Maldives Vs. New Caledonia Human Population And Its Effect On The Environment By Gregory Haidinger APES Conlan 7

Location New Caledonia: - Eastern Australia -South Pacific Ocean S, E Maldives: - Southern Asia - Indian Ocean N, E

Population Demographics MaldivesNew Caledonia - Population: 395,650 (July, 2010) - Growth Rate: % Births/1000 People Deaths/1000 People Emigrate/1000 People* - Total Fertility Rate: 1.83 Children - Life Expectancy: Years -Mortality: Deaths/1000 Births - Literacy: 93.8% - 38% Urbanized - Population: 252,352 (July, 2010) - Growth Rate: 1.56% Births/1000 People Deaths/1000 People Migrate/1000 People - Total Fertility Rate: 2.09 Children - Life Expectancy: Years - Mortality: 5.8 Deaths/1000 Births - Literacy: 96.2% - 65% Urbanized *Note: The country has a negative population growth rate due to its high emigration rate, which is a result of overcrowded living and land area, increasing water levels, and other environmental issues such as tsunamis.

Population Growth Rates Graph Population Growth Graph

Population Age Structures 2010 Maldives New Caledonia Although the age group’s of both countries are very disproportionate to the rest of their population, New Caledonia’s age groups are a little bit more evenly spread out, as seen by the proportionately higher 0-14 and 65+ age groups in its bar graphs.

Population Age Structure Graphs The Maldives appear to have a larger population from 0-14 years old than New Caledonia. New Caledonia has a more constant population between the different age groups.

Maldives’ Effect On The Environment Tourism:Fishing: - Tourism and fishing make up the Maldives’ biggest industries - Largest industry - Generates around 28% of the GDP - 100,000 tourists come each year - Of the approximate 1,190 total islands that form the Maldives, 90 of the 200 that are inhabited by people are used for resorts - Brings pollution and degradation - 2nd largest industry - Due to low altitude islands, there is no farming, thus fishing is very important - 99% of the Maldives area is water, which calls for a huge fishing industry - Fishing is becoming more challenging due to pollution, coral mining, and over fishing

- Due to a global population increase, there comes much more resource consumption and gaseous emissions into the atmosphere as seen in for instance New Caledonia. The Maldives on the other hand suffer from the global environmental impacts, like increased Carbon Dioxide emissions. The Maldives play a very small role in emitting CO 2 as they only contribute about 0.001% of global emissions. With more gases like these being released into the atmosphere, temperatures rise and global warming occurs. This melts icecaps and increases water levels. Approximately 80% of the Maldives islands lay only 1 meter above sea level, thus sea rise is a huge threat, along with storms and tsunamis. A 6 foot increase of sea level will cover the entire strand of islands, completely ceasing their existence. It will slowly deteriorate the country’s GDP to an end and also diminish the various tropical native plant and animal species of the islands. This is one of the reasons why the country has a negative population growth rate; because almost as many that are born are emigrating to some nearby country that does not have this major problem. Efforts have been made including building taller islands and sea walls, however it will not in the end protect the Maldives; the increasing human population will and must now. The Maldives were the first to sign the Kyoto Protocol, which reduces CO 2 emissions, and are desperate because the islands could easily be gone within the century. The globally expanding population will turn the Maldives into a paradise lost.

New Caledonia’s Effect On The Environment Nickel Mining: - Largest industry of the country - Accounts for around 25% of the worlds nickel resources - One of the largest nickel deposits - Brings deforestation, degradation, pollution, siltation of streams, and erosion over the mines - Increasing C0 2 emissions Other Impacts: - Hunting, logging, and bush fires are prevalent and degrade the environment - Introduction of pigs, cats, deer, rats, and other alien species has greatly degraded and ruined ecosystems, and various species of plants and animals - Of its 18,500 square km area, only 5,000 square km of its pristine habitat is left With an increasing population in New Caledonia, these impacts will only rise due to more resource use, greed, and exploitation of the land. They will also increase to the previously mentioned issues that the Maldives are facing, including global rises in sea level.

Works Consulted