning methods
A) Spacing Methods:- These are the reversible
methods of contraception to be used by couples who
wish to have children in future. These include:
a) Oral Contraceptive Pills (OCPs)
b) Condoms
c) Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Devices (IUCD)
B) Permanent Methods:- These methods may be
adopted by any member of the couple and are
generally considered irreversible.
d) Female Sterilisation
e) Male Sterilisation
C) Emergency Contraceptive Pill (ECP)
• To be consumed in cases of emergency arising out of
unplanned/unprotected intercourse and
• The pill should be consumed within 72 hours of the
sexual act and should never be considered a
replacement for a regular contraceptive.
Other Commodities –
Pregnancy Testing Kits (PTKs)
• Helps to detect pregnancy as early as one week after
the missed period, thus providing an early opportunity
for medical termination of pregnancy, thus saving
lives lost to unsafe abortions and
• These are available at the sub-centre level and also
 Human Rights
Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that
belong to every person in the world, from birth until
death. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of
human rights. Drafted by representatives with
different legal and cultural backgrounds from all
regions of the world, the Declaration was
proclaimed by the United Nations General
Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948.It defines
the rights to life, liberty, security, fair trial by law,
freedom of thought, expression, conscience,
The relationship between human rights and the environment
was first recognized by the UN General Assembly in the late
1960s. In 1972, the direct relationship between the
environment and the right to life was recognized by the
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. In
1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (also known as the Earth Summit) stated that
“Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable
development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive
life in harmony with nature.”The Declaration also provided
for the right of access to environmental information and of
public participation in environmental decision making. Soon
after on May 16, 1994 at Geneva, the United Nations drafted
the first ever Declaration of Human Rights and Environment,
which embodies the right of every human being to a healthy,
secure and ecologically sound environment.
 Human Rights and Environment
The draft declaration describes the rights as well as duties that
apply to individuals, governments, international organizations
and transnational corporations.
The principles of the draft declaration are divided into five parts:
i) It deals with human rights for an ecologically- sound
environment, sustainable development and peace for all.
ii) It mainly deals with human rights related to an environment
free from pollution and degradation.
iii) It deals with right of every person to environmental
information, education and awareness.
iv) It deals with the duties to protect and preserve the environment
and prevent environmental harm.
v) This lays stress on social justice and equity with respect to use
of natural resources and sustainable development.
 Value Education
Value based Environmental Education
i) Human values: The basic human value is ‘man in nature’ rather than
‘nature for man’.
ii) Social values: Love, compassion, tolerance, and justice need to be
woven into environmental education.
iii) Cultural and religious values: These are the values which include
“you give me and I give you” emphasize that man should not
exploit nature without nurturing her.
iv) Ethical values: Environmental education should encompass the
ethical values of earth centric rather than human centric world view.
v) Global values: The concept that human civilization is a part of the
planet as a whole and similarly nature and various natural
phenomena over the earth are inter-connected and interrelated.
vi) Spirituals values: Principles of self-restraint, self-discipline,
contentment, reduction of wants, freedom of greed.
 Women and Child Welfare
• The world depends women for existence.
• They are week, helpless, economically dependent, illiteracy,
wide gender discretion.
• It is necessary to bought up in a suitable environment for
they are future of Nation.

The Department of Women and Child Development,

Government of India, came into existence as a separate
Ministry with effect from 30th January, 2006, earlier since
1985 it was a Department under the Ministry of Human
Resources Development.
 Women Empowerment Schemes

• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme

• One Stop Centre Scheme
• Women Helpline Scheme
• UJJAWALA : A Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of trafficking and Rescue,
Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking and Commercial
Sexual Exploitation
• Working Women Hostel
• Ministry approves new projects under Ujjawala Scheme and continues existing
projects
• SWADHAR Greh (A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances)
• NARI SHAKTI PURASKAR
• Awardees of Stree Shakti Puruskar, 2014 & Awardees of Nari Shakti Puruskar
• Awardees of Rajya Mahila Samman & Zila Mahila Samman
• Mahila police Volunteers
• Mahila Shakti Kendras (MSK)
• NIRBHAYA
 Child Development Scheme
Launched in 1975, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) is a unique early childhood
development programme, aimed at addressing malnutrition, health and also development needs
of young children, pregnant and nursing mothers.

