The Role of Humans in Environmental Changes

Over the larger part of the planet, the landscape that is now exposed is mainly an artifact of human thought and creation. The impact of man in the natural environment has day-by-day and evidently changed the geographical spheres. The cumulative effect of human population over time, especially through the use of technology over the final decades of the twentieth century, has made these changes very rapid. The relationship between man and the natural environment has been the subject of long discussions in the field of geography in the last century, and distinct environmentalist schools have developed. At the beginning of the 21st century, one of the missions of geography is to reveal and highlight the problems caused by these changes.
Like other living beings, human is a part of the environment and needs air, water, soil and other creatures. Due to the interdependence of the components of the planet, any change in each of the components will endanger the entire system. Environmental problems are now widespread.
This article is based on the hypothesis that human beings have artificially transformed the natural system through interference and imposing changes on the natural environment. This research deals with the analysis of environmental changes that has occurred in Iran through human interference in recent decades using descriptive and inferential methods as well as secondary methods. Changes in forests and rangelands, desertification and the spread of deserts and changes in valuable plant species, along with the penetration of some non-indigenous species have caused the degradation of sensitive ecosystems.
The importance of education and promotion of appropriate social responses to environmental changes, and the role that people can play in preserving, revitalizing, developing and exploiting natural resources, are the courses of action that are discussed in this paper.