Glossary definitions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A natural or anthropogenic feature which separates land uses.

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.

Comprises urban design, land use and the transportation system, and encompasses patterns of human activity within the physical environment.

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).

The resulting negative impacts of ecosystem use and management on people and nature, including distant, diffuse and delayed impacts.

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.

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.

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.

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.

An increase in density of shrubby or bushy tree vegetation in savannah or grassland systems.

Meat for human consumption derived from wild animals.

A form of subsistence hunting that entails the harvesting of wild animals for food and for non-food purposes, including for medicinal use.

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.

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.

See “wild meat”.

IPCC term case assumes that future developments follow those of the past and no changes in policies will take place.

The incidental capture of non-target species. The portion of a commercial fishing catch that consists of marine animals caught unintentionally.

The commercially undesirable species caught during a fishing process.

Paired catchment studies have been widely used to assess the likely impact of land use change on water yield around the world. Such studies involve the use of two catchments (drainage basins) with similar characteristics in terms of slope, aspect, soils, area, precipitation and vegetation located adjacent to each other. Following a calibration period, where both catchments are monitored, one of the catchments is subjected to treatment and the other remains as a control. This allows the climatic variability to be accounted for in the analysis. The change in water yield can then be attributed to changes in vegetation. The paired catchment studies reported in the literature can be divided into four broad categories: (i) afforestation experiments; (ii) regrowth experiments; (iii) deforestation experiments; and (iv) forest conversion experiments.

Information on environment event and trends (e.g. paleoclimate).

The share of all income received by the 10% people with highest disposable income divided by the share of all income received by the 40% people with the lowest disposable income (OECD, 2018b).

An organism that lives on or within another organism of a different species (the host) from which it obtains nourishment and to which it causes harm.

Agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020.

A variant or subset of governance which puts emphasis on democratic engagement, in particular through deliberative practices.

A key method that many indigenous communities apply in order to collect data, information and monitoring and to use it in science- policy- society interface processes.

Participatory research methods are a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods geared towards planning and conducting the research process with those people whose life-world and meaningful actions are under study (Bergold & Thomas, 2012). Participatory methods acknowledge the possibility, the significance, and the usefulness of involving research partners in the knowledge-production process (Bergold, 2007).

Participatory research methods are a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods geared towards planning and conducting the research process with those people whose life-world and meaningful actions are under study (Bergold & Thomas, 2012). Participatory methods acknowledge the possibility, the significance, and the usefulness of involving research partners in the knowledge- production process.

Specific methods employed to achieve active participation by all members of a group in a decision-making process (Chatty et al., 2003).

Specific methods employed to achieve active participation by all members of a group in a decision-making process.

Approaches characterised by more interactive, and inclusive, involvement of stakeholders in the formulation and evaluation of scenarios. Aimed at improving the transparency and relevance of decision-making, by incorporating demands and information of each stakeholder, and negotiating outcomes between stakeholders.

Approaches characterized by more interactive, and inclusive, involvement of stakeholders in the formulation and evaluation of scenarios. Aimed at improving the transparency and relevance of decision-making, by incorporating demands and information of each stakeholder, and negotiating outcomes between stakeholders.

Approaches characterised by more interactive, and inclusive, involvement of stakeholders in the formulation and evaluation of scenarios. Aimed at improving the transparency and relevance of decision making, by incorporating demands and information of each stakeholder, and negotiating outcomes between stakeholders.

Air pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides and ammonia.

A mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets (dust, dirt, soot, or smoke) (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2018b).

A mixture of solid particles (dust, dirt, soot, or smoke) and liquid droplets.

Particulate matter (PM), also known as atmospheric particulate matter, or suspended particulate matter (SPM) are microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in Earth's atmosphere. Sources of particulate matter can be natural or anthropogenic. They have impacts on climate and precipitation that adversely affect human health.

A mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets (dust, dirt, soot, or smoke).

The carbon content of particulate organic matter (Fiedler et al., 2008).

The large fraction (usually more than 7 micrometers) of soil organic matter (Fiedler et al., 2008).

See restoration.

Extensive livestock production in rangelands.

any action taken (single or via systems approach) towards a particular anthropogenic invasive alien species arrival pathway (e.g., trade) to prevent or address the threats and risks of an invasive alien species arriving and establishing via that pathway either between or within jurisdictions

In the context of the IPBES global assessment, trajectories toward the achievement of goals and targets for biodiversity conservation and management of nature and nature’s contributions to people.

“Pathways” consist of descriptions of different strategies for moving from the current situation towards a desired future vision or set of specified targets. They are descriptions of purposive courses of actions that build on each other, from short-term to long-term actions into broader transformation. They are closely related to normative or policy or target-seeking scenarios.