Research Topic:
Role of Population in Regulation the Environmental Stressors
Prepared By:
Syed Muhammad Junaid
F17-BBAH-110
Aequan Haider
F17-BBAH-066
Umair Abdul Aziz
F17-BBAH-***
Lecturer:
MA’AM QURAT UL AIN
Due Date:
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
FOUNDATION UNIVERSITY RAWALPINDI CAMPUS
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4
Industrial development and increase in pollution ....................................................................... 4
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS ............................................................................................... 5
POPULATION DISPLACEMENT AND EXPLANATION OF URBAN AREAS DUE TO THE
INCREASED NUMBER OF PEOPLE .......................................................................................... 5
MISMANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES ...................................................................................... 6
FOOD SCARCITY/SHORTAGE .................................................................................................. 6
WATER MISMANAGEMENT AND SCARCITY ....................................................................... 6
HEALTH RISKS ............................................................................................................................ 7
ABSTRACT
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the 1700s, and spread to the rest of the
world, beginning with the United States. The use of machinery and factories led to
mass production, which in turn led to the development of numerous environmental
hazards. The effects on the environment would only be seen clearly years later.
While the Industrial Revolution was the cause of positive change for the industrial
world, there is no question that it has wreaked havoc on the environment. The
depletion of natural resources, the carbon emissions, pollution and human health
problems that have resulted directly from the Industrial Revolution's accomplishments
have only been disastrous for the world environment.
In this essay we shall identifies these environmental consequences of industrial growth,
and provide suggestive measure against environmental degradation.
INTRODUCTION
Industrialization to achieve economic development has resulted in global
environmental degradation. While the impacts of industrial activity on the natural
environment are a major concern in developed countries, much less is known about
these impacts in developing countries like that of Pakistan.
The developing world is often seen as having a high percentage of heavily polluting
activities within its industrial sector. This, combined with a substantial agricultural
sector, which contributes to deforestation, the erosion of the top soil and
desertification, has led to extreme pressures on the environment and impoverishes the
population by destroying its natural resource base. This crisis suggests that sound
industrialization policies are of paramount importance in a developing countries'
economic development, and calls for the management of natural resources and the
adoption of low-waste or environmentally clean technologies.
Industrial processes play a major role in the degradation of the global environment. In
industrialized countries, environmental regulation and new technologies are reducing
the environmental impact per unit produced, but industrial activities and growing
demand are still putting pressures on the environment and the natural resource base. In
developing countries a double environmental effect is occurring: old environmental
problems, such as deforestation and soil degradation, remain largely unsolved. At the
same time, new problems linked to industrialization are emerging, such as rising
greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, growing volumes of waste,
desertification and chemicals pollution.
Industrial Development and Increase in Pollution
Rapid industrialization in world has not only led to the economic development. On the
other hand it has increased pollution of land, water, noise and air.
Air pollution:
It is caused by the presence of poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide and Sulphur
dioxide. Factories producing paper, bricks, metals and other factories which burn
fossils fuels pollute the air. Emissions of poisonous gases by the industries affects the
human Health, animal plants.
Water pollution:
The untreated industrial waste effluents dumped into nearby water bodies by the
factories lead to water pollution. This polluted water becomes unfit for human use and.
also for irrigation. It also effects the human life
Soil pollution:
This is caused by the presence of man –made chemicals or other alteration in the
natural soil environment .the rupture of is type of contamination typically arises from
Underground tanks storage, application of pesticides, oil and fuel dumping, leaching of
wastes from landfills or direct discharge of industrial wastes to the soil.
Noise pollution:
This is caused by the industrial and constructional activities, machinery, factory
equipment, generators, etc.
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS
Environmental stressors are factors whose influence is to constrain productivity, reproductive
success, and ecosystem development.
Stressors may be natural in origin, being associated with such environmental influences as:

competition, predation, disease, and other interactions among organisms

constraints related to climate or to inadequate or excessive nutrients, moisture, or space

