Environment means the surroundings. Land, water, air, plants, animals, solid wastes and other things that are surrounding us constitute our environment. Man and environment are closely intertwined with each other, to maintain a balance or equilibrium in nature.
Different groups of people working in different areas express it in various ways. When physical scientists talk about environment they generally refer to the physical environment that comprises the three inter locking systems the Atmosphere, the Hydrosphere and the Lithosphere.
Biologists often refer to biological environment consisting of all living organisms of the Biosphere. Similarly social scientists refer to the social, cultural, economic and organizational environment.
Hence environment may be defined as "the sum of all social, cultural, economical, biological, physical and chemical factors surrounding the 'man' to give necessary protection to him."
Two types of environment we may come across. One is the natural environment of the air, water, solid wastes, noise, radiation, soil, timber, wildlife and living space etc. The second one is the man-made environment that deals with work environment, housing, technology, aesthetics, transportation, utilities, settlement, urbanization and so on.
These environmental components are considered as the resources and are mostly exploited and utilized by the men to fulfill their basic physical needs they can be considered as the fellow members of the global eco-system with which men establish emotional, intellectual, or physical relationships and these provide the basis for a sense of purpose of life to them.
Thus, man is firmly placed as an important part of the global ecosystem, which depends on him much as he depends on it. Hence, there is a close relationship between man and environment.