Services under ICDS

The ICDS Scheme offers a package of six services, viz.

• Supplementary Nutrition
• Pre-school non-formal education
• Nutrition & health education
• Immunization
• Health check-up and
• Referral services

The last three services are related to health and are provided by Ministry/Department of Health
and Family Welfare through NRHM & Health system. The perception of providing a package
of services is based primarily on the consideration that the overall impact will be much larger if
the different services develop in an integrated manner as the efficacy of a particular service
depends upon the support it receives from the related services.
Umbrella ICDS
1. Anganwadi Services Scheme:
2. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana: Pradhan Mantri Matru
Vandana Yojana is a maternity benefit program run by the
government of India. It was introduced in 2017 and is
implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating
women of 19 years of age or above for the first live birth.
3. National Creche Scheme: Daycare Facilities including Sleeping
Facilities.
• Early Stimulation for children below 3 years and pre-school
Education for 3 to 6 years old children.
• Supplementary Nutrition ( to be locally sourced)
• Growth Monitoring
• Health Check-up and Immunization
4. POSHAN Abhiyaan:
POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) was launched by the
government on March 8, 2018.The Abhiyaan targets to reduce stunting,
undernutrition, anemia (among young children, women and adolescent
girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% per annum
respectively.The target of the mission is to bring down stunting among
children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.
5. Scheme for Adolescent Girls: To facilitate, educate and empower
Adolescent Girls (AGs) so as to enable them to become self-reliant and
aware citizens.
Target Group: Out of school girls in the age group of 11-14 years. The
scheme aims at motivating out of school girls to go back to formal
schooling or vocational /skill training.
6. Child Protection Scheme:
Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) was launched in the year
2009-10 and is dedicated to children. The Scheme is funded by the
Central government. This scheme is applicable for children in need of
care and protection and children in conflict. Beneficiaries can avail this
Drugs and their effects
 Over the period 2009–2018, the estimated number
of past-year users of any drug globally increased
from 210 million (range: 149 million to 272 million)
to 269 million (range: 166 million to 373 million) –
in other words, by more than a quarter (28 per cent)
– partly as a result of growth in the global
population. Consequently, the prevalence of drug
use increased by over 12 per cent, from 4.8 per cent
of the adult population in 2009 to 5.4 per cent in
2018.
 Drugs affect your body's central nervous system. They affect how you
think, feel and behave. The three main types are depressants,
hallucinogens and stimulants:
• Depressants slow or 'depress' the function of the central nervous
system. They slow the messages going to and from your brain. In
small quantities depressants can cause a person to feel relaxed and
less inhibited. In large amounts they may cause vomiting,
unconsciousness and death. Depressants affect your concentration and
coordination, and slow your ability to respond to situations. It is
important to not operate heavy machinery while taking depressants.
Alcohol, cannabis, GHB, opiates (heroin, morphine, codeine) and
benzodiazepines (minor tranquillisers) are examples of depressants.
• Hallucinogens distort your sense of reality. You may see or hear
things that are not really there, or see things in a distorted way. Other
effects can include emotional and psychological euphoria, jaw
clenching, panic, paranoia, gastric upset and nausea. Ketamine, LSD,
PCP, 'magic mushrooms' and cannabis are examples of hallucinogens.
• Stimulants speed or 'stimulate' the central nervous system. They
speed up messaging to and from the brain, making you feel more alert
and confident. This can cause increased heart rate, blood pressure and
body temperature, reduced appetite, agitation and sleeplessness. In
large amounts stimulants may cause anxiety, panic, seizures, stomach
cramps and paranoia. Caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines (speed and
Ice), cocaine and ecstasy (MDMA) are examples of stimulants.
• Dual Action Drugs The arrival of a new range of drugs which seem
to have a dual action has further complicated the picture. These are
the stimulant psychedelics, of which ecstasy is the most well known.