Disturbances such as wildfire and windstorms.
The effects of natural stressors are not always negative. Some individuals, populations, and
communities may benefit from the effects of natural stress, even while others suffer a degree of
damage.
Increasingly, however, stressors associated with human activities are the most critical influence on
species and ecosystems. In too many cases, anthropogenic stressors are causing important damage
to resources that are needed to sustain people and their economy, and also to natural biodiversity
and ecosystems.
POPULATION DISPLACEMENT AND EXPLANATION OF URBAN AREAS DUE
TO THE INCREASED NUMBER OF PEOPLE
When people are forced to leave their homes and countries for any reason be it war, food shortage,
water shortage or maybe work. They are basically leaving everything behind and this is hard for
the country where they are migrating to and for them too. So, data collected after 2016 is as
follows:
Displacement levels are the highest ever recorded with roughly 65 million people forcibly
displaced around the world, including over 21 million refugees, three million asylum-seekers and
over 40 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). One in every 122 people in the world is now
either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. At the same time, displacement patterns
are changing. The average length of displacement is between 20 to 30 years and 6 out of 10
refugees are in urban areas, in cities and towns across the globe. At least half of all IDPs are also
in urban areas.
MISMANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES
Pakistan has always been victim to poor management of resources. Pakistan is rich in natural
resources and in all of its history it has never taken full advantage of them, at least not in the way
that it should have. The natural resources include water, land, fossil fuels and minerals among
other things. Pakistan does not have the sufficient infrastructure to utilize water. There are not
enough dams, Pakistan wastes its rain water as well. The agricultural sector lacks the basic
governance for growth. Farmers only produce the crops that have a constant price because the
government has yet to set minimum support prices. The only crop which has a MSP is wheat while
India has an MSP for 26 crops.
After land and water, the third most important natural resource of Pakistan is minerals. Currently,
around 52 minerals are excavated in the country. Pakistan has the world’s second largest coal
reserves of 185 billion tons. A major portion (about 175 billion tons) of these reserves is located
in Thar, Sindh Province. The mentioned reserves are equivalent to about 900 billion barrels of
petroleum which is more than the combined oil reserves of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and
UAE. The existing coal of the country, if optimized, can provide uninterrupted power to Pakistan
for a period of 100 years.
Pakistan has the world’s second largest salt mines and fifth largest copper and gold reserves.
Khewra salt mine, which has the estimated deposits of 220 million tons, is currently yielding
330,000 tons of salt per year. The gold and copper reserves of Reko Diq, Balochistan, which
contain 18 million tons of copper and 32 million ounces of gold, remain largely unexplored.
Pakistan has over 400 million barrels of oil and 30 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves. These
reserves are not explored and utilized to the extant which befit them.
FOOD SCARCITY/SHORTAGE
A shortage of food may happen when not enough food is produced, such as when crops fail due to
drought, pests, or too much moisture. But the problem can also result from the uneven distribution
of natural resource endowment for a country, and by human institutions, such as government and
public policy.
The World Trade Organization estimates that if total calories from all the food produced were
divided among all the people on earth, there would be 2,750 calories per person per day. Since the
recommended daily minimum per person is 2,100 calories a day, there are enough calories to feed
everyone in the world. But not everyone is getting the need calories and food because it's "not
evenly distributed across the landscape of the world"
WATER MISMANAGEMENT AND SCARCITY
Surface water resources of Pakistan mainly consist of Indus river system, the waters from which
are greatly mis-used. Recalling to one of my articles published in “The Nation”, the responsible
factors for this abuse are; insufficient storage capacity, transboundry water sharing issues, climate
change, seepage from watercourses, conventional irrigation and underpricing of water. According
to that article, “the country needs one major dam during each 10 years. Unfortunately, no major
dam has been constructed since 1970s, when Tarbela dam was completed in 1976. Kalabagh dam,
which is the need of the hour, still lies in controversy. The current annual flow through the country
is 169 MAF, for which the installed capacity of major reservoirs is mere 18.5 MAF (11.1 MAF of
Tarbela and 7.4 MAF of Mangla)”.
Apart from irrigating over 18 million hectares of cultivated land, Indus and its tributaries have a
monstrous capacity of hydel power generation. The current hydel production under WAPDA
stands approximately at 7000MW which is almost double as the estimated production of the single
Kalabagh. Not only the capacity, but the generation rate of Rs 2 per unit against the existing
average rate of Rs 11.5 per unit is something very much in favour of the country’s economy. The
other benefits associated with hydel production are: improved climate, to which the country is
currently allocating 8 percent of its total expenditures; minimum circular debt; and reduced
petroleum import bills, as a major portion of petroleum is used for power generation.
HEALTH RISKS
The health risks associated are mainly cardiovascular, mental and physical. Environmental risk
factors account for an appreciable part of global deaths and life years spent with disability.
Environmental risk factors such as traffic noise exposure, air pollution by particulate matter (PM),
mental stress/loneliness, and the life style risk factor (water-pipe) smoking on health and disease
with focus on the cardiovascular system.