One Planet – Too Many People

1. One Planet – Too Many People Physical Fundamentals of Global Change Processes 19. December 2006

2. Table of Content • World Population • People and Planet – Human Influence on the Planet • Human Impacts on the Planet • Water (Aral Sea, Kazakhstan) • Forests (Lappi, Finland)

3. World Population „World Population is the number of people alive on the earth at any given point in time.“ • 2000  6 000 million individuals • 2006  6 555 million individuals • 2015  7 200 million individuals • 98% of population increase in less developed regions of the world • Africa will experience the most rapid rate of growth Source: UNEP

4. World Population World Population density (person/ km²) 8.3 231 333 65 2.6 Source: WIKIPEDIA

5. Human Influences The overall impact that humans have on the global environment is proportional to the number of people on earth and the average influence of each individual Source: UNEP

6. Human Impacts on the Planet • logging and land use conversion have reduced forest cover by at least 20 % • nearly 70 % of the world‘s major marine fish stock are over fished or being fished at the biological limit • an estimated 27 000 species disappear from the planet each year • soil degradation has affected 2/3 of the world‘s agricultural land • half of the world‘s wetlands were lost during the last century • mass extinction caused by human activities like transforming the landscape, overexploiting species, pollution Earth’s Shrinking Biosphere 1900-2000 [Land Area hectare per capita] Source: UNEP

7. Human Impacts - Water Facts • of total world water, 97.5% is salty water and only 2.5% is freshwater of which useable freshwater accounts for about 0.5% • of the 0.5% useable freshwater, irrigation accounts for 70%, industry 20% and household 10% • Demand for and use of freshwater has tripled over the past half century, as world population has grown from 2.5 to 6.55 billion people • experts predict that by 2025 global water needs will increase with 40% more required for cities and 20% for growing crops • over the next 20 years, average water supply per person is estimated to drop by a third, endangering human health, agriculture and the environment Source: UNEP

8. Aral Sea, Kazakhstan

9. Aral Sea, Kazakhstan

10. Aral Sea, Kazakhstan position: Asia countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan area: 33.600 km² volume of water: appr. 117 km³ water level: 37 m over normally zero max. depth: 34 m supplies: Amu-Darja, Syr-Darja discharge: is situated in a basin Salt concentration: 78 g/l (1960 9g/l)

11. Aral Sea, Kazakhstan Climate temperature January -13°C June/ July 26°C precipitation January 9 mm June/ July 10 mm

12. Aral Sea, Kazakhstan Discharge formation in the aral sea basin after states (km³)

13. Aral Sea, Kazakhstan Use of the water resources in the aral sea basin 1980-1999 in Mio. m³

14. Aral Sea, Kazakhstan Images show death of the world’s fourth largest inland sea • 1973: The surface of the sea once measured 66 100 km² • 1987: 60% of the volume had been lost • 1999-2004: The sea is now quarter of the size it was 50 years ago Source: UNEP

15. Aral Sea, Kazakhstan • withdrawal of the basic living conditions • high unemployment rate • insufficient supply with drinking water and food • contamination of drinking water and food • insufficient public health care und medical aid • very high illness rates (infectious disease and cancer) • appr. 70% of all mothers suffer anaemia • deformity of children • high infant mortality rate • Conflicts between the countries

16. 1900 3.18 1950 1.85 1960 1.45 1970 1.17 1980 0.97 1990 0.82 2000 0.64 Human Impacts - Forest Facts Earth’s shrinking forestland (ha per capita) 1900-2000 Source: UNEP

17. Forest Facts • forests cover almost 1/3 of the earth's land surface; • the global area of forest systems has been reduced by 1/2 over the past three centuries • worldwide, the total forest area in 2005 is just under 4 billion hectares; the rate of deforestation is about 13 million hectares per year • tropical forests are home to about 50% of all plant and animal species on the planet • approximately 1.5 billion tonnes of wood is harvested for fuel annually worldwide • forests are among the most notable storehouses of biological diversity on the land – 2/3 of known terrestrial species Source: UNEP

18. Lappi, Finland

19. Lappi, Finland area: 98 937 km² (94% land area; 6% lakes & rivers) population: 203 000 persons population density: 2.2 person/km² Homeland of Northern Europe’s only indigenous people, the Sámi

20. Lappi, Finland Images show results of logging in the northeastern areas of the country The patches of tan in the 2002 image signify clearcut areas

21. Lappi, Finland • Loss of biomass and biodiversity • Loss as a sources of food, fuel, construction material, fibers • Loss of water and air filtration, carbon sequestration, soil stabilization and tourism • Loss of a basic living condition for Sami people • Loss of tradition

22. Sources UNEP-Atlas Malmström, Vincent H.: Lappland: Nothern Europe‘s Strategic Problem Area Greenpeace: Lappland: State of a conflict, March 2005 www.unu.edu/unupress/unubooks/uu18ce/uu18ce00.htm

23. Thank you for your attention and a merry christmas!

24. Comments for Manja Kämperfrom Manfred Stock • To be finished .....