Glossary definitions

The autotrophic components of the plankton community and a key part of oceans, seas and freshwater basin ecosystems.

The safe operating space for humanity with respect to the Earth system and are associated with the planet’s biophysical subsystems or processes.

Aquatic organisms that drift or swim weakly. Phytoplankton are the plant forms of plankton (e.g., diatoms), and are the dominant plants in the sea. Zooplankton are the animal forms of plankton. Picoplankton are all forms of plankton which size is comprised between 0.2 and 2 micrometers (mostly bacteria).

Typically microscopic aquatic organisms that drift or swim weakly. Phytoplankton are the plant forms of plankton (e.g. diatoms), and are the dominant plants in the sea. Zooplankton are the animal forms of plankton.

Aquatic organisms that drift or swim weakly. Phytoplankton are the plant forms of plankton (e.g. diatoms), and are the dominant plants in the sea. Zooplankton are the animal forms of plankton.

Zoning is a planning control tool for regulating the built environment and creating functional real estate markets.

Attributes of the flowers within an individual that may influence gamete transfer among conspecifics.

The mating system provides a description of the distribution of mating unions in a population. The main mating systems in plants are outcrossing (cross-fertilisation), autogamy (self-fertilisation) and apomixis (asexual reproduction without fertilization). Mixed mating systems, where plants use two or three mating systems, are not uncommon.

A group of local plant and pollinator species and the links among them, which establish who interacts with whom (i.e. qualitative network). A network can also include a measure of the strength of each individual interaction link (i.e. quantitative network.

Forests where trees have been deliberately planted (i.e. have not regenerated naturally) and are typically grown for the production of wood or fibre, in some cases they may replace grasslands or other non-forest vegetation types. They are often of exotic tree species.

Within the context of IPBES - the decision-making body comprising all of the members of IPBES.

Animal killing or trapping without the approval of the people who controls or own the land (Survival, 2018).

Poaching is defined as the illegal removal of wild species from a place where such practices are specially reserved or forbidden.

Any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack.

A course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual.

The systematic promotion of mutually reinforcing policy actions across government departments and agencies creating synergies towards achieving the agreed objectives.

see decision context.

A framework describing the policy process in terms of four linked phases: agenda setting, policy design, policy implementation, and policy review.

a framework describing the policy process in terms of four linked phases: agenda setting, policy design, policy implementation, and policy review

Set of means or mechanisms to achieve a policy goal.

Policy instruments are understood as the different interventions (formal rules, laws, social norms and processes etc.) made by decision-makers (governments and public authorities, intergovernmental organizations, companies etc.) to ensure that (public) policy objectives are supported and achieved by influencing the behaviour of other stakeholders. The IPBES Catalogue differentiates among four different types of policy instruments: i) economic and financial instruments (financial incentives handling out or taking away economic resources), ii) legal and regulatory instruments (formal rules, laws and regulations), iii) rights-based instruments and customary norms (incl. human and collective rights as well as customary norms and institutions of indigenous people), and iv) social and cultural instruments (information-based instruments and voluntary or collective actions with an emphasis on the intertwined relationships between ecosystems and sociocultural dynamics).

Structured activities by which decision-making institutions attempt to realize or achieve a decision to support, effect or prevent social change expressed by a policy addressing an identified challenge or opportunity.

A combination of policy instruments which has evolved to influence the quantity and quality of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision in public and private sectors.

Policy options are defined as potential policies in terms of their ability to achieve the stated policy goals. Chapter 6 present the range of policy options available to support the sustainable use of wild species, at a range of spatial scales (local, national, international), and across five key practices (fishing, gathering, terrestrial animal harvesting, logging, and non-extractive practices). Four groups of policy instruments are explored: i) legal and regulatory, ii) economic and financial, iii) social and information based, and iv) rights-based and customary instruments.

constructs that depict the mix of institutional mechanisms that make up the governing arrangements addressing a particular problem (Herrick, 2019), noting that for the purpose of this assessment the term “regime” is used for a governance system, affecting more than one country, for a specific issue area, such as invasive alien species

see intervention scenarios.

Approaches and techniques based on science and other knowledge systems that can inform, assist and enhance relevant decisions, policy making and implementation at local, national, regional and global levels to protect nature, thereby promoting Nature’s contributions to people and a good quality of life.

Approaches and techniques based on science and other knowledge systems that can inform, assist and enhance relevant decisions, policy making and implementation at local, national, regional and global levels to protect nature, thereby promoting nature's benefits to people and a good quality of life.

Approaches and techniques based on science and other knowledge systems that can inform, assist and enhance relevant decisions, policy making and implementation at local, national, regional and global levels to protect nature, thereby promoting nature's contributions to people and a good quality of life.

Approaches and techniques based on science and other knowledge systems that can inform, assist and enhance relevant decisions, policymaking and implementation at local, national, regional and global levels to protect nature, thereby promoting nature's benefits to people and a good quality of life.

A definite course or method of action selected from among alternatives and in light of given conditions to guide and determine present and future decisions.

Policies are often cyclical in that emerging problems are addressed with the formulation of policies, followed by their implementation and subsequent evaluation. These stages in the policy cycle can be formalized with assigned roles and processes, and consist of many other sub-stages. For example, the policy formulation stage can include problem definition, identification of alternatives, consultations and public hearings, and finally, a decision on the chosen policy. Implementation can include allocating budgetary, assigning implementation roles to different actors, setting specific targets, and possibly developing guidelines. The evaluation and redefinition of the problem can be conducted with the help of formal monitoring systems as a periodic exercise, or it can be an ad-hoc process or a mere societal discussion of the impacts and consequences of existing policies.

Scenarios, including counterfactual scenarios, used in ex-post assessments of the gap between policy objectives and actual policy results, as part of the policy-review phase of the policy cycle.

Scenarios used in ex-ante assessments, to forecast the effects of alternative policy or management options (interventions) on environmental outcomes.

Approaches and techniques based on science and other knowledge systems, including indigenous and local knowledge, that can inform, assist and enhance relevant decisions, policy making and implementation at local, national, regional and global levels to protect nature, thereby promoting nature’s contributions to people and a good quality of life.

Approaches and techniques based on science and other knowledge systems that can inform, assist and enhance relevant decisions, policy making and implementation to protect nature, thereby promoting nature's benefits to people and a good quality of life.

Instruments used by governance bodies at all scales to implement their policies. Environmental policies, for example, could be implemented through tools such as legislation, economic incentives or dis-incentives, including taxes and tax exemptions, or tradable permits and fees.

The extent to which total seed and fruit production of an individual plant is limited by either the number or quality of the pollen grains deposited on flowers´ stigmas. In an agricultural context, pollen limitation is a synonym of pollination deficit.

The transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma. Pollination may occur within flowers of the same plant, between flowers of the same plant, or between flowers of different plants (or combinations thereof).

A measure of the accomplishments of a single visit of an individual animal in terms of pollen deposited, pollen removed, or seeds produced.

A measure of both the costs (flower damage, pollen eaten, etc.) and benefits (pollen deposited, pollen removed, seeds produced, etc.) of a single visit of an individual animal.

The western science perspective for the benefits derived from pollination.

see Plant-pollinator Network.

An agent that transports pollen. Such agents may be animals of many kinds or physical (wind or water), or both.

Decrease in abundance or diversity, or both, of pollinators.

The degree to which either seed or fruit production, or both, of a plant becomes reduced in the total absence of animal pollinators.

The commonly accepted practice that those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment. A polluter pays principle aims at preventing anybody from reaping the benefits at the expense of (or even considerable harm to) other members of the society.

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change.

An organizational structure where multiple independent actors mutually order their relationships with one another under a general system of rules.

Refers the organisation of small-, medium-, and large-scale democratic units that each may exercise considerable independence to make and enforce rules within a circumscribed scope of authority for a specified geographical area. Some units may be general-purpose governments whereas others may be highly specialized.