Finally, it’s the time of celebration on completion of 6th Population Census of Pakistan after a gap of 19years, carried out by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan (GoP) which has surged 207.77million. It was a milestone step taken by GoP because Census is quite important for the management of resources, administration, policy development and disaster preparedness. Moreover, it is important of having accurate and complete information on population distribution in order to mitigate the mishaps, mismanagement, and inequality. Despite all population census plays the most important role in shaping the socio-economic environment.
The figures shows 57% increase in population within 19years which is increasing with growth rate of 2.40 with a rapid urbanization. It’s important to note that populace growth and distribution have significant roles to play in the sustainability of the country’s vast resources. Not only the number of people, but also the lifestyle, consumption patterns, and regions people inhabit and use directly affect the environment. In particular there is a strong link between population and pollution. Growth in population has a synergistic effects.
I would like to quote an example, suppose 1000 people living around a lake might empty their raw sewage into the lake, and the lake’s natural processes might be able to break down that sewage without harm. But if the population around that lake increases to 2000 people and the lake is unable to cope, the environment begins to suffer. Similarly it’s expected our environment will suffer if we did not take tangible step for environmental sustainability, otherwise we will suffer Generation of waste, Threats to biodiversity, Strain of forests, Urbanization, Industrialization, Land Degradation, Transport congestions, and climate change effects.
GoP should to revise and develop strong policies to mitigate the threats of population, The rate of population growth should be curtailed through effective family planning measures, The aim of population control is not only to bring about a decline in fertility rates but also to improve the quality of life of the people.