Glossary definitions

In the context of IPBES, drivers of change are all the factors that, directly or indirectly, cause changes in nature, anthropogenic assets, nature's contributions to people and a good quality of life. Direct drivers of change can be both natural and anthropogenic. Direct drivers have direct physical (mechanical, chemical, noise, light etc.) and behaviour-affecting impacts on nature. They include, inter alia, climate change, pollution, different types of land use change, invasive alien species and zoonoses, and exploitation. Indirect drivers are drivers that operate diffusely by altering and influencing direct drivers, as well as other indirect drivers. They do not impact nature directly. Rather, they do it by affecting the level, direction or rate of direct drivers. Interactions between indirect and direct drivers create different chains of relationship, attribution, and impacts, which may vary according to type, intensity, duration, and distance. These relationships can also lead to different types of spill-over effects. Global indirect drivers include economic, demographic, governance, technological and cultural ones. Special attention is given, among indirect drivers, to the role of institutions (both formal and informal) and impacts of the patterns of production, supply and consumption on nature, nature's contributions to people and good quality of life.

In the context of IPBES, drivers of change are all the factors that, directly or indirectly, cause changes in nature, anthropogenic assets, nature's contributions to people and a good quality of life. Direct drivers of change can be both natural and anthropogenic. Direct drivers have direct physical (mechanical, chemical, noise, light etc.) and psychological (disturbance etc.) impacts on nature and its functioning, and on people and their interaction. Direct drivers unequivocally influence biodiversity and ecosystem processes. They are also referred to as ‘pressures'. Direct drivers include, inter alia, climate change, pollution, land use change, invasive alien species and zoonoses, including their effects across regions. Indirect drivers are drivers that operate diffusely by altering and influencing direct drivers as well as other indirect drivers (also referred to as ‘underlying causes'). Interactions between indirect and direct drivers create different chains of relationship, attribution, and impacts, which may vary according to type, intensity, duration, and distance. These relationships can also lead to different types of spill-over effects. Global indirect drivers include economic, demographic, governance, technological and cultural ones, among others. Special attention is given, among indirect drivers, to the role of institutions (both formal and informal) and impacts of the patterns of production, supply and consumption on nature, nature's contributions to people and good quality of life.

In the context of IPBES, drivers of change are all the factors that, directly or indirectly, cause changes in nature, anthropogenic assets, nature's contributions to people and a good quality of life.Direct drivers of change can be both natural and anthropogenic. Direct drivers have direct physical (mechanical, chemical, noise, light etc.) and behaviour-affecting impacts on nature. They include, inter alia, climate change, pollution, different types of land use change, invasive alien species and zoonoses, and exploitation.Indirect drivers are drivers that operate diffusely by altering and influencing direct drivers, as well as other indirect drivers. They do not impact nature directly. Rather, they do it by affecting the level, direction or rate of direct drivers.Interactions between indirect and direct drivers create different chains of relationship, attribution, and impacts, which may vary according to type, intensity, duration, and distance. These relationships can also lead to different types of spill-over effects.Global indirect drivers include economic, demographic, governance, technological and cultural ones. Special attention is given, among indirect drivers, to the role of institutions (both formal and informal) and impacts of the patterns of production, supply and consumption on nature, nature's contributions to people and good quality of life.

In the context of IPBES, drivers of change are all the factors that, directly or indirectly, cause changes in nature, anthropogenic assets, nature’s contributions to people and a good quality of life. Direct drivers of change can be both natural and anthropogenic. Direct drivers have direct physical (mechanical, chemical, noise, light etc.) and psychological (disturbance etc.) impacts on nature and its functioning, and on people and their interaction. Direct drivers unequivocally influence biodiversity and ecosystem processes. They are also referred to as ‘pressures’. Direct drivers include, inter alia, climate change, pollution, land use change, invasive alien species and zoonoses, including their effects across regions. Indirect drivers are drivers that operate diffusely by altering and influencing direct drivers as well as other indirect drivers (also referred to as ‘underlying causes’). Interactions between indirect and direct drivers create different chains of relationship, attribution, and impacts, which may vary according to type, intensity, duration, and distance. These relationships can also lead to different types of spill-over effects. Global indirect drivers include economic, demographic, governance, technological and cultural ones, among others. Special attention is given, among indirect drivers, to the role of institutions (both formal and informal) and impacts of the patterns of production, supply and consumption on nature, nature’s contributions to people and good quality of life.

Drivers, both non human-induced and anthropogenic, that affect nature directly. Direct anthropogenic drivers are those that flow from human institutions and governance systems and other indirect drivers. They include positive and negative effects, such as habitat conversion, human-caused climate change, or species introductions. Direct non human-induced drivers can directly affect anthropogenic assets and quality of life (e.g. a volcanic eruption can destroy roads and cause human deaths), but these impacts are not the main focus of IPBES. See chapter 1 and chapter 2 (Drivers) for a detailed typology of drivers.

Human actions and decisions that affect nature diffusely by altering and influencing direct drivers as well as other indirect drivers. They do not physically impact nature or its contributions to people. Indirect drivers include economic, demographic, governance, technological and cultural ones, among others. See chapter 1 and chapter 2 (Drivers) for a detailed typology of drivers.

All the external factors that cause change in nature, anthropogenic assets, nature's benefits to people and a good quality of life. They include institutions and governance systems and other indirect drivers, and direct drivers (both natural and anthropogenic).

All those external factors (i.e. generated outside the conceptual framework element in question) that affect nature, anthropogenic assets, nature's benefits to people and quality of life. Drivers of change include institutions and governance systems and other indirect drivers, and direct drivers - both natural and anthropogenic.direct drivers result from human decisions.

Drivers of change refer to all those external factors that affect nature, and, as a consequence, also affect the supply of nature's contributions to people. The IPBES conceptual framework includes drivers of change as two of its main elements: indirect drivers, which are all anthropogenic, and direct drivers, both natural and anthropogenic. See chapter 1 and chapter 2 (Drivers) for a detailed typology of drivers.

Drivers of change refer to all those external factors that affect nature, and, as a consequence, also affect the supply of Nature's contributions to people. The IPBES conceptual framework includes drivers of change as two of its main elements: indirect drivers, which are all anthropogenic, and direct drivers, both natural and anthropogenic.

For the purpose of this assessment, drivers are defined as the factors that, directly or indirectly influence the sustainability of use of wild species, by changing the abundance or distribution of species in use, altering demand on and consumption of wild species, products derived from wild species and/or changing the (nature, scale, and/or intensity of) interactions with wild species in use (practices). It is recognized that the same factor may influence different components of the system (wild species, practices, Nature’s contributions to people); and the interactions among these factors vary across time and space, which can have negative or positive effects on sustainability.

Those that are the result of human decisions and actions, namely, of institutions and governance systems and other indirect drivers (e.g. land degradation and restoration, freshwater pollution, ocean acidification, climate change produced by anthropogenic carbon emissions, species introductions). Some of these drivers, such as pollution, can have negative impacts on nature; others, as in the case of habitat restoration, can have positive effects.

Both natural and anthropogenic drivers that affect nature directly.

The ways in which societies organize themselves (and their interaction with nature), and the resulting influences on other components. They are underlying causes of change that do not make direct contact with the portion of nature in question; rather, they impact it - positively or negatively - through direct anthropogenic drivers. The institutions encompass all formal and informal interactions among stakeholders and social structures that determine how decisions are taken and implemented, how power is exercised, and how responsibilities are distributed. Various collections of institutions come together to form governance systems, that include interactions between different centres of power in society (corporate, customary-law based, governmental, judicial) at different scales from local through to global. Institutions and governance systems determine, to various degrees, the access to, and the control, allocation and distribution of components of nature and anthropogenic assets and their benefits to people .

Drivers that are not the result of human activities and whose occurrence is beyond human control (e.g. natural climate and weather patterns, extreme events such as prolonged drought or cold periods, cyclones and floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions).

Tropical and sub-tropical dry forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred centimetres or rain per year, they deal with long dry seasons which last several months and vary with geographic location.

Arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. The term excludes hyper-arid areas, also known as deserts. Drylands are characterized by water scarcity and cover approximately 40% of the world's terrestrial surface.

Drylands comprise arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. The term excludes hyper-arid areas, also known as deserts. Drylands are characterised by water scarcity and cover approximately 40 % of the world's terrestrial surface.

Drylands comprise arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. The term excludes hyper-arid areas, also known as deserts. Drylands are characterised by water scarcity and cