Glossary definitions

Built-up infrastructure, health facilities, knowledge (including indigenous and local knowledge systems and technical or scientific knowledge, as well as formal and non- formal education), technology (both physical objects and procedures), and financial assets among others.

Built-up infrastructure, health facilities, or knowledge - including indigenous and local knowledge systems and technical or scientific knowledge - as well as formal and non-formal education, technology (both physical objects and procedures), and financial assets. Anthropogenic assets have been highlighted to emphasize that a good quality of life is achieved by a co-production of benefits between nature and societies.

Built-up infrastructure, health facilities, or knowledge - including indigenous and local knowledge systems and technical or scientific knowledge - as well as formal and non-formal education, technology (both physical objects and procedures), and financial assets. Anthropogenic assets have been highlighted to emphasize that a good quality of life is achieved by a co-production of benefits between nature and people.

Built-up infrastructure, health facilities, or knowledge - including indigenous and local knowledge systems and technical or scientific knowledge - as well as formal and non-formal education, work, technology (both physical objects and procedures), and financial assets. Anthropogenic assets have been highlighted to emphasize that a good quality of life is achieved by a co-production of benefits between nature and people.

See 'Anthrome'.

Drivers associated with human actions/activities that drive changes in biodiversity and ecosystems.

Impacts resulting from human activities.

Areas of Earth's terrestrial surface where direct human alteration of ecological patterns and processes is significant, ongoing, and directed toward servicing the needs of human populations for food, shelter and other resources and services including recreation and aesthetic needs.

Caused or influenced by humans.

A concept or construct generated by humans. While it can be argued that all principles and preferences are anthropogenic (human-generated), this does not mean they are all anthropocentric (human-centred).

Aphotic zone is the portion of a lake or ocean where there is little or no sunlight. It is formally defined as the depths beyond which less than 1% of sunlight penetrates.

(see Beekeeping).

Approval of the Platform's outputs signifies that the material has been subject to detailed, line-by-line discussion and agreement by consensus at a session of the Plenary.

The farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants, involving interventions such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, to enhance production. (In contrast, aquatic organisms which are exploitable by the public as a common property resource, are classed as fisheries, not aquaculture).

The farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic plants, in both inland and coastal areas, and involving some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated.

A semi-liquid mixture, typically of fine particles of manure, cement, or coal suspended in water.

A body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater.

adj. Pertaining to land that can be farmed.

In the context of scenarios, an over-arching scenario that embodies common characteristics of a number of more specific scenarios.

Those in which water availability severely constrains ecological activity.

A region is arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Environments subject to arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic.

A chronic reduction in soil moisture caused by an increase of mean annual temperature or a decrease in yearly precipitation.

Article 8(j) states that each contracting Party of the Convention on Biological Diversity shall, as far as possible and as appropriate, subject to national legislation, respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge innovations and practices.

One of 4 regions defined in the IPBES framework and includes 62 countries or territories from five subregions, namely Oceania (American Samoa*, Australia, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands*, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia*, Guam*, Hawai’i*, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia*, New Zealand, Niue*, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Island*, Samoa, Solomon Islands, *Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and oceanic and sub-Antarctic islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans*), South-East Asia (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam), North-East Asia (China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and Republic of Korea), South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), Western Asia (Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine (State of), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen). *Overseas territory.

Assessment reports are published outputs of scientific, technical and socioeconomic issues that take into account different approaches, visions and knowledge systems, including global assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services with a defined geographical scope, and thematic or methodological assessments based on the standard or the fast-track approach. They are to be composed of two or more sections including a summary for policymakers, an optional technical summary and individual chapters and their executive summaries. Assessments are the major output of IPBES, and they contain syntheses of findings on topics that have been selected by the IPBES Plenary.

Assessment reports are published outputs of scientific, technical and socioeconomic issues that take into account different approaches, visions and knowledge systems, including global assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services with a defined geographical scope, and thematic or methodological assessments based on the standard or the fast-track approach. They are to be composed of two or more sections including a summary for policymakers, an optional technical summary and individual chapters and their executive summaries. Assessments are the major output of IPBES, and they contain syntheses of findings on topics that have been selected by the IPBES.

Assessment reports are published outputs of scientific, technical and socioeconomic issues that take into account different approaches, visions and knowledge systems, including global assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services with a defined geographical scope, and thematic or methodological assessments based on the standard or the fast-track approach. They are composed of two or more sections including a summary for policymakers, an optional technical summary, and individual chapters and their executive summaries. Assessments are the major output of IPBES, and they contain syntheses of findings on topics that have been selected by the IPBES Plenary.

