What is the environment?

The word "environment" is usually used to refer to everything around us. But often when we use the word environment we mean one special thing. On this web-site when we say "environment" we are talking about the nature around us. For example, the air, the water, the soil, the plants, the animals, the birds and the fish.

Why is the environment important?

All of us depend on the environment, either directly or indirectly, to live.
Here are a few examples:

• We get food from the environment, like vegetables, grains and fish

• Trees and plants around us produce the air (oxygen) that we breathe

• Traditional medicines helps us stay healthy

One question comes up which is very difficult to answer. If we take good care of the environment, how can we at the same time use it? The problem can be illustrated by a simple example. Imagine that you own a forest. The forest is a part of your environment. You need firewood to cook, you need to build a house to live in and you want to sell some trees to make money that you can use to buy some cattle. If you cut down the trees you will damage your environment, but if you don't how can you get your firewood, building-materials and money? 

Many people say that the solution is to cut down only a few trees. You use some for firewood and some for building-material, but you have to wait to buy the cattle. Then, the forest will re-grow and you can cut down more trees in the future. Many people call this "sustainable development". If, on the other hand, you choose to cut down all your trees the first time, you could have bought your cattle as well. But you would not have any trees to cut down in the future, and neither would your children.