Help
environment — English
Despite the fact that the word “environment” is commonly used by everybody every day, it is a very difficult term to define. Depending on the context in which the term is used, it could have a whole array of different meanings. The word “environment” is in fact too restricted to explain the concept it endeavours to convey. “Environment” is actually a relational concept, which is an extremely important fact. From an environmental management and a geographic perspective, “environment” means the interrelationships among the human beings themselves, and with the natural as well as human-made components of the environment within which all the components live or exist within a certain, definable area. The area occupied by the ecosystem can be demarcated and mapped (see “demarcation”). From a purely natural scientific perspective “environment” refers to the natural components and the relationships between them within a system, and human beings do not form a natural, integral part of that environment. From a purely social science perspective, “environment” refers to the social environment and interactions of humans within families, groups or societies and nature does not form an integral part of those systems. Other components of the extensive, broadly viewed environment have been identified as constituting specific “subsystems” and relational conditions of focussed scientific investigation. These include the economic, the cultural-historic, the built, the political, the labour or work, the industrial, the retail, the entertainment and recreational environments, and many more. The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site could be regarded and studied as a natural environment important from both a geological and a paleontological viewpoint. It is also an archaeological important environment, a cultural-historic site or environment, an area of importance to environmental management and geographical investigation, a recreational and tourist environment, an economical environment, and even a socio-political important environment. Thus, the term “environment” has a multitude of meanings, and it means different things to different people. Therefore, the context in which the term is used is extremely important.
