Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 10
IMPACT OF A GROWING
POPULATION IN AGRICULTURAL
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:
EXPLORING THE GLOBAL
SITUATION WITH A MICRO-LEVEL
EXAMPLE
A. H. M. ZEHADUL KARIM
10.1 INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXTUALIZING THE ISSUE
In the last few decades, there has been great concern over the issue of
natural resource management in the global context. People are very much
aware that the supply of various non-renewable natural resources on this
planet is shrinking rapidly due to over-exhaustion and enhancement of
resource appropriation. There has been rapid transformation of the world's
natural landscape to agriculture, and it is learned that such use of natural
resources will soon exceed its carrying capacity by causing an irrevers-
ible damage to its natural ecosystem. While land use practices often vary
greatly across the world, their ultimate purpose usually remains the same
which is to extract the natural resources for instant social needs, knowing
clearly the severe impact of it on the environment. In the meantime, the
world population has increased from 3 billion in 1959 to 6 billion in 1999,
which took only 40 years for it to double. The US Census Bureau of the
