What is Environment?

1. Natural Environment: This includes the physical, biological, and ecological systems that exist naturally without significant human influence. It comprises elements such as:

• Atmosphere: The layer of gases surrounding the Earth, including air, weather patterns, and climate.
• Hydrosphere: All of Earth's water, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and groundwater.
• Lithosphere: The solid outer layer of Earth, including landforms, soil, and minerals.
• Biosphere: The zone where living organisms exist, including plants, animals, microorganisms, and their ecosystems.

1. Human-Made Environment (Built Environment): This includes the constructed or modified elements created by humans, such as:

• Infrastructure: Buildings, roads, bridges, dams, and other man-made structures.
• Urban Areas: Cities, towns, and their surrounding developed areas.
• Industrial Areas: Factories, manufacturing plants, and industrial zones.
• Agricultural Areas: Farms, fields, and cultivated lands.

The environment plays a crucial role in sustaining life on Earth. It provides resources like clean air, water, food, and materials necessary for human survival and development. Additionally, it serves as the habitat for a vast diversity of plant and animal species.

Preserving and protecting the environment is essential for maintaining ecological balance, biodiversity, and overall planetary health. Issues like pollution, deforestation, climate change, habitat destruction, and resource depletion pose significant challenges to the environment and require concerted efforts for mitigation and conservation.

Efforts to safeguard the environment involve various fields including environmental science, ecology, conservation biology, policy-making, and sustainable development. The goal is to balance human activities with the preservation of natural systems to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for both current and future generations.