Effects of informal settlement on the surrounding environment at Majengo Slums, Narok County

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF ACCRONYMS

DEFINITION OF OPERATIONAL TERMS

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Research Objectives
1.3.1 General Objectives
1.3.2 Specific Objectives
1.4 Specific Objectives
1.5 Significance of the Study
1.6 Limitations of the Study
1.7 Scope of the Study

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Empirical Review
2.2.1 Causes of Informal Settlement
2.2.2 Effects of Informal Settlement on the Environment
2.3 Theoretical Review
2.3.1 The Malthusian Theory on Population Growth
2.3.2 The Optimum Theory
2.3.3 Theory of Demographic Transition
2.4 Research Gap
2.5 Conceptual Framework

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Study Area
3.3 Research Design
3.4 Study Population
3.5 Sample Population
3.6 Sampling Procedures
3.7 Data Collection Methods

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYISIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Response Rate
4.3 General Information
4.3.1 Gender of the Respondents
4.3.2 Marital Status
4.3.3 Age Bracket of the Respondents
4.3.4 Level of Education
4.4 Effects of Informal Settlement on the Surrounding Environment in Majengo Slums
4.4.1 Extent of Informal Settlements
4.4.2 Causes of Informal Settlement
4.4.3 Effects of Informal Settlement on the Environment
4.4.4 Policy Measures to Reduce Informal Settlements

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary of Findings
5.3 Conclusion
5.4 Recommendation
5.5 Suggestions for Further

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE

DEDICATION

It’s with great pleasure that I dedicate this research to my lovely Mom Mary Wangui and Dad Benson Nyoro her great support throughout my academic life up to this juncture and her sacrifice to ensure that I get proper education. Moreover, am grateful to my brother Jimben Karanja and classmates for the motivation, moral and material support they offered me towards the completion of this research project.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This academic achievement would not be possible without the grace of God. Am also grateful to my Mom Mary Wangui and Dad Benson Nyoro for the support they gave me. Thirdly, I would like to acknowledge my supervisor Ms Diana Atieno for the time she dedicated to ensure that all errors were corrected and the guidance she gave me towards successful completion of this project despite his busy schedule. Finally, my delight goes to my classmates.

ABSTRACT

People residing in informal settlements face challenges of service delivery. This is mainly due to the fact that land was occupied illegally, thus impacting negatively on the environment. It was in the background of the above problem, that this study sought to establish the influence of informal settlement on the surrounding environment. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: To establish the extent of informal settlement in Majengo Slums, Narok County, to find out the causes of informal settlement in Majengo Slums, Narok County, to assess the effects of informal settlement on the environment in Majengo Slums, Narok County and to determine the policy measures to reduce informal settlements in Majengo Slums, Narok County. The study will be of great value to the government in the formulation of policies and strategies for controlling informal settlement and in addition researchers and scholars will use the study to provide the basis of future studies. To provide the basis of the study findings, the researcher relied on the following theories: Malthusian Theory of Population Growth, The Optimum Theory and Theory of Demographic Transition. Data was collected using questionnaires and guides from 96 household heads obtained through cluster sampling in Majengo Slum and 5 key informants purposively selected. It was then analyzed using Microsoft Excel Package presented in tables percentages. The study found out that 40.4% majorly agreed with the various causes of the informal settlement, further 42.8% of the settlers in Majengo, agreed with various causes of the informal settlement. The study also determined that averagely 55% of the Majengo settlers agreed with the various measures of curbing informal settlement. Finally, on the effect of informal settlement, it was determined that 43.2% of the Majengo settlers strongly agreed with these statements. The study recommended the inclusion zoning, land readjustment and expropriation as some of the strategies and policies required by the government to reduce informal settlement in Majengo Slum.

