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Name: Zae12Mcmorrow
Unit 38-
Environ
mental
Health
Assignment- Exploring Environmental impact on human health and organisational
strategies to improve environmental change and human health.
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Introduction
This unit gives learners the opportunity to explore a wide range of ways in which human activities
can have an impact on the environment and the potential impact on human health of the factors
that result from it. Learners will also explore strategies that have been developed to reduce the
environmental impact of human activities, including legislation. Thus, this unit will be useful for
learners preparing to work in the health and social care field, as it will provide them with an
understanding of the health risks in the local and global environment that could impact themselves
and patients or consumers of their services.
In this part of my assignment, I'm going to go into detail and explain how human beings can damage
the environment. Starting with the environment, "the natural world, as a whole or in a particular
geographical area, especially as affected by human activity" (Google Dictionary, 2021), the
environment is both visible-water and invisible-air. Things that are needed for human survival in the
environment also affect the health of the individual psychologically and physically.
P1- Explain how human activity can damage the environment/ P2- Explain the effects of a
damaged environment on human health.
What is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity, the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms such as bacteria that
make up our natural world, are all the different kinds of life you will find in one area. In ecosystems,
each of these species and organisms work together, like an intricate network, to sustain equilibrium
and maintain life. All that we need to survive in nature is supported by biodiversity: food, clean
water, medicine, and shelter. (worldwildlife.org, 2021)
However, we risk disrupting the balance of ecosystems and losing biodiversity as humans put
growing pressure on the earth, using and consuming more resources than ever before. Since 1970,
(worldwildlife.org, 2021) WWF's 2018 Living Planet Study found an average 60 percent decrease in
global mammal, fish, bird, reptile, and amphibian populations. The Intergovernmental Forum on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services' ground-breaking Global Assessment Report for 2019 estimated
that one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, the largest number in
human history. Three quarters of the land-based environment and approximately 66% of the ocean
environment have been significantly altered. More than a third of the world's land area and nearly
75% of its freshwater resources are now used for crop or livestock production. (worldwildlife.org,
2021) Climate change is exacerbating the effect of other stressors on nature and our well-being.
Humans have overfished the oceans, cleared forests, polluted our
water supplies, and caused a climate crisis. These activities have an
impact on biodiversity around the world, from the most remote
places to our own backyards. (worldwildlife.org, 2021)
Urbanisation
Compared to rural areas, urbanisation means an increase in the
proportion of people living in urban areas. A built-up area such as a
town or city is an urban area. A rural region is a countryside area.
The number of people living in urban areas continues to rise as a
nation industrialises. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the UK
and many other MEDCs became urbanised. People have moved
from rural areas (due to agricultural mechanisation) to urban areas
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where new factories have been employed. During this period, the urban area known as the inner city
grew as rows of terraced housing were constructed for workers. (bbc.co.uk, 2021)
The United Kingdom today is a largely urban society, with 90% of the population living in cities or
towns. Urbanisation is occurring rapidly on a global scale, especially in LEDCs. While the United
Kingdom is an urban society, more and more people prefer to live on the outskirts of urban areas -
with many moving to the countryside. (bbc.co.uk, 2021) This is referred to as counter-urbanisation.
Poverty
The aims of the World Bank Community are to end global poverty and encourage mutual prosperity.
In more than 145 client nations, this mission underpins all of our scientific, organizational, and
convening work. Extreme poverty, the first of the world's Sustainable Development Goals, has
decreased gradually for almost 25 years. Today, the fight to
end poverty has suffered its greatest setback, for the first
time in a decade. For the first time in more than 20 years,
global extreme poverty is projected to increase in 2020 as
the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic compounds the
forces of violence and climate change that have already
hindered progress in poverty reduction. (worldbank.org,
2021)
Population Density
Population of density is the number of people residing in each area unit (such as a square mile): the
total number of inhabitants per square kilometre. It is a way of calculating the distribution of the
population and indicates whether a region is inhabited sparsely or densely. The population density is
estimated using the formula below:
Population density = total population ÷ total land area in km²
The population of the United Kingdom is unevenly distributed, with the population density varying
from 5,700 individuals per square kilometre across London to less than 50 individuals per square
kilometre in the UK's most rural local authorities. (ons.gov.uk, 2021) The population of the United
Kingdom increased by 0.5 per cent in the 12 months
to mid-2019, the slowest since mid-2004. In the year
to mid-2019, a combination of net international
migration declining by 44,000 since mid-2018 and
the lowest births since mid-2005 has meant that the
United Kingdom population has grown at its slowest
and lowest rate since mid-2004.
Overcrowding/ overpopulation
Overpopulation is associated with detrimental environmental and economic consequences ranging
from the effects of over-farming, deforestation, and water contamination to global warming and
eutrophication. While many positive steps are being taken to help guarantee the survival of human
beings on our planet, the issue of having so many humans on earth, has made it more difficult to find
lasting solutions. The term overpopulation is used to describe a condition in which there is a
population so high in the world or nation that the people there suffer as a consequence. In other
words, the population exceeds the carrying capacity of the country or planet—the number of
humans, other living organisms or crops that can be sustained without the destruction of the
