Publication

Population and Environment Linkages

Edited by C.P. Prakasam and R.B. Bhagat (2007),

Published by International Institute for Population Sciences, Govandi Station Road, Deonar, Mumbai-400 088.

ISBN 81-316-0121-8, Pp Xiii+275

Price Rs. 625 (Forward by late professor P.N. Mari Bhat, Director, IIPS, Mumbai)

Global environmental changes are occurring in ways fundamentally different than at any other time in our history.  Experts say that virtually all of the earth’s ecosystems have been significantly transformed through human actions and that 60 percent of them have already been degraded.

            Population growth, movement, density and resource consumption are considered to be the main driver and multiplier of many environmental problems not only in India but all over the world.  The industrial systems have encouraged the centralization of populations in urban areas, leading to the growth of mega cities and relative neglect of  rural habitats.  These cities have in turn emerged as the main centres of environmental pollution with high density of vehicular traffic, industrial activity and growth of slum population.  Health is another important area of mediation in the interface between population and environment.

            Recognizing the need to examine the linkage between population and environment, the Population-Environment Centre of the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai organised a national seminar on “Population and Environment Nexus” in October 2005 to which this book owes its origin. The questions raised in the seminar and their responses have been weaved into a four-part discussion:

 

 

 

            1. Population and Environment Linkages

            i.  On Linkages between Population and Environment: Some Evidences from     India.

                                                                        Gopal K. Kadekodi

 

                 ii.   Understanding the Linkages between PopulationGrowth, Depletion of Natural                   

                       Resources and its Implications for Women: A Focus on the EAG States.

                                                                        Kamla Gupta and Mohua Guha

 

                 iii.  Vanishing Common Property Resources and their Environmental Impact in Rural 

                       Areas: Examples from Two Districts of Andhra Pradesh.

                                                                        M. Ramakrishna Reddy

 

                       iv.  Concern for Environmental Degradation in India’s Planning: A Review.

                                                                        Sancheeta Ghosh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.    Food, Water and Sanitation

 

                        v.     Population Vs. Food: Who is Winning the Race?

                                                                        Alka Parikh

 

                        vi    Water Resources in India: Issues, Concerns and the New Environment Policy.

                                                                        Sumati Kulkarni

 

                       vii.    Towards the Need for Water Ethics for Sustainable Development.

                                                                        K. Radhakrishna Murty

 

viii.        Water Consumption Patterns in Domestic Households in Major Indian  

         Cities.

                                                                        Abdul Shaban and R.N. Sharma

 

                        ix.    Environmental Health and Sanitation Facilities: Challenges for India.

                                                                        T.V. Sekher

 

            3.   Urban Environment and Disaster

 

                        x.    Urban Ecological Issues with Special Reference to Mumbai.

                                                                        K. Sita and Mlabika Ray

 

                        xi.   Cyclones in Andhra Pradesh: Damages and Response.

                                                                        U.V. Somayajulu 

 

                        xii.   Self-Reported Health Problems of Slum Dwellers in Pune.

                                                                        Anjali Radkar

 

            4.   Household Environment and Health

 

xiii.        Health During Infacny and Early Childhood in India: Household

         Environment  Matters.

                                                                        Usha Ram, Avishek Hazra and Sandip Chakraborty

 

xiv.        Housing Environment and Child Mortality in Rural Andhra Pradesh and

         Tamil Nadu: An Analysis of the NFHS-2 Data.

                                                                        N. Audinarayana        

 

xv.         Effect of Household Environment on Women’s Health in North- East 

         India.

                                                                        Avishek Hazra, Subhra Dutta and Mohua Guha                   

 

In fact, Population and Environment linkages are complex and multifaceted and no single book can do justice to this burning issue of our times.  But, still it is hoped that this volume would lead to a deeper understanding of the interface between population and environment.