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4. 1: Response Rate

Table 4. 2: Gender of the Respondents

Table 4. 3: Marital Status

Table 4. 4: Age Bracket of the Respondents

Table 4. 5: Level of Education

Table 4. 6: Extent of Informal Settlements

Table 4. 7: Causes of Informal Settlement

Table 4. 8: Effect of Informal Settlement on the Environment

Table 4. 9: Policy Measures to Reduce Informal Settlement

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2. 1: Conceptual Framework

Figure 4. 1: Extent of Informal Settlement

Figure 4. 2: Causes of Informal Settlement

Figure 4. 3: Effect of Informal Settlement on the Environment

LIST OF ACCRONYMS

ILO: International Labour Organization Non-Governmental

NGO: Organization United Nations

UN: United Nations

UNEP: United Nations Environmental Program

UNPD: United Nations Population Division

DEFINITION OF OPERATIONAL TERMS

Industrialization: It is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one.

Population Growth: The relative extent of size of the population or number of people in an area compared to the recommended optimum size.

Poverty: It is the lack of basic human needs such as clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter because of the inability to afford them.

Unemployment: This refers to the state of being without a job or income generating activity in spite of being willing to work. In this study this will refer to the levels of joblessness in the community.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY

1.1 Introduction

The world state of settlements shows that more than 50 percent of people live in informal settlement especially in cities of developing countries with the expanding population due to rural-urban migration and natural birth rate (UN-Habitat, 2015). African countries are facing serious situation of informal settlements, about 70 percent of the African population is living in informal settlements (Masika. de Haan & Baden, 2017). As continuing economic hardship forces a growing number of migrants to urban areas in search of employment and better life, an even greater strain is placed on urban pressure points like housing. This has led to the development of informal settlement in the urban environment (Peters, 2018).

Informal settlement has been defined in various ways depending on the planning and legal framework of a country where it exists. For the purposes of this discussion, informal settlements are defined as residential buildings built on “planned” and “unplanned” areas which do not have formal planning approval. They are characterized mostly by the low-quality houses and the lack of, or inadequate infrastructure and social services. Informal Settlement (IS) has been perceived both as a problem and solution to housing needs in speedily growing cities of many developing countries. (Srivinas 2015; Todaro 2014).

Globally, the research on informal settlement tends to focus overwhelmingly in developing countries ignoring and downplaying entirely the presence of informality in developed countries (Dust & Wegmann, 2017). In the United States for instance, there has been a longstanding and widespread tradition of informal housing exists in the country but is typically disregarded by scholars. IS in the country has been focusing in particular on five institutions that govern housing market activity in the country: property rights law, property transfer law, land‐use and zoning, subdivision regulations, and building codes (Dust & Wegmann, 2017).

In the Latin America, studies have indicated that indicated that between 2014 and 2016 nearly 150,000 people were evicted from in 15 Latin American countries, with the largest numbers in Brazil (70,637), Peru (42,728), Mexico (10,374), and Venezuela (6,848) (COHRE 2016). Informal urban settlements, which have long characterized the urbanization process in Latin America, expanded dramatically during the 1970s and 1980s. By the 1990s, large South American cities housed from 25% to over 50% of their inhabitants in informal settlements (Portes & Walton, 2011).

In Europe, there are more than 20 countries in the region with informal settlement and it affects the lives of over 50 million people. The critical factors affecting the formation of informal settlements are related to several major interrelated changes: rapid urbanization and influx of people into select urban areas; wars, natural disasters and earthquakes leading to massive movement of people to places of opportunity and safety and poverty and the lack of low-cost housing and serviced land (ECE, 2018). Vienna Declaration (2014) opined that the informal settlements in South Eastern Europe identifies the issue as a priority and invites policies to legalize and improve informal settlements in a sustainable way. It argues that the prevention of future settlements formation is critical through sustainable urban management, principles of good governance, and capacity building.

According to unofficial data, total housing in urban China amounts to 18.6 billion m², of which 6.6 billion m² are IS (Sina, 2019). Shenzhen is regarded as the city with the highest ratio of IS in China, accounting for 49.27% of its total housing in 2010 (Peoplenet, 2012). Although the phenomenon of IS has only become widely recognized in China in recent years, it has been common practice for a long span in many other developing countries. Globally, between 30% and 50% of residents in urban areas lack legal security of tenure (UN-Habitat, 2016). More than one billion people live in informal settlements, and this number is estimated to grow to 1.4 billion by 2020 (UN-Habitat, 2013).

