Definition of Environment

The word environ means, in French, to surround, envelop, encircle or enclose. Environ means surrounding and “ment” means action, i.e., environment is the interaction between man and nature. Thus the term “environment” refers to our surrounding and variety of issues related to human activities and its effect on nature. Environment refers to the surroundings in which living and non-living things live, interact, grow and perish. The conditions present in the surroundings govern the life of creatures therein.

Definition of Environment

The  Environment Protection Act, 1990 defines the environment as “consisting of all, or any  of the media – the air, water and land. The medium of air includes the air within buildings and the air within other natural or man-made structures above or below ground.”

Merriam Webster defines environment as the conditions that surround someone or something and influences or affect the growth, health and progress of  and someone or something.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, environment is defined as the natural world in which people, animals and plants live.

According to the Universal Encyclopedia, environment is defined as the sum total of all conditions, agencies and influences which affect the development, growth, life and death of an organism, species or race.

Declaration of the UN Conference on Human Environment, Stockholm 1972, defined environment as comprising air, land and water, especially representative samples of natural ecosystems.

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, environment is defined as the entire range of external influences acting on an organism, both the physical and biological (in other organisms) forces of nature surrounding an individual.

Environment is also defined as a range of complex physical, chemical and biotic factors that act upon an organism or an ecological community and determine its form and survival.