 Also known as environmental social

science, sustainability science, and

coupled human natural systems
reasearch/coupled human and natural
system (CHANS)refers to an
integrated scientific agenda for
studying the border and mutual
interaction that link human to natural
sub-system of the planet.
 According to world reowned social
anthropologist Emilio Moran, It is a
cross- disciplinary venture based on
the belief that social and natural
systems are inseparable.
 It deals withbroader studies into the
intricate nature of mutual interaction
and feedback between humans on the
environment and the effect of the
environment on human
 This has been a result of several
factors such as evidence for climate
change, loss of biodiversity, Rapid
deforestation, and an imminent crisis
is the availabilityof potable water.
 Global environment change until
1988 was carried out by earth
science disciplines such as
metereology, atmospheric chemistry,
atmospheric sciences and geology.
 In 1987 the international Geosphere
Biospere Program(IGBP) was
initiated because of the need for an
international joint research enterprise
on the phenomenon of global change.
 From 1987 to 1990 a special
committee was tasked to initiate the
planning and implementation of the
program, and in 1988 this team,
composed of around 500 scientists
turned to social scientist and asked
them to collaborate with them in an
effort to understand the human
dimensions of global environmental
change.
 In1992, they were able to publish the
book, Global Environmental Change:
Understanding the Human
Dimensions, which set the tone for
research in this area.It focused on
climate change,biodiversity,pollution,
and international environmenttal
pacts driven by a rising awareness of
global impacts such as build-up of
earth-warming gases, the increasing
amount of ultraviolet radiation due to
The change in the appearance of
ozone layer, and proof of glacier
meltdowns. Because of these global
changes, human-environment
research became important
(Moron 2010)
 Landscape is an important concept in
the study of coupled human-
environment systems. It refers not
only to the beautiful spot that you
view from a scenic perspective but
the mixture of environmental and
human phenomena that coexist
together in a specific place on the
Earth.
 Landscape includes physical features
such as rivers, hills, forests, and soils
as well as human-made buildings,
roads, bridges, and mines. In a
landscape-centric view, none of the
said features is absolutely separate
the human from the non-human.
 Inunderstanding how landscapes
change over time and the individual’s
sense of place in these changes,
interpreting mind maps as well as
thematic maps might be useful.
Mental and thematic maps provide us
with the necessary means of making
sense of the world and of storing
information about how human
interactions with the environment
create and change landscapes and
The roles people play in these
changes, and how these changes
affect people. They may help us
understand and explain environmental
and social issues by analyzing spatial
processes and spatial distribution.
 Spatialdistributions are concerned
with who or what is being observed,
as well as when and where it is being
observed while spatial processes
focus on why and how spatial
distributions exist.
 Another important concept is
feedback mechanism, which refers to
the phenomenon of system
components both affecting each other
and which creates a feedback
loop:Feedback is affect to a system
component that is a result of an
action done by that component
The positive feedback
• A condition in which carrying out an
action causes more performances of
the action.
 A condition in which carrying our an
action cause fewer performances of
the action
 Isanother key concept in human-
environment systems. It refers to the
ability for something to be
maintained. It is the capacity of a
system to maintain its health and
continue in exsistence over a period
of time.
Afamous geographer, encouraged
environmental thinkers to study the
humanized environment, or the idea
that the environment is influenced by
human activity, terms of landscape
during the early and mid-twentieth
century.
 Is
an American geographer whose
research interests include historical
geography, regional geography,
cultural geography, social geography,
and landscape interpretation.
 Utilizinga multidisciplinary approach
in the study of the interelations
between human and environment.
 Brings together scholar from the field
of science and social science to
analyze the role of people in global
environmental changes.
 Since human-environment systems
research requires a multidisciplinary
approach it requires bringing together
a large team of scholars, scientists as
well as social scientist.which is not
easy thing to do given the fact that
most scholars prefer to work alone
than in team.