POPULATION RESOURCE REGION BY ACKERMAN 

Human population is itself is a resource that plays key role in the discovery, exploitation and management of different natural resources. The level of resource utilization determines the level of economic development and the carrying capacity of the land. “Today approx. 54 % of the world population are urban, as per UN report by 2050 it is expected to reach 66%. Around a third of the urban population survive in slums and by 2030 the number of slums dwellers could be double. One fourth of the world population will be over 60 years old excluding Africa continent. Around 65% older population live in developing countries today it will likely to reach 80% by 2050, UN Repor,2015”.

Population refers to the total population of a country or region, and resource is a subject that human society attaches value to because of its necessity. Population growth and decline due to the strong link between population and resource affect the availability of resources while the availability of resource affects the economic position of the population. So, Human resources are both the ends to which the effort is directed and the means by which it is carried out.

Population and resource region Ackerman’s system of population resources regions adopted here must not be regarded as the ultimate tool in analysing population-resource nexus but only as a promising beginning. “Ackerman used three basic criteria for devising the world’s regional scheme of population-resource ratio.

These include: 

A. Population factor : Population factor is concerned with the magnitude and density of population. 

B. Resource factor: The available resources in a territory include all the physical and human elements which are any how fulfill the human needs.

 C. Technology factor: Technology is concerned with the practical arts or practical science. It is the systematic application of scientific knowledge to industrial process or in solving the problems arising from the interaction of people with their environment. 

“Ackerman while using the three factors of population, resource and technology put greater emphasis upon the technology, ibid (2005)”. Therefore, Ackerman “categorised the following five broad population-resource region of world. 
A. Technology source areas of low population-resource ratio or the United States type 
B. Technology source areas of high population-resource ration or the European type
C. Technology deficient areas of low population-resource ratio or the Brazilian type 
D. Technology deficient areas of high population-resource ratio or the China or Egyptian type and
 E. Technology deficient areas possessing a few food producing resources or the Arctic desert type, Ackerman(1967)”.

1. United States Type: 

 Low population / resource rationed and technologically advanced region is home to about one-sixth of the world's population. 

 These regions are the most developed regions in the world, where people enjoy the best quality of life in the world. 

 The population-resource ratio of these regions is low. 

 These regions have witnessed rapid development in the last one to two hundred years, as most of the regions at that time were Brazilian type of fatigue and they immediately received a lot of immigration from the technologically advanced society. 

 The number of local inhabitants in this type of territory was low, and technically they were very backward, so they left quickly against migrants. 

 These lands are full of existing and potential natural resources and its immense use as well as technical assistance has provided very high growth and prosperity to the people of the region.

  Physical contrast resources in the region, the population pressure is very low and so the people of the region are always striving for the application of higher technology. That is, the excess of a person with technical knowledge. 

 This type occupies an area of about two million square kilometers of the earth. Where population density is 32 persons per sq.km..

  The people of this region have gradually mastered the technology and now these regions are so advanced in technology that they now often export them. 

 The prosperity, resources and technical knowledge of these regions have provided an unprecedented advantage in the international arena in dealing with things that are favorable to the people of these regions. 

 Countries are quite large in size.

  The people of these regions use not only their own land but also the resources of other regions. 

 Countries have reached the final stage of enjoyment. 

 The over-materialistic attitude of the people of this region has done a lot of damage to nature which is unfortunate. 

 Perhaps the people of these regions are at the beginning of development using current technological knowledge and which has widened the gap between the next group so much that no country seems to be e joining this group in the near future. 

 Countries: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa, and Russ federation Parts of East & Medial Russia etc.

2. European Type: 

 It is the source region for extensive housing-relocation to new lands developed after the type in the United States. This region is home to one-sixth of the world's population.

  Here again technology is very advanced, but high population and limited physical resources have created high population pressure. 

 In this category, high quality of life is maintained through constant technical upgrades, resource conservation and recycling along with technical exports, technical knowledge and export of finished goods. 

 These regions have high population/resource ratios. 

 The region has a beautiful relationship between population, technological development and resource carrying capacity. 

 Countries are relatively small in size.

  Here density of population above 350 persons per sq. km.

 The regions are known as elite regions.

  The resources of this region are limited. 

 The prosperity of these regions depends on the international exchange of technology and goods. 

 These regions have larger populations than the United States. 

 Countries make full use of local resources. So the prosperity of the region depends on advance technology, efficient resource utilization and conservation, and international trade and services.

  Countries: The most of countries of Western, Southern and Eastern Europe and Soviet Central Asian republics, Singapore, South Korea and Japan belongs to this group.

3. China or Egyptian Type: 

 The population-resource ratio of these regions is high. One-half of the world's population lives in this region. 

 This region is the least committed of all the divisions. 

 Poor technology and overpopulation in this region has put a lot of pressure on physical resources. 

 High population density. 

 There is less industrialization in this region, agriculture which is the mainstay of the economy is in a dilapidated condition and high population is expanding at a high rate.  The settlements here are confined to fertile valleys. 

 Social problems like poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, illiteracy etc. are very common in this region. 

 The mainstay of the economy of the region is agriculture and most of the agricultural lands produce food grains.

  The area of agricultural land is more.

  Scientific application in agriculture is less so production is less. 

 Natural resources and capital are limited. Development of technical knowledge is low. 

 The level of social development is low. 

 A large section of the public is uneducated and superstitious. 

 Rapid population growth in the region is probably the single biggest problem that, if controlled, is likely to lead to European-type prosperity in the region. 

 The regions are relatively large in size. 

 Here population density is above 100 per sq.km. 

 It is a transition between the European type and the Brazilian type. 

 Countries: Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Albania, Greece, Haiti, Cicely, Guatemala, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal,

4. Brazilian Type: 

 These regions have low population-resource ratios. One-sixth of the world's population lives in this region. 

 Population pressure on physical resource is low in these regions, which is virtually an indicator of location at a transition stage and hence there is high commitment in these areas. They have adequate physical resources but their technologies are weak and so the nature of their prosperity is average. 

 Population is low so population pressure on resources is also low. 

 If the people of this region adopt or develop good technology, adequate social overhead capital, etc., their resource exploitation skills will expand and this will lead them to higher prosperity like the European type. 

 The ratio of resources to technology and population is low. 

 If these regions only have population expansion and not technology and population quality, then this national territory could fall into the category of China-type inferiority. 

 heir present status is a transient one. 

 Here population density is below 40 persons per sq.km.

  Countries: Indochina, Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, Paraguay, interior Argentina, Central American Republics, Latin America , Cuba, north Australian territory, Equatorial Africa, etc.

5. Arctic – Desert Type: 

 Basically the most desolate ice caps, tundra’s and deserts regions of the technology-deficient world offer little food production potential at the moment. 

 Due to lack of technological maturity it is the land of the future with many unexplored resources.  This area is either uninhabited or very few people live here. 

 Land efficiency in this region is low due to natural adversity. 

 The residents here have to procure the necessary goods from other countries. 

 These areas are less populated. 

 The region is rich in various industrial raw materials such as mineral oils, ores, fur, and marine animals. 

 Thus technological advances may invite more human intervention in the region in future unfavorable geo-environmental conditions. 

 Countries: Covers the Antarctica, Greenland, northern part of North America and Eurasia, Desert region of Peru, the Amazon basin, the Sahara desert, deserts of Central Australia, Central Asia, Chile, Patagonia, etc.

Reference: http://www.bhattadevuniversity.ac.in/docs/studyMaterial

/Dr.BharatiGogoi_Geography/PG_2 _Sem_Population_Resource_Regions.pdf 

https://old.amu.ac.in/emp/studym/100001676.pdf http://ags.geography.du.ac.in/Study%20Materials_files/Anupama%20Hasija_SBSCe.pdf