Page 7 - IJPS-6-1

International Journal of Population Studies

EDITORIAL

Editorial to the special issue on

environment and population dynamics

in South Asia

Guest Editor: Sangram Kishor Patel
Poverty, Gender and Youth Program, Population Council, Zone 5A, IHC, Lodi Road,
New Delhi - 110 003, India. Email: sangramkishor@gmail.com
This editorial belongs to the Special Issue: Environment and Population Dynamics in
South Asia

In the last few decades (particularly after 1950), the world’s population doubled from
three billion to six billion-plus population. This increased the pressure on land use
and resource depletion continued. Further, it fuelled with habitat destruction, loss of
biodiversity, water scarcity and water pollution, air pollution, global warming, and climate
change across the globe.
Climate change is a global trend impacting both developed and developing nations, ranging
from wealthy to poor, marginalized communities from women, infants, the disabled to the
elderly population. The World Health Organization (2018) notified that all populations will
be affected by climate change, but some are more vulnerable than others, and areas with poor
health systems – mostly in developing countries – would be the least likely to cope without
preparedness assistance. South Asia is predicted as one of the worst affected regions from
global warming and climate change because of geophysical factors and socio-economic and
-demographic backwardness. The area is home to around 1.8 billion people in the world and
a portion of the world’s poor. The UN estimates that the population of the region will grow
by 40% by 2050 (United Nations, 2019). It would have a very strong effect on the agriculture
sector across countries in South Asia. The vast reliance of life on agriculture and natural
resources makes this region’s communities very vulnerable to climate change. South Asia is
gravely threatened by rising sea levels and the growing occurrence of severe climate events
ARTICLE INFO
such as floods, droughts, cyclones, storms, earthquakes, and monsoon irregularities. Countries
Published: April 13, 2020 in the Greater Himalayan Region, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Northern India, and Nepal,
are facing increased frequency and magnitude of severe weather events resulting in floods,
CITATION
landslides, property and infrastructure destruction, agricultural crop degradation, reduction in
Patel SK. (2020). Editorial hydropower generation, and adverse human health impacts (Asian Development Bank, 2015).
to the special issue on The coastal regions of Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka are at high risk from the
environment and population expected rise in sea level, which could lead to the displacement of human settlements, the loss
dynamics in South Asia. of agricultural land and wetlands, intrusion of saltwater, and negative impacts on tourism and
International Journal of fisheries. Agriculture is one of the most important sectors in South Asia. It provides stable food
Population Studies, 6(1):1-2. sources, income and livelihoods, and a social safety net for rural populations.
doi: 10.18063/ijps.v6i1.1220
Large sections of the population of South Asian region lack basic human needs such
Copyright: © 2020 Patel. as sufficient food and nutrition, clean water, adequate shelter, and access to education and
This is an Open-Access article health care. However, the current changing environment and frequent occurrence of extreme
distributed under the terms weather events posing a serious challenge to socioeconomic development, food security,
of the Creative Commons livelihoods and health hazards among the population in the region along with the resilience
Attribution-Non Commercial mechanisms. Improved understanding of the impacts of climate change in agriculture and
4.0 International License adaptation practices to cope with these impacts of climate change and natural disasters are
(http://creativecommons.org/ therefore necessary to enhance agriculture’s sustainability and to develop policies that reduce
licenses/by-nc/4.0/), permitting
all noncommercial use, the vulnerability of poor farmers to climate change at South Asia. Hence, it is necessary to
distribution, and reproduction investigate these issues through the lenses of research, which may help in formulating better
in any medium, provided the policies and programs at the local and regional level. We herein have invited researchers
original work is properly cited. from the international community working in the areas of environment, climate change,

International Journal of Population Studies | 2020, Volume 6, Issue 1 1