Running head: REDUCING OVERPOPULATION 1

Actions that Should be Taken to Reduce Overpopulation

Name

Institutional Affiliation
REDUCING OVERPOPULATION 2

Actions that Should be Taken to Reduce Overpopulation

A country becomes overpopulated when it contains too many people for the available

resources. Overpopulation is more prevalent in developing than developed countries. In other

words, nations fail to develop properly due to overpopulation. According to O’Donnel (2018),

overpopulation increases a nation’s poverty, impacts the environment, and leads to frequent

international conflicts. Therefore, it’s essential for a country to regulate its population through

humane ways. For instance, adopting one-child policy and increasing access to contraceptives

are ways of reducing overpopulation.

The adoption of one-child legislative program has proven to be an effective way of

reducing overpopulation. One-child legislative system allows every couple to reproduce only

one child with a laid down penalty for those who deviate from the custom. Evidently, one-child

policy reduced China’s fertility from six births per woman in 1960s to 1.5 in the year 2014

(Positive News, 2017). This policy compels parents to seek measures, such as family planning,

of enjoying sex without procreating. Therefore, by adopting one-child policy, most couples

restrain from procreating more children, thus limiting the number of people in a country.

Moreover, a country can reduce overpopulation by increasing its citizens’ access to

contraceptives. Many unplanned pregnancies happen across the universe due to lack of women

and men’s access to contraceptives (O’Donnel, 2018). In other words, people should be

sensitized about the use of contraceptives for the rate of unwanted pregnancies to reduce. A

country should avail such contraceptives to health centers for free or at subsidized costs for all

couples to use. Without this measure, most families experience unwanted pregnancies, a

situation that skyrockets a nation’s population. Therefore, access to contraceptives is a sure way

for a country’s management of overpopulation menace.

REDUCING OVERPOPULATION 3

In a nutshell, a country can manage the problem of overpopulation by using humane

ways. One-child legislative policy is a sure way that reduces overpopulation in a nation.

Moreover, increasing access to contraceptives reduces the cases of unwanted pregnancies, thus

reducing overpopulation.
REDUCING OVERPOPULATION 4

References

O’Donnel, J. (2018). 5 realistic overpopulation solutions we need to implement. Retrieved from

https://www.conservationinstitute.org/5-overpopulation-solutions/

Positive News. (2017). 5 possible solutions to overpopulation. Retrieved from

https://www.positive.news/society/5-possible-solutions-overpopulation/