Spatial Variations in Rural Population Density and Resource Pressure in Jalgaon District

The density of rural population is a significant factor in determining the use of resources, agricultural sustainability and rural livelihoods due to the spatial distribution of rural population. This paper discusses the spatial differences in the rural population density and the corresponding resource pressure in Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, by applying various population density measures. The data at Tehsil level obtained by the Census of India was examined using the arithmetic, agricultural, physiological, critical and economic density measures to represent various facets of demographic stress. The findings indicate that there is strong inter-tehsil disparity in the population pressure in rural areas within the district. Tehsils that are characterized by intensive agriculture and good physical conditions have high agricultural and physiological densities, which implies that there is a high pressure on the cultivable land and water resources. The tehsils that are urban influenced exhibit extremely high physiological density because of the low agricultural land that sustains high populations. The critical density analysis reveals that there are a number of tehsils with latent demographic stress in which population levels are nearing local resource-supporting capacity. The correlation analysis shows that there is a strong positive correlation between land-based density measures and negative correlation between economic density and resource pressure, which indicates the lack of balance between the concentration of population and the capacity to support livelihoods. The paper concludes that the pressure of the rural population in the Jalgaon District is multi-dimensional and spatially uneven and that tehsil-specific planning strategies to concentrate on sustainable management of resources and diversification of livelihoods are required. The results are applicable to the study of population geography and offer a scientific foundation of balanced rural development planning in semi-arid areas.