brackish water |
Water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. Technically, brackish water contains between 0.5 and 30 grams of salt per litre—more often expressed as 0.5 to 30 parts per thousand (‰), which is a specific gravity of between 1.005 and 1.010. Thus, brackish covers a range of salinity regimes and is not considered a precisely defined condition.
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Asia-Pacific assessment |
breadth |
refers to change across multiple spheres, with emerging consensus that transformation requires co-evolutionary change across different spheres of society, including personal, economic, political, institutional and technological ones.
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Values assessment |
bridging organizations |
offer a means to improve environmental management outcomes by spanning the science-policy interface to allow for the effective sharing of data, information, and knowledge. Bridging organizations are institutions that use specific mechanisms such as working groups to link and facilitate interactions among individual actors in a management setting.
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Invasive alien species assessment |
broad values |
They refer to life goals, general guiding principles and orientations towards the world that are informed by people’s beliefs and worldviews. Broad values include moral principles, such as justice, belonging, freedom, but also life goals, like enjoyment, health, prosperity. Broad values influence specific values and provide them with a general context and meaning.
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Values assessment |
buen vivir |
Although no universal definition of buen vivir has been attained yet, it has four common constitutive elements: (a) the idea of harmony with nature (including its abiotic components); (b) vindication of the principles and values of marginalized/subordinated peoples; (c) the State as guarantor of the satisfaction of basic needs (such as education, health, food and water), social justice and equality; and (d) democracy. There are also two cross-cutting lines: buen vivir as a critical paradigm of Eurocentric (anthropocentric, capitalist, economistic and universalistic) modernity, and as a new intercultural political project.
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Global assessment (1st work programme), Americas assessment |
buen vivir |
An alternative to economic development-centered approaches, generally defined as forming part of the Andean indigenous cosmology, based on the belief that true wellbeing is only possible as part of a community in a broad sense, including people, nature and the Earth, linked by mutual responsibilities and obligations, and that the wellbeing of the community is above that of the individual.
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buffer (ecology) |
A natural or anthropogenic feature which separates land uses.
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Global assessment (1st work programme) |
buffer zones (protected areas) |
Areas between core protected areas and the surrounding landscape or seascape which protect the network from potentially damaging external influences and which are essentially transitional areas.
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Global assessment (1st work programme) |
built environment |
Comprises urban design, land use and the transportation system, and encompasses patterns of human activity within the physical environment.
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Land degradation and restoration assessment |
bumble bee |
Members of the bee genus Bombus; they are social insects that form colonies with a single queen, or brood parasitic or cuckoo bumblebees (previously Psithyrus). Currently 262 species are known, which are found primarily in higher latitudes and at higher altitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, although they also occur in South America and New Zealand (where they were introduced).
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Pollination assessment |
burden |
The resulting negative impacts of ecosystem use and management on people and nature, including distant, diffuse and delayed impacts.
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Sustainable use assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
bureau |
The IPBES Bureau is a subsidiary body established by the Plenary which carries out the governance functions of the Platform. It is made up of representatives nominated from each of the United Nations regions, and is chaired by the Chair of IPBES.
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bureau |
Within the context of IPBES - a subsidiary body established by the Plenary which carries out the administrative functions agreed upon by the Plenary, as articulated in the document on functions, operating principles and institutional arrangements of the Platform.
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Scenarios and models assessment |
bureau |
The IPBES Bureau is a subsidiary body established by the Plenary which carries out the governance functions of IPBES. It is made up of representatives nominated from each of the United Nations regions and is chaired by the Chair of IPBES.
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Land degradation and restoration assessment |
bureau |
The IPBES Bureau is a subsidiary body established by the Plenary which carries out the governance functions of IPBES. It is made up of representatives nominated from each of the United Nations regions, and is chaired by the Chair of IPBES.
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Europe and Central Asia assessment |
bush encroachment |
An increase in density of shrubby or bushy tree vegetation in savannah or grassland systems.
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Land degradation and restoration assessment |
bushmeat |
Meat for human consumption derived from wild animals.
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Asia-Pacific assessment, Africa assessment, Europe and Central Asia assessment, Land degradation and restoration assessment, Americas assessment |
bushmeat hunting |
A form of subsistence hunting that entails the harvesting of wild animals for food and for non-food purposes, including for medicinal use.
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Land degradation and restoration assessment |
bushmeat hunting |
Bushmeat (or wild meat) hunting is a form of hunting that entails the harvesting of wild animals for food and for non-food purposes, including for medicinal use.
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Sustainable use assessment, Africa assessment |
bushmeat hunting |
Bushmeat (or wild meat) hunting is a form of subsistence hunting that entails the harvesting of wild animals for food and for non-food purposes, including for medicinal use.
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Asia-Pacific assessment |
bushmeat |
See “wild meat”.
|
Sustainable use assessment |
business-as-usual |
IPCC term case assumes that future developments follow those of the past and no changes in policies will take place.
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Asia-Pacific assessment |
bycatch |
The incidental capture of non-target species. The portion of a commercial fishing catch that consists of marine animals caught unintentionally.
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Sustainable use assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
bycatch |
The commercially undesirable species caught during a fishing process.
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Europe and Central Asia assessment, Americas assessment, Asia-Pacific assessment |
habitat |
The place or type of site where an organism or population naturally occurs. Also used to mean the environmental attributes required by a particular species or its ecological niche.