Published outputs of scientific, technical and socioeconomic issues that take into account different approaches, visions and knowledge systems, including global assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services with a defined geographical scope, and thematic or methodological assessments based on the standard or the fast-track approach. They are to be composed of two or more sections including a summary for policymakers, an optional technical summary and individual chapters and their executive summaries. Assessments are the major output of IPBES, and they contain syntheses of findings on topics that have been selected by the IPBES Plenary.

Published outputs of scientific, technical and socioeconomic issues that take into account different approaches, visions and knowledge systems, including global assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services with a defined geographical scope, and thematic or methodological assessments based on the standard or the fast-track approach. They are composed of two or more sections including a summary for policymakers, an optional technical summary and individual chapters and their executive summaries. Assessments are the major output of IPBES, and they contain syntheses of findings on topics that have been selected by the IPBES Plenary.

Within the context of IPBES - published assessments of scientific, technical and socio-economic issues that take into account different approaches, visions and knowledge systems, including global and regional assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and thematic or methodological assessments.

Also known as assisted migration or managed relocation, is the act of deliberately moving plants or animals to a different habitat. The destination habitat may have either historically held the species or it may not have hosted the species, but the habitat provides the bioclimatic requirements to support it. Assisted colonization may also supplement an existing population in a site where their numbers are dwindling. This is especially the case where the assisted species are unable to disperse at a rate which keeps pace with the shifting bio-climatic, bio-physical envelope.

The tendency for plant (or pollinator) species with few links to interact with pollinator (or plant) species with many links. In mutualistic networks, such as pollination, nestedness (q.v.) is often asymmetrical with specialists of one group (plants or pollinators) linked to the generalists of the partner group (pollinators or plants).

Soil water content useable by plants, based on the effective root penetration depth.

The condition of having two different alleles at a gene locus.

Land-based climate change mitigation strategy based on maintaining and expanding global forest area, and thus the carbon uptake of forest ecosystems in biomass and soil.

The major of the metabolic pathways for CO2 fixation by plants, involving a 3-carbon organic intermediate molecule. C3 photosynthetic plants possess a specific leaf structure, and are not adapted to non-optimal conditions.

Plants that use C3 photosynthesis to capture CO2.

C4 photosynthesis is an evolved metabolic mechanism for plant carbon fixation, in which atmospheric CO2 is first incorporated into a 4-carbon intermediate molecule. It allows for a more efficient process compared to C3 photosynthesis, especially in non-optimal water availability conditions and in the presence of high solar radiation.

Plants that use C4 photosynthesis to capture CO2. The Poaceae family (grasses) accounts for about half of the C4 species.

The use of observations, or in some cases a reference model, during model development to ensure that the model output compares favourably with the properties of the system being modelled.

Hunting of animals in confined enclosures where they are unable to escape.

An economic policy instrument in which the State sets an overall environmental target (the cap) and assigns environmental impact allowances (or quotas) to actors that they can trade among each other.

Defined by the United Nations Development Programme as the process through which individuals, organisations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain their capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time. Within the context of this assessment, these capabilities include human resources and technical capacity required to support scenario analysis and modelling.

Process through which individuals, organizations and society obtain, strengthen and maintain their capability to set and achieve their own development objectives over time.

Capacity development can be described across six broad capacity dimensions. Motivational capacity builds awareness and desire to consider multiple values. Analytical capacity provides knowledge and tools to analyse multiple values. Bridging capacity brings together different ways of knowing and doing, often creating new knowledge in the process. Negotiation capacity navigates trade-offs and mainstreams into policy and practice. Social network capacity is the capacity to learn together, act and adapt or transform. Governance capacity creates formal and informal mechanisms for a socially just governance environment. These dimensions embody many concepts and principles for capacity development and recognition in decision making.

Defined by the United Nations Development Programme as “the process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain their capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time”.

Defined by the United Nations Development Programme as the process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain their capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time. IPBES promotes and facilitates capacity-building, to improve the capacity of countries to make informed policy decisions on biodiversity and ecosystem-services.

A type of good that can be consumed now. However, if consumption is deferred there becomes an increased supply of that good which is likely to remain available. In a fundamental sense, capital consists of any produced thing that can enhance a person’s power to perform economically useful or other beneficial work. Capital may be monetary, well-being or environmental or any combination of those goods.

The process by which carbon is exchanged among the ecosystems of the Earth.

The carbon cycle is the process by which carbon is exchanged among the ecosystems of the Earth.