Ecstasy, or methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) to give it

its scientific name, belongs to a family of synthetic compounds
related to the amphetamines. Because of this family link, ecstasy has
stimulant properties like amphetamine, but it also has certain effects
in common with LSD. It works on the brain in much the same way as
LSD by the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin which has been
reported by users as making them feel happier and increasing their
 Drug de addiction
Drug De-addiction Programme (DDAP) came into force in 1988 with the objectives
to provide affordable, easily accessible and evidence-based treatment for all
substance use disorders through the government health care facilities and to build
the capacities of health care staff in recognition and management of substance use
disorders. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare operates a Drug De-Addiction
Programme (DDAP) by providing financial grants for augmenting post abuse
treatment facilities in selected Central Government Hospitals/ Institutions and the
Government Hospitals/ Institutions in North-East States. Under this programme, a
National Nodal Centre, the “National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre
(NDDTC), Ghaziabad (U.P.)”, has been established under the All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. The Drug Treatment Clinics (DTC) scheme
is another strategy for enhancing the provision of treatment services coordinated
nationally by the NDDTC, AIIMS and as of now, 27 DTCs are functional in
different states in the country. The other DTCs receiving regular annual recurring
financial assistance under this programme are PGIMER, Chandigarh and
NIMHANS, Bangalore. The purpose of these centers is not only to provide de-
addiction services and rehabilitation services to the patients but also to conduct
research and provide training to medical doctors in the area of drug de-addiction.
 Legal Measures

The three major international drug control treaties,

the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961
(as amended in 1972), the Convention on
Psychotropic Substances of 1971, and the United
Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of
1988, are mutually supportive and complementary.
• The 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (as amended by the
1972 Protocol) unified and replaced all previous drug control legislation
and forms the legal bedrock of the current system. It established a
universal system for limiting the cultivation, production, distribution,
trade, possession and use of narcotic substances to medical and scientific
purposes, with a special focus on plant-derived substances: opium,
heroin, coca, cocaine and cannabis.
• The 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances extended
international control to cover more than 100 synthetic substances. The
controls imposed on these substances are less strict than for the 1961
Convention.
• The
1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychot
ropic Substances
was adopted to respond to massive increases in demand and supply of
controlled drugs for non-medical use, and the rapid growth of a lucrative
criminal black market. The convention provides special enforcement
measures and reinforces the obligation of countries to impose criminal
sanctions domestically to counter drug production and trafficking – but it
 The three conventions attribute important functions to the
Commission on Narcotic Drugs and to the International Narcotics
Control Board:
• The Commission on Narcotic Drugs is the central policy-making
body with regard to drug-related matters, including the monitoring
of the global trends of illicit drug trafficking and abuse. It decides
whether new substances should be included in one of the schedules
of the conventions and if changes or deletions in the schedules are
required.
• The International Narcotics Control Board: The Board monitors the
implementation of the conventions and, where appropriate, makes
recommendations to States. It also administers the statistical control
of drugs on the basis of data supplied by Governments and assesses
world requirements of licit drugs with a view to the adaptation of
production to those requirements. It gathers information on illicit
trafficking, and submits an annual report on developments in the
world situation to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and to the
 Laws related to drugs

The broad legislative policy is contained in the three Central Acts, viz.
Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, The Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and The Prevention of Illicit
Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988. The
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 which came
into effect from the 14th November, 1985 made an express provision
for constituting a Central Authority for the purpose of exercising the
powers and functions of the Central Government under the Act.

