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Many geographers think that population, settlement, race, religion and local government are the roots for having differences in human environment.
1. Population and Settlement:
Population of a region plays very crucial role in the development of the region. Now a days, population has been considered to be asset or human resource rather than burden. It has also been observed that a region may have to face lots of difficulties, if it lacks in human resources even though it is rich in other natural resources. Countries like Japan and Korea have progressed mainly through the use of their human resources.
Human brain is the storehouse of intelligence, knowledge and innovative ideas. Mankind converts and utilises the natural resources to their convenience only through their knowledge and intelligence. Scientists have developed new machineries one after another, brought out newer and high yielding varieties of crops, developed newer chemicals and other ways of improving the level of living.
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With the help of all these, they are in a position to bring changes in agriculture, transportation and work situations and as a result a new and dynamic cultural environment has been created.
2. Race:
All the races of the world have been traditionally grouped under white, yellow and black. The inherent racial characteristics of these three races in economic, social and political developments can be identified. The white people living in the temperate regions of the world are more active than the black people living in the hot humid regions and as such, the later are economically underdeveloped.
Similarly, the productivity of Japanese, Korean and German workers is much higher than the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi counterparts. The people of Punjab and Haryana are more active and interested for doing hard works than those living in north-eastern India.
3. Religion:
The social and economic development of a region also depends on the religious affiliation of the people. Many activities are either encouraged or discouraged according to the religious faith. For example, in India, cow is considered to be sacred and beef production and marketing is not allowed among the Hindus.
Similarly, in the Islamic countries drinking of liquor and production and rearing of pigs are not at all encouraged. On the other hand, no such restrictions are found among the Christians and therefore, they are more advanced economically and commercially.
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4. Government:
The rules and regulations of the government also either encourage or discourage some of the activities of man. A region may progress and develop through the implementation of various programmes of a welfare government whereas the economic development and social upliftment may be slowed down by the anti-people schemes.
A region develops more quickly when its government is run by competent and active leaders as well as through their foresightedness. The Five year Plans, Industrial Policy, identification of Backward Regions and Backward Classes of people, policy on International Trade and policy on Technological and Scientific Development are some of the developmental schemes and policies of the Government of India.
With the help of these policies our country has made considerable progress in economic and social upliftment of the people and it has been able to secure a place in the international community.
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Man has been constantly struggling to minimise the influence of environment from the very dawn of civilization. As a result of this struggle, people of different parts of the world have been able to create new cultural and economic environments. Through this struggle man could come out of the caves and could construct their houses with modern implements and facilities.
They had started wearing clothes made of plant fibres, wood and skins of animals; many tools for hunting and for their protection had been modified, they started growing crops through agriculture and stopped collecting wild fruits and roots of plants for their food, they learnt to domesticate the wild animals and use them for getting many things done to their convenience.
Even, man has learnt the technique of converting dry desert land to a fertile cultivable land with the help of irrigation. In these ways, there is a constant struggle going on to overcome the difficulties of environment and men are constantly trying to place themselves at a much superior position in the ecological system.
Along with the development of human civilization, the social and economic environments are also getting much more complex. The productivity has been constantly increasing with the help of advanced and modern machineries. There have been tremendous changes in the production of energy, transport systems, agriculture and even in life expectancy of the people through scientific progress and technological development.
Vegetation:
By studying the nature and type of vegetation of a place, distinct idea can be made about the type of soil, physiography and climate of that place. Along with the development of new technology, new style of living and use of machines, the natural vegetations also have changed. There exists intimate relationship between man and vegetation.
Vegetation influences the mode of occupation, living, expansion or growth of commerce and industries. The natural vegetation protects areas from flood, soil erosion and movement of sand dunes in the hot desert. It provides the basic needs or man-shelter, fuelwood, implements of hunting, fishing, agriculture, timber for house building, furniture, even it provides food and clothing to mankind. Now a days due to population explosion, the natural vegetation has been depleting and there is a need for afforestation.
It is estimated that a full grown and healthy tree provides various things worth 16 lakh of rupees. It also works as a mechanism for producing life supporting oxygen.
Animals:
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Many of the essential items necessary for sustaining life come from animals. The food items of man-fish, meat, ghee, egg, milk, butter, etc., come from animals. The raw materials for woolen and silk industries are also acquired from the animals. The woolen textile industry of the USA and Australia and the Muga-pat industry of Assam are exclusively based on animal lives.
The agriculture of the developing and underdeveloped countries mainly depends on animals. Animals also help in transportation and irrigation. The dung is one of the most important sources of bio-fertilizer. The hides and skins are used for clothing and other items of sports. Even the animal bones are used for manufacturing chemical fertilizer. On the whole, it is hard to think of human living without animals.