GEOG2400 SPRING 2003 THE GEOGRAPHY OF WORLD DEVELOPMENT - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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GEOG2400 SPRING 2003 THE GEOGRAPHY OF WORLD DEVELOPMENT

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Bhutan. 59.4. Bangladesh. 63.3. India. 77.0. USA ... Bhutan. 54. Bangladesh. 69. India. 7. USA. Infant mortality rate/1,000. Country. Pressures on the Land ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: GEOG2400 SPRING 2003 THE GEOGRAPHY OF WORLD DEVELOPMENT


1
GEOG2400 SPRING 2003 THE GEOGRAPHY OF WORLD
DEVELOPMENT
  • CLASS 20
  • Focus on Regions
  • South Asia Region

Element 3 Sophomore GE Cluster Global Wealth,
Poverty and Inequality
2
South Asia a Sub-Continent
3
India Dominates Demographically
  • India, the second most populous nation, could
    overtake China given its relatively high
    fertility.
  • Population densities are locally much higher due
    to concentrations of population on plains and in
    valleys, away from deserts and mountains.

4
Geopolitically Tense
  • Pakistan and India have long struggled against
    each other, making uneasy neighbors.
  • Split by religious differences at the end of the
    British rule in 1947, two nations were created,
    one Muslim, the other mostly Hindu.
  • Divided today over the future of Kashmir, a
    predominantly Muslim Indian mountain state on the
    Pakistan-India border, the two remain close to
    war, lobbing shells at each other and, it is
    accused, supporting terrorist acts on each
    others territory.
  • The South Indian arms race sees both nations with
    nuclear weapons and both threatening their use.
  • Pakistan has 600,000 soldiers, India 1.3 million.
  • Pakistan spends 4.5 of its GDP on its military,
    twice as much as on education or health care.

5
Internal and International Unrest
6
Relative Standings in the Region
A big issue in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is
the vast population and relatively rapid growth
rates leading to inabilities to
provide sufficient employment, food and basic
services. Poverty is rife and malnutrition
endemic across the region.
7
Inequality for the majority
8
Pressures on the Land
  • Great population rise and relative poverty has
    required the region to look inward and to exploit
    natural resources.
  • Forests have been cut for farming and for
    firewood leading to ecological change, the
    endangerment of many species, and the loss of
    livelihood and culture for forest-dwelling
    communities that previously lived sustainably on
    the forests.
  • Lack of effective oversight of industrial
    facilities has led to massive water and air
    pollution and, periodically like with Bhopal,
    environmental disasters.
  • Deforestation in mountain regions exacerbates
    floods and creates regional conflicts, even
    international ones e.g. low lying Bangladesh
    suffers terrible floods and sedimentation
    problems due to India management of the Ganges
    and Brahmaputra rivers (see Fig 12.4).

9
Feeding Humanity
  • Health metrics indicate that feeding the region
    is a constant and growing problem.
  • While agricultural output has managed to keep
    pace with population growth, thanks to the green
    revolution, the ability to maintain this and to
    ensure adequate distribution is in question.
  • The region has the most undernourished and
    malnourished people in the world.
  • Infant body weights are frequently lower than
    they should be and long-term health is affected.
  • Agriculture is subject to vagaries of climate
    from the seasonal monsoonal variations and global
    warming is expected to exacerbate drought and
    flooding losses of crops.
  • In arid Pakistan, massive irrigation with salty
    water and on salty soils is leading to soil
    degradation and declining yields.

10
South Asian Monsoon
11
Climate varies, Pakistan is the driest
12
The Demographic Dilemma
  • Demographic issues are key factors for this
    region.
  • India has long tried to curb its runaway growth
    through population control measures although it
    has committed some serious mistakes, for example,
    the forced sterilization efforts and quota
    systems under the govt. of Indira Ghandi.
  • Education and family planning are closely
    correlated in the region and the fact that so
    many girls still do not get an education is a key
    factor in the persistence of high fertilities,
    especially in poorer states.
  • Indian women have the highest rates of
    sterilization and both tubal ligations and
    vasectomies are widely and freely available.
  • Abortion is widely available and
    sex-determination often leads to selective
    later-term abortions of female foetuses.
  • Regional differences mean that progress reducing
    TFRs in one region are cancelled out by growth in
    another, leading also to imbalance.

13
Pakistans slow adjustment
  • Pakistan recognizes that its TFR is too high and
    that population growth outstrips abilities to
    meet the needs of the people.
  • However, tremendous ambivalence exists with
    respect to family planning, in part due to
    religion and in part due to patriachy in the
    society.
  • Bangladesh, faced with incredible population
    pressure (1/2 US popn. jammed onto an area
    smaller than Wisconsin), has made greater strides
    cutting TFR by half, but it still remains high at
    3.3, well above replacement rates and, coupled
    with the youthful base, responsible for 2 annual
    growth or a doubling time of 35 years.
  • 50 of Bangladesh women use oral contraception
  • Strong government support exists for family
    planning

14
South Asian Population
15
Urban v Rural
  • Migration and the Settlement Landscape
  • South Asia is one of the least urbanized regions
    of the world
  • Majority reside in compact rural villages and
    small towns
  • Rural-to-urban migration as a result if
    agricultural changes
  • Agricultural Regions and Activities
  • Historically unproductive agriculture
    subsistence was common
  • Green Revolution agricultural techniques based
    on hybrid crop strains and heavy use of
    industrial fertilizers and chemical pesticides
    has brought about tremendous change
  • Greatly increased agricultural yields in South
    Asia
  • Resulted in inequities poor farmers could not
    afford expensive inputs
  • Has led to rural-urban migration of former
    peasant farmers
  • Sprawling Slums
  • South Asian cities are massive and growing by the
    addition of slum settlements on the margins as
    well as the occupation of open-space or any
    suitable locations in the existing cities.
  • In India, slums are called Bustees and are home
    to millions.
  • Megacities include Bombay (16m), Delhi (11m),
    Calcutta (12m), Dhaka (8m), Karachi (7m)
    growing daily.

16
Life for millions in Bombay
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