In India, the periods of 2000 to 2013, 51461 houses were destroyed in Delhi under "slum clearance" plans. From 2014 to 2017 alone around 45000 homes were destroyed. Less than 25% of the family units removed after 2017 got any elective resettlement location. Pushta was the first loss in a progression of casual settlement eviction. Pushta was a settlement site on the banks of the Yamuna River, comprised around 35000 families-in excess of 150000 individuals. In February on April 2014, more than 24 hour long operation including many outfitted cops and Bulldozer teams, every one of the homes and community housing in Pushta were flattened to the ground (Bhan, 2019).

In African continent is rich in its diversity of forms of informal settlement. Sub- Saharan Africa particularly has the highest percentage of people living in situations of poverty (UNCHS, 2011). In South Africa for instance, number of data sources and surveys, and an estimated figure of the number of households living in shacks in informal settlements was provided as 1.2 million (Housing Development Agency, 2012). The report further showed that 23% of households living in informal settlements comprise a single individual; however, there are also many larger households, and 38% of households comprise four or more persons. Futher it was determined that over one third of those living in informal settlements are under the age of 18 years, and over 50 percent of households living in shacks in informal settlements comprise one or more children (Housing Development Agency, 2012).

In Nigeria, there are well over 200 informal settlements in Lagos (Oduwaye and Olajide, 2010), 143 in Ibadan (Wahab, 2013), 15 in Abuja, 10 in Port-Harcourt and 26 in Jos, among others. Between 2009 and 2013, the slums in Ibadan increased from 72 to 143 (almost 100% increase) giving an average of 18 slums per year. But the informal settlements are not peculiar to Nigeria, as they are a common phenomenon in Africa and in many other developing countries. It is in recognition of the great contributions which the residents of informal settlements make to the socio-economic, physical, political and cultural growth and development of states and the need to improve the conditions of these settlements to enable them to provide a healthier and wholesome environment for living, working and recreation that the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) decided to conduct the 2017 (Wahab, 2017).

Closer home, Tanzania is one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa within which the highest proportion of its urban population lives in informal settlements. The proportion ranges between 50 to 80% and the informal housing shares more than 50% of the whole urban housing stock. Informal settlements have covered most of the urban landscape, and have been proliferating both in terms of density and expansion. It can also be recalled that in Dar es Salaam, for instance, the number of informal settlements increased from 40 in 1985 to over 150 in 2003, which tripled while the population nearly doubled in the specified time span (Kombe, 2015).

Locally, in Kenya the largest slum in Sub-Saharan Africa is Kibera, Kenya just outside Nairobi. 1 out of every 5 Nairobians lives in Kibera, and the estimated population density is 750,000 people per square mile. (Affordable Housing Institute,2011). Urbanization continues in Kenya and it is estimated that by 2015 urban dwellers will constitute over 50 percent of the total population. Existing figures are compelling evidence demonstrating the dire situation in many of Kenya’s cities and towns.

Depending on the city, 60-80% of Kenya’s urban population lives in slums that are characterized by lack of access to water and sanitation, insecure tenure, lack of adequate housing, poor environmental conditions, and high crime rates. For instance, in Narok Town a, about 40 percent of the population lives in slums that occupies only 5 percent of the total land area and the growth of Narok’s slums is unprecedented; the population living in slums is expected to double within the next 15 years. Indeed these figures present the grim realities facing the city and they provide a justification for various slum upgrading initiatives in the country that are aimed at improving the living conditions in Kenya’s slums.

Slums like Majengo in Narok County have been notoriously difficult to measure because they often serve as a conduit for people shifting from the countryside to the town. A large population of the towns’s population lives in over 10 slums and settlements like Majengo within the town, with little or inadequate access to safe water and sanitation. Most of the land in these slums is actually owned by the government hence those who occupy it are squatters on it. However, even though the land is not owned by the inhabitants legally, they take ownership of its structures, which are bought sold and rented just as in every other neighborhood in the town.

The homes, most of which are just shacks are made of mud, plastered over sticks and boards or made from mabati (corrugated iron sheets). Few, if any, are plastered over with cement. The roofs are all made from mabati (corrugated iron), which, looking out over the top of the area, gives it a great rusted checkerboard appearance. Some of the homes are divided into two rooms, often by a sheet, each room approximately 8 feet by 8 feet. Each home may house anywhere from two to a dozen people. The paths leading through the homes are narrow, so narrow in places that you can actually touch the buildings on both sides of the path if you stretch out your arms. Many of the pathways are divided right down the middle by smelly ditches which help drain both rain and waste water away. After any amount of rain, the paths and walkways become muddy and slippery, rendering them almost impassable.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

People residing in informal settlements face challenges of service delivery. This is mainly due to the fact that land was occupied illegally, thus impacting negatively on the environment. A lack of basic needs and services leads to informal settlements having impacts on the environment. These impacts include inadequate sanitation, which leads occupants to pollution, the use of coal and biomass fuel for lighting, causing air pollution which in turn contributing to the emission of greenhouse gases (Napier, 2017). Waste removal is an issue with which informal settlers struggle. Inadequate waste removal causes land pollution and emerging and re-emerging infectious disease hazards (Napier, 2017).

Due to poverty, lack of basic services and job opportunities, people are immigrating to the city from rural areas in search of better opportunities to sustain their livelihoods. This means undesirable urbanisation which is driven less by economic growth and more by rural-urban migration of the poor and the jobless (Sexwale, 2013). This results in people settling informally and impacting on the environment which informal settlers occupy by walking on grass as there are no demarcated foot paths. This causes soil erosion and land degradation. Secondly, people do their washing in rivers and pollute rivers by throwing their waste in and around such water sources. There is a lack of waste management, so land pollution is the end factor as informal settlers are not registered and do not pay for waste management services (Herero, 2018).

Debate on informal settlements has been a centre of concern for many researchers mostly addressing issues related to the adequate provision of public infrastructure in informal settlements (United Nations-Habitat, 2016). In their findings, researchers have linked the problems of informal settlements with inadequate provision of public infrastructures, including water supply and sewage systems (Srivves, 2010 ; World Bank, 2010). It is in the backdrop of these research gaps and existing problems, that influenced the researcher to examine the effects of informal settlement on the surrounding environment in Majengo Slums, Narok County.

1.3 Research Objectives

1.3.1 General Objectives

The main purpose of this study was to establish the effects of informal settlement on the surrounding environment in Majengo Slums, Narok County.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

The study will be guided by the following specific objectives:

i. To establish the extent of informal settlement in Majengo Slums, Narok County.
ii. To find out the causes of informal settlement in Majengo Slums, Narok County
iii. To assess the effects of informal settlement on the environment in Majengo Slums, Narok County
iv. To determine the policy measures to reduce informal settlements in Majengo Slums, Narok County.

1.4 Specific Objectives

i. What is the extent of informal settlement in Majengo Slums, Narok County?
ii. What are the causes of informal settlement in Majengo Slums, Narok County
iii. How does informal settlement affect the environment in Majengo Slums, Narok County?
iv. What are policy measures taken to reduce informal settlements in Majengo Slums, Narok County?

1.5 Significance of the Study

The research findings are expected to contribute to a better settlement in Narok County. The study will be useful to the following groups: The report will aid the government in formulation of policies and especially related to water supply and sanitation to the poor. The findings of this study will also be invaluable to the Narok County Government as it will be able to understand vividly the factors that affect the performance of the Narok County Government. The recommendations given in the study will help the Narok County Government as by equipping them with adequate tools to get the solutions to the problems posed by the identified factors; it will also help the company’s management in laying the base for their long term strategic positioning and ensure the company’s long-term survival. The development partners who are usually interested at helping the Narok County Government as prosper will have an understanding of a wide variety of factors that affect the Informal Settlement Department at Narok County Government as. Equipped with the right information, they will be able to know how best to come in and help the Narok County Government. The investors can use the report to carry out preliminary studies and due diligence before setting up informal settlement projects. The scholars and researchers who would like to debate or carry out more studies on Informal Settlement Department at Narok County Government as will find this study useful as a basis of carrying out more studies in Kenya.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

The major limitation of this study was the issue of availability of time. This was overcome by distributing and filling in questionnaires during weekends when the respondents and the researcher were off duty from work.