In presence of this provision, the Government of India constituted the

NARCOTICS CONTROL BUREAU on the 17th of March, 1986.
 Drug Law Enforcement Agencies In India

• Narcotics Control Division

• Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN)
• The Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB )
• Other Agencies- Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence, Central Bureau of Investigation,
Customs Commission, Border Security Force.
 Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
• To regulate the import, manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs &
cosmetics through licensing.
• Manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs and cosmetics by qualified
persons only.
• To prevent substandard in drugs, presumably for maintaining high
standards of medical treatment.
• To regulate the manufacture and sale of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani
drugs.
• To establish Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) and Drugs
Consultative Committees (DCC) for Allopathic and allied drugs and
cosmetics.
• Maximum penalty life imprisonment and fine of Rs. 10 lakhs or 3 times
the value of the confiscated goods, whichever is more.
• Besides officers from the Drug Controller’s Office, other gazette officers
also authorized to launch prosecution under the Act;
• Some of the offences cognizable and non-bailable;
• Specially designated courts for trial of offences covered under the Act;
• Provision for compounding of minor offences.
 The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act, 1985,
Objectives:
• To take measures for preventing, combating and
regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and
psychotropic substances.
• To provide for the forfeiture of property derived from or
used in, illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances.
• To implement the provisions of the International
conventions on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances and for all the relevant matters.
• To add or omit the list of psychotropic substances
• The NDPS Act prohibits cultivation, production, possession,
sale, purchase, trade, import, export, use and consumption
of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances except for
medical and scientific purposes in accordance with the law.
The Act covers three broad classes of substances:
1) narcotic drugs, that is, those covered under the 1961
Convention;
2) psychotropic substances or those covered under the 1971
Convention as well as other psychoactive substances such
as ketamine which are not yet classified under 3
international conventions; and
3) “controlled substances”20 that are used to manufacture
narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, for example
precursor chemicals such as acetic anhydride, ephedrine
and pseudoephedrine.
 Narcotic drugs include:
• Coca Plant- Leaf or other derivatives including
cocaine. It also includes any preparation which
contains 0.1% cocaine.
• Opium- This category includes poppy straw, poppy
plant, opium poppy juice, and any preparation having
0.2% morphine. Derivatives of opium include
morphine, heroin, thebaine, etc.
• Cannabis- Resin (Charas and Hashish), plant, fruit
tops and flowering of the plant (Ganja), or any
mixture of Ganja, Charas and Hashish are all
included in this category. It is important to note that
cannabis leaves i.e. bhang is excluded from this
 Penalties
• The act has specifically defined penalties for production /
possession / transportation / sale / purchase / use / omit to
warehouse of poppy straw, coca plant and coca leaves, preparation
of opium and opium poppy, cannabis plant and cannabis or any
other such narcotic drug and psychotropic substance, and any such
other preparation, will be liable for penalties which includes
imprisonment or fine or both, depending upon the severity of the
crime.
• These offenses are triable by Special Courts and the
punishments prescribed range from imprisonment from 10 to 20
years for first offenses to 15 to 30 years for any subsequent offenses
together with monitory fines.
• Punishment for possessing small quantities of drugs (quantity
specified in the Act) will be maximum of 6 months rigorous
imprisonment or a fine of upto Rs. 10,000 or both. But in the case
of commercial quantity it would be rigorous imprisonment from
Role of Information Technology in Environment
and Human health

• Informational technology has tremendous

potential in the field of environmental
education and health as in any other field like
business, economics, politics or culture.
• Development of internet facilities, world wide
web, geographical information system(GIS).
And information through satellites has
generated a wealth of up-to-date information
on various aspects of environment and health.
Database on Environment and Health

Database is the collection of interrelated data on

various subjects. It is usually in computerized form
and can be retrieved whenever required. In the
computer the information of database is arranged in a
systematic manner that is easily manageable and can
be very quickly retrieved. The Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change,
Government of India has taken up the task of
compiling a database on various biotic communities.
The comprehensive database includes wildlife
database, conservation database, forest cover database.
 GIS(Geographical Information System)
GIS is a technique of superimposing various thematic maps
using digital data on a large number of inter-related or inter-
dependent aspects.
Applications of GIS:
• For future land-use planning
• Interpretations of polluted zones, degraded lands or diseased
cropland etc. can be made on GIS.
• We can explore and discover new reserves of oil, minerals etc.
• Provides information of atmospheric phenomena like
approach of monsoon, ozone layer depletion, smog etc
• Helps in identifying disease infested areas which are prone to
some vector borne diseases like malaria etc. based upon
mapping of such areas.