Apart from its dynamic features of population size, growth, age, sex, density, distribution, labor force participation, migration and other factors, the main physical feature of the country are impressive. It has diverse climatic and ecological variations. The altitudinal variations, climate changes and precipitation are reported to be suitable for agricultural activities. The country is endowed with natural forest cover, water resources, including lakes, river basins, surface runoffs and ground water. According to Shibru and Kifle, most of the rivers are trans-boundary with more than 75 per cent of the annual surface run-off draining into neighboring countries.
Among the major natural resources of the country are water, minerals and natural gas. Water resources provide large potential for hydro-power generation, irrigation and fisheries. Mineral resources such as soda ash are also extracted from lakes. Water quality in urban areas is poor due to pollution from domestic and industrial wastes. The main non-renewable resources, even though limited, are minerals of which gold, rare minerals like potash, platinum, marble, phosphates. Included in this category are high quality coal, shale oil and iron, which are valuable. Natural gas and hydrothermal potential are also substantial.
Biological diversity and renewable resources in Ethiopia have various ecological settings, which have facilitated the evolution of various forms of lives. Shibru and Kifle record that the country is one of the twelve ecological centers of primary plant domestication in the world. It has a very high genetic diversity in four wheat, barley, sorghum and peas. It also has three of the world’s most important industrial crops of linseed, castor, and cotton. It is the home of coffee, which is the world’s most important cash crop. Teff and millet are food crops of regional or local importance in the country.
Ethiopia has a high level of endemic wild flora and fauna (plants and animals). Agriculture is the main economic activity, accounting for a substantial part of the GDP. The main products are teff, sorghum, barely, field peas, chick peas, nagger seed, linseed, enset, cotton and coffee. Small-holder farming is predominant, accounting for more than 90 percent of agricultural area and 95 percent of total area under crop. The high population has caused the unsustainable use of soil, water and forest resources.
The ever growing energy demand for domestic fuel has resulted in extensive use of crop residues and cow-dung for fuel. This practice breaches the nutrient cycle. Forest resources are also being depleted fast because of high demand for fuel wood and timber. More and more land is being deprived of its plant cover because of the ever increasing demand for crop land. The depletion of top soil has meant reduced water retention capacity of land, erosion of plant genetic resources and loss of habitat.
Development policies are designed to promote sustainable relationship between population, resources and the environment. The adoption of a National Population Policy that recognizes the linkages between population, environment and development, is a positive step towards sustainable development. Various environmental and developmental projects, programs and policies aim at environmental protection and improving the socio-economic and living conditions of the people.
Programs and projects are designed to stimulate changes in the environment and socio-economic conditions of the people. Most of them have had impacts beyond the environment and development spheres. They affect the lifestyle of the people and their demographic behavior as well. Such tendencies have led to an increasing concern on the link between environmental factors and population. In this case, it is necessary to examine the complementary relationship between the human and natural resources. Discussion of resource management is incomplete if the demographic behaviors are “not” closely examined.
N. Madulu describes the linkages between population, environment and development. This focuses on the general relationships between impacts of population on environment, affluence and technology. According to E. Ehrlich population is analyzed in terms of its absolute size, growth rate, and distribution. Its impact on affluence is usually measured as Gross National Product (GNP) per capita or person. Technological impact is analyzed in terms of pollution per unit of GNP. For the UN environmental impact is a “joint” element of population, affluence and technology.
The approach assumes that the people’s lifestyle, incomes and social organizations usually determine consumption patterns. For the UNFPA, the technologies in use determine the extent to which human activities “damage or sustain” the environment and the amount of waste associated with any level of consumption. Population determines how many persons there are and it acts as a “multiplier” that fixes the total impact. The factors of population, technology and environment compound each other for high impacts. In other words, for any given change in technology and consumption patterns, the more people there are, the greater is the overall impact on the environment.
The function of population, environment and technology yields insights about the impacts that population growth and distribution can have on the quality and quantity of critical natural resources. The greater the growth of population is the higher the exploitation of resources for human survival. The manner of exploitation could destroy available precious resources. Similarly, the distribution of population has an impact on the type of resource abuse. People may waste resources leading to shortages of basic goods and services needed by the individuals. These individuals may not behave rationally regarding the use of rare resources. Their exploitation affects both the quality and quantity of resources.