Another limitation was to establish boundaries of the villages in the slum. This was overcome by requesting community leaders to help in showing the boundaries. There were also limitations in obtaining data from the respondents, who thought that the information collected would be used to evict them from the slum area. This was however overcome by assuring them that the research was purely academic and that the information they provided would not be used against them.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This study focused on the effects of informal settlement on the surrounding environment in Majengo Slums, Narok County, where the following three objectives will be used: To establish the extent of informal settlement in Majengo Slums, Narok County, to find out the causes of informal settlement in Majengo Slums, Narok County, to assess the effects of informal settlement on the environment in Majengo Slums, Narok County and to determine the policy measures to reduce informal settlements in Majengo Slums, Narok County. The study will be carried out in Majengo Slums the largest slum in the county, where structured questionnaires will be used as the data collection instrument.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter rod on various studies that have been undertaken by different authors on issues related to informal settlements and environmental management. Basically, the study focused on the theoretical and empirical literature review, conceptual framework as well as a research gap.

2.2 Empirical Review

This part presents the information on various studies in respect to causes of informal settlement, effects of informal settlement on the environment and policy measures to curb informal environment.

2.2.1 Causes of Informal Settlement

Ali, Salim and Sulaiman (2016), examined the causes of and consequences of the informal settlement in Zanzibar. The study adopted a desk review where possible causes were described. The study identified urbanization, land related issues, poverty and socio-cultural factors and as the major causes of informal settlement. The study recommended Comprehensive rural development policies backed up with a sound decentralization programme (with a strong institutional set up) offer a glimmer of hope for the deceleration of rural-urban influx and eventually the slow growth of the urban informal settlement.

Sakala (2016), studied the causes and consequences of informal settlement planning in Lusaka District in Zambia. The study adopted cross-sectional research design, where snow ball sampling technique where one house-owner was selected. The study determined the following as the factors which influence unauthorized structures: low level of income, low level of education, rural urban migration, high rent charges elsewhere, employment and social contacts. The study suggested that the Government of Zambia should expand its affordable housing scheme to include informal settlement. The study further recommended that meausres should be taken by the government to curb unemployment.

Mwacharo (2012), examined the factors influencing growth of informal settlement, case study of Bangladesh Slum in Changamwe Constituency, Mombasa County. The study was conducted through survey method. Data was collected using questionnaires and guides from 90 household heads obtained through cluster sampling in Bangladesh slum and 10 key informants purposively selected. The study revealed that informal settlements were the product of rapid urbanization and industrialization in that, most of the people who were living in the slums worked in the many factories and industries surrounding the area. The study also revealed that the levels of poverty in the community were high and this played a major role in the choice of housing for community members, most of whom could afford cheap, informal settlements. The study recommended that the government should monitor industrialization levels in the various counties in the country so that housing development can be made and developed in tandem with the growth of these industries.

2.2.2 Effects of Informal Settlement on the Environment

Amao and Ogunlade (2015), examined the effects of urban informal settlement and outdoor advertisement on the quality-built environment and urban upgrading in Nigeria. The study relied on secondary data from census data, official documents, case studies and reports from UN-HABITAT and State of the World Cities Reports. The study concluded that although the urban upgrading possesses great potential for improving quality of built environment in informal settlements, there is a need to repackage the upgrading exercise so that majority can benefit from it. It is necessary to incorporate community participation and outdoor advertisement into the urban upgrading in order to assist the very poor that cannot take care of their housing consumption needs. Therefore, government is encouraged to see informal settlements as a solution to new city planning rather than problem to the urban areas.

Devi, Lowry and Weber (2017), conducted an empirical case study in Suva, Fiji the global environmental impact of informal settlement and perceptions of local environmental threats. The study adopted a questionnaire for data collection with 35 questions to gather information from three neighborhoods. The study found out that concerns about sewage, deforestation, clean water and poor sanitation were of particularly high concern in one informal settlement, but not the other, suggesting that perceptions of threat can be very different even among informal settlements.

Mwambaga (2013), studied the effects of informal settlement on environmental management in Temeke Municipality. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires from 102 respondents and 95 households while secondary data were collected through interview. The study concluded that socioeconomic effects of informal settlements have contributed negatively to environmental management. It was further concluded that community role was ineffective to manage environments in informal settlements. The study recommended the adoption of strategies such as provision of environmental education, public and private sector partnership creation of dumping sites and adequate supply of facilities for environmental management through clearly organized programmes, plans and projects should be used to improve the sustainability of environmental resources at the household.

Msimang (2017), examined the negative impacts of informal settlements on the environment at Pietermaritzburg in South Africa. This study used qualitative research methods using both questionnaires and interviews. The study found that informal settlements do pose negative impacts on the environment which desperately needed the development of recommendations for change. The study recommended that the need of resolving and eradication of informal settlements, composting, the implementation of relocations and the creation of boundaries to name a few.

2.2.3 Policy Measures taken to Reduce Informal Settlements

Ngetich, Opata, Mwasi, Obiri and Meli (2015), studied the policies and strategies for tackling informal settlement in Kenya. The study adopted a desk review of various literatures and reports on the topic. The study concluded that the strategies that have been adopted in dealing with the informality include a combination of both preventive and curative instruments including; expropriation, inclusionary zoning, land readjustment, community land trusts land and utilities, land sharing and street led upgrading. The study recommended that the County Management Authorities should generate more resources through land value capture of unearned increments in urban areas served with infrastructures packages such as roads and other public utilities.

Collar, Glaeser, Venables, Blake and Manawaring (2016), conducted an economic and cross-country experience on policy options for informal settlements. The report indicated that large-scale ‘public housing’ schemes have not helped matters. The study further revealed that One cost-effective option for forward planning is to simply provide the core infrastructure required for productive and livable neighborhoods before they form. This was the approach adopted by the city of New York as it faced rapid urbanization the early 19th century with a very limited municipal budget.

Denis and Ababsa (2018), examined public policies and legal practices towards informal settlments in the Middle East and Egypt. The proposed workshop brought together an international group of scholars from various fields of social sciences. The study reported that delayed World Bank programs threatened the legitimacy and with the passing of time on upgrading programs have included regularization of informal settlement.

2.3 Theoretical Review

The effect of population growth factors can be explained by three theories namely: the Malthusian theory (Malthusian, 1798), The Optimum theory (Edwin, 1924) and Theory of Demographic Transition (Warren, 1929).

2.3.1 The Malthusian Theory on Population Growth

In his 1798 work, An Essay on the Principle of Population, Malthus examined the relationship between population growth and resources. From this, he developed the Malthusian theory of population growth in which he wrote that population growth occurs exponentially, so it increases according to birth rate. According to Malthus, there are two types of 'checks' that can reduce a population's growth rate. Preventive checks are voluntary actions people can take to avoid contributing to the population. Because of his religious beliefs, he supported a concept he called moral restraint, in which people resist the urge to marry and reproduce until they are capable of supporting a family. This often means waiting until a later age to marry. He also wrote that there are 'immoral' ways to check a population, such as vices, adultery, prostitution, and birth control. Due to his beliefs, he favored moral restraint and didn't support the latter practice.

Positive checks to population growth are things that may shorten the average lifespan, such as disease, warfare, famine, and poor living and working environments. According to Malthus, eventually these positive checks would result in a Malthusian catastrophe (also sometimes called a Malthusian crisis), which is a forced return of a population to basic survival.

2.3.2 The Optimum Theory

It is also called modern theory of population. In recent years, Prof. Robbins, Dalton and Carr- Saunders have refined and polished the theory and put it in a more presentable form. This theory is an improvement over the Malthusian Theory. The founders of the theory state it as “Given the natural resources, stock of capital and the state of technical knowledge, there will be a definite size of population with the per capita income. The population which has the highest per capita income is known as optimum population”.

The economists like Carr Saunders considered ‘optimum population’ as that which produces maximum welfare. On the other hand, Prof. Cannan defined this theory in terms of ‘return to labour’. He remarked, “Knowledge and circumstances remaining the same, there is what may be called maximum return when the amount of labour is such that both an increase and decrease in it would diminish proportionate return.” Similarly, Bounding has rightly observed, “Optimum population is that at which standard of living is maximum.

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