ABSTRACT
The human population of the world has recorded an explosive increase from a mere 2.4 million in 10000 BCE to the present 7.78 billion. An explosive population growth has occurred since about 1925, with China and India emerging as the two most populous countries of the world. Such a spectacular growth of human population has had tremendous adverse impacts on the environment as well as human health and welfare. It has contributed to deforestation, pollution, and other problems and poses a serious challenge to mankind. The carbon footprints of different countries measured by their greenhouse gas emissions have increased to reach unsustainable levels. At the same time, various developmental projects executed to meet the growing requirements of an increasing population have rendered many people homeless, thereby requiring their resettlement and rehabilitation. The burgeoning human population has also resulted in the exposure of a large number of people to various natural disasters such as floods, landslides, cyclones, and other calamities. Various disaster management frameworks have been evolved at the international level and adopted to meet country- or region-specific requirements in response to the challenges posed by natural disasters. The interactions of human communities with the environment have also raised ethical questions which have been addressed by many environmental thinkers and philosophers. Environmental communication can play a meaningful role in making human communities adopt a more balanced and harmonious attitude towards the environment.
