GEOG2400 SPRING 2003 THE GEOGRAPHY OF WORLD DEVELOPMENT

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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
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South Asia a Sub-Continent
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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.

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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.

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Internal and International Unrest
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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.
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Inequality for the majority
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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).

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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.

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South Asian Monsoon
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Climate varies, Pakistan is the driest
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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.

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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

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South Asian Population
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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.

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Life for millions in Bombay