Limiting population growth
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
TWO contrasts can put focus on how serious is the overpopulated condition of Bangladesh. The United States of America (USA) is physically bigger than Bangladesh by at least fifty times. But it has a population of 294 million, a little more than double of this country's 140 million. The USA has huge indigenous resources in its continent-size territories to support its population. Bangladesh does not have these advantages or has them far less in comparison to its present and future needs. From this example alone, the very overpopulated condition of Bangladesh can be clearly visualised.
Some analysts have sought to downplay the Malthusian fears of the overpopulated condition of Bangladesh by pointing to its growing agricultural productivity, particularly cereal production, that maintained a precarious balance of sorts between population growth and food supply. But surely there are limits to such productivity rises and economic laws also uphold such saturation points. In many ways, Bangladesh is reaching these saturation points and the same are reflected in land scarcity for different purposes and the problems of housing, stresses in the national budgets in respect of providing adequately for employment, education, healthcare and other basic needs. The same would only multiply if the population is allowed to grow at the current rate of some 1.48 per cent to double in another 30 years. Thus, the imperative of reducing this growth substantially at an early date to below one per cent and keeping the growth stabilised at that level is clear.
Apart from the sheer economic difficulties of maintaining such a big population, there are other extremely serious considerations that favour stricter population control. The fast growing population and their laying hands indiscriminately on natural resources for survival such as on trees and vegetation, intruding into eco-systems, etc., have already endangered the environment and biodiversity of the country. The degradation can only worsen without checks in the population growth rate. Overpopulation leading to vanishing or depleting resources and the scramble arising from the same cause social tensions and conflict to add to the decline in the quality of life. These things are showing up in this country context but the ugly faces of such social unrest with their political implications as well, could be much worse even in the near future if reduction and stabilisation in the population growth rate are not achieved quickly.
Bangladesh observed the World Population Day on Wednesday amid such apprehensions. It, indeed, has deeper causes of worry about its outsized population than many countries in the world. It is fanciful to say that the country's population can be turned into human resources. But the hard reality is that the progress in this regard has been very limited. In their present conditions of illiteracy, hunger and deprivation, the people of the country in large measures remain more as liabilities than assets and their multiplication will only add overwhelmingly to the liabilities.
The main instrument available to limit population growth is the official population control programme. But transparently it is running very poorly and it needs a complete revamping in all areas. Employees under this programme must be obliged to regularly visit households to disseminate information about family planning advices, distribute contraceptives incorruptibly and also conduct sterilisation activities similarly. The present caretaker government which is seen taking commendable steps in many areas of national life should take purposeful and decisive steps to rehabilitate the population control programme considering the very great need for it.
Some analysts have sought to downplay the Malthusian fears of the overpopulated condition of Bangladesh by pointing to its growing agricultural productivity, particularly cereal production, that maintained a precarious balance of sorts between population growth and food supply. But surely there are limits to such productivity rises and economic laws also uphold such saturation points. In many ways, Bangladesh is reaching these saturation points and the same are reflected in land scarcity for different purposes and the problems of housing, stresses in the national budgets in respect of providing adequately for employment, education, healthcare and other basic needs. The same would only multiply if the population is allowed to grow at the current rate of some 1.48 per cent to double in another 30 years. Thus, the imperative of reducing this growth substantially at an early date to below one per cent and keeping the growth stabilised at that level is clear.
Apart from the sheer economic difficulties of maintaining such a big population, there are other extremely serious considerations that favour stricter population control. The fast growing population and their laying hands indiscriminately on natural resources for survival such as on trees and vegetation, intruding into eco-systems, etc., have already endangered the environment and biodiversity of the country. The degradation can only worsen without checks in the population growth rate. Overpopulation leading to vanishing or depleting resources and the scramble arising from the same cause social tensions and conflict to add to the decline in the quality of life. These things are showing up in this country context but the ugly faces of such social unrest with their political implications as well, could be much worse even in the near future if reduction and stabilisation in the population growth rate are not achieved quickly.
Bangladesh observed the World Population Day on Wednesday amid such apprehensions. It, indeed, has deeper causes of worry about its outsized population than many countries in the world. It is fanciful to say that the country's population can be turned into human resources. But the hard reality is that the progress in this regard has been very limited. In their present conditions of illiteracy, hunger and deprivation, the people of the country in large measures remain more as liabilities than assets and their multiplication will only add overwhelmingly to the liabilities.
The main instrument available to limit population growth is the official population control programme. But transparently it is running very poorly and it needs a complete revamping in all areas. Employees under this programme must be obliged to regularly visit households to disseminate information about family planning advices, distribute contraceptives incorruptibly and also conduct sterilisation activities similarly. The present caretaker government which is seen taking commendable steps in many areas of national life should take purposeful and decisive steps to rehabilitate the population control programme considering the very great need for it.