21世纪人地关系研究前瞻

Prospects of studies on man-land relationship in the 21st century

人地关系包括人对自然的依赖性和人的能动地位 ,人与自然关系的内涵随着人类社会的发展而发生变化。人地关系研究是近代地理学发展的基础 ,地理学中流行的环境决定论、可能论、文化景观学和人类生态学等都是聚焦于人地关系研究的不同学派。地球系统科学领域的研究重心是揭示人与自然的相互作用及所应采取的对策。信息时代人地关系的特征与工业时代有较大差别。人与自然的作用方式和强度将有显著不同 ,人类将全面系统地深化对自然的认识 ,人类活动空间将发生巨大变化 ,时空观念正在发生转变。知识与科技的作用 ,正成为社会经济发展的主要驱动力。由于地球的整体性和地球各圈层的相互作用 ,许多全球环境问题成为世界各国和社会公众关切的热点。人地关系研究的重要前沿领域包括 :全球环境变化及其区域响应 ,区域可持续发展及人地关系机理调控 。

Man-land relationship includes human dependent upon nature and human activity to nature. Contents of man-land relationship are changed with development of human society. Man-land relationship research is the basis for development of modern geography. Various schools of geography such as determinism, possibilism, cultural landscape and human ecology are focusing studies on man-land relationship. The earth system science should carry out interdisciplinary studies between natural and human sciences, to reveal interaction between man and nature as well as the corresponding countermeasures. Developments of information techniques and knowledge economy bring about new opportunities and challenges for human society. Characteristics of man-land relationship in information era differ from those in industrial era. The way and intensity of interaction between human activities and nature will be obviously different. The understanding to nature will be systematically deepened, and ideas of time and space are changing in information era. Knowledge and techniques are becoming main driving forces for social and economic development. Owing to the entirety of the earth, the complexity, protracted nature and potentiality of the interactions among various spheres of the earth, many global environmental issues, such as climate warming, ozonosphere depletion, environmental pollution, etc., are becoming the foci of the countries and public concern throughout the world. The realities impel us to learn lessons and experience accompanied with the traditional development models and to explore new development models for human society. Man-land relationship research covers extensive domains. The hotspots of both global environmental change and sustainable development are closely related to man-land relationship. Global environmental changes have been arisen from slow accumulation process of human impact, and sustainable development is a new development model, which has been obtained by self-examination to development course and model of the human society.The main frontiers of man-land relationship research include the following issues: global environmental change and its regional response, regional sustainable development and mechanism regulation of man-land relationship, studies on social ecological and environmental ethics, etc.