Changes in Perception

Abstract

The world is a highly diverse place, and individual perceptions of the environment clearly depend on where people live, on their economic circumstances, and on their cultural and religious backgrounds. The Bedu of the desert, Inuit of the Arctic, Alacaluf of the Western Patagonian Channels, and San of the Kalahari interpret their environment in the light of thousands of years of experience and adaptation. The forester, hunter, fisherman, farmer, urban labourer, industrial tycoon and international civil servant each has his own special viewpoint. Moreover, perceptions of the environment inevitably change with experience, and the rates of such change also differ widely. Global generalisations about the perceptions of the environment today or a decade hence are impossible.