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Americas assessment, Land degradation and restoration assessment, Africa assessment, Europe and Central Asia assessment, Asia-Pacific assessment, Sustainable use assessment |
habitat connectivity |
The degree to which the landscape facilitates the movement of organisms (animals, plant reproductive structures, pollen, pollinators, spores, etc.) and other environmentally important resources (e.g. nutrients and moisture) between similar habitats. Connectivity is hampered by fragmentation (q.v.).
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Global assessment (1st work programme), Pollination assessment, Land degradation and restoration assessment, Europe and Central Asia assessment, Americas assessment |
habitat degradation |
A general term describing the set of processes by which habitat quality is reduced. Habitat degradation may occur through natural processes (e.g. drought, heat, cold) and through human activities (forestry, agriculture, urbanization).
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Global assessment (1st work programme), Europe and Central Asia assessment, Africa assessment, Americas assessment, Pollination assessment, Pollination assessment, Asia-Pacific assessment, Land degradation and restoration assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
habitat ecosystem functions |
The ability of soil or soil materials to serve as a habitat for micro-organisms, plants, soil- living animals and their interactions.
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Land degradation and restoration assessment |
habitat fragmentation |
A general term describing the set of processes by which habitat loss results in the division of continuous habitats into a greater number of smaller patches of lesser total and isolated from each other by a matrix of dissimilar habitats. Habitat fragmentation may occur through natural processes (e.g. forest and grassland fires, flooding) and through human activities (forestry, agriculture, urbanization).
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Sustainable use assessment, Africa assessment, Land degradation and restoration assessment, Europe and Central Asia assessment, Americas assessment, Asia-Pacific assessment |
habitat heterogeneity |
The number of different habitats in a landscape.
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Global assessment (1st work programme) |
habitat degradation |
A general term describing the set of processes by which habitat quality is reduced. Habitat degradation may occur through natural processes (e.g. drought, heat, cold) and through human activities (forestry, agriculture, urbanization).
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Sustainable use assessment |
habitat modification |
Changes in an area's primary ecological functions and species composition due to human activity and/or non-native species invasion.
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Global assessment (1st work programme) |
habitat service |
The importance of ecosystems to provide living space for resident and migratory species (thus maintaining the gene pool and nursery service).
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Europe and Central Asia assessment, Land degradation and restoration assessment |
habitat specialist |
Species that require very specific habitats and resources (e.g. narrow range of food sources or cover types) to thrive and reproduce.
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Global assessment (1st work programme) |
habitat |
The place or type of site where an organism or population naturally occurs.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme), Scenarios and models assessment |
habitat |
the area, characterized by its abiotic and biotic properties, that is habitable by a particular species
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Invasive alien species assessment |
harmful algal bloom |
They occur when colonies of algae (simple plants that live in the sea and freshwater) grow out of control and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds.
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Asia-Pacific assessment |
harmful algal bloom |
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) occur when colonies of algae grow out of control and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds. The human illnesses caused by HABs, though rare, can be debilitating or even fatal.
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Global assessment (1st work programme) |
harmonization |
The process of bringing together, and comparing, models or scenarios to make them compatible or consistent with one another.
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Scenarios and models assessment, Sustainable use assessment, Pollination assessment, Africa assessment, Asia-Pacific assessment |
harmonization |
The process of bringing something together, and comparing (e.g. models or scenarios) to facilitate compatibility or consistency.
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Europe and Central Asia assessment |
hazard |
A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation. Hazards that this assessment discusses are mostly environmental hazards (chemical, natural and biological hazards), while cognizant that many hazards are socio- natural, in that they are associated with a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors. Natural hazards are predominantly associated with natural processes and phenomena, including geological or geophysical hazards that originate from internal earth processes (earthquakes, volcanic activities, landslides, tsunamis), and hydrometeorological hazards, which are of atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic origin (tropical cyclones, floods, drought; heatwaves, and storm surges). Biological hazards are of organic origin or conveyed by biological vectors, including pathogenic microorganisms, toxins and bioactive substances. Examples are bacteria, viruses or parasites, as well as venomous wildlife and insects, poisonous plants and mosquitoes carrying disease-causing agents.
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Sustainable use assessment |
heat island effect |
Describes built up areas that are hotter than nearby rural areas. Heat islands can affect communities by increasing summertime peak energy demand, air conditioning costs, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, heat-related illness and mortality, and water quality.
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Global assessment (1st work programme) |
hedgerow |
A row of shrubs or trees that forms the boundary of an area such as a garden, field, farm, road or right-of-way.
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Americas assessment, Europe and Central Asia assessment |
hedonic pricing |
An economic valuation approach that utilizes information about the implicit demand for an environmental attribute of marketed commodities.
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Europe and Central Asia assessment |
herbicide |
A substance that kills or inhibits the germination, growth and development of plants. Herbicides may be synthetic chemicals, natural chemicals, or biological agents.
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Pollination assessment |
holocene |
The Holocene is the current geological epoch. It began after the Pleistocene, approximately 11,650 calendar years before present.
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Global assessment (1st work programme) |
homegarden |
Yard areas surrounding a house for vegetable and fruit production and keeping of domestic animals. In many regions homegardens contain wild species utilized as medicinal plants, timber or other uses.
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Sustainable use assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
homeotherm |
Organisms (vertebrates) with a constant and high body temperature, with a high level of energy exchange.
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Global assessment (1st work programme) |
homogenisation |
When used in the ecological sense homogenisation means a decrease in the extent to which communities differ in species composition.
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Pollination assessment |
homogenisation |
When used in the ecological sense homogenisation means a decrease in the extent to which communities differ in species or functional composition.
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Sustainable use assessment |