La interacción hombre--naturaleza: Vigencia de una de las temáticas más entrañables de la tradición geográfica

The recurrent discussion of man-land relationships has been widely acknowledged as one of the most important traditions in geography by historians of geographical thought. Actually, almost all spatial phenomena that may attract the geographer's attention are the outcome of such interactions. If by approach geography is usually depicted as the spatial science par excellence, by subject matter its human side focuses fundamentally on how, why and where the interaction of men with the environment takes place and what are the results of such relationships. The pioneering role played by Ratzel in shaping anthropogeography as a science and geography at large -- is stressed in the paper. On the other hand, the relatively modest role of geographers in dealing with contemporary environmental research issues is contrasted with the more active and decisive roles being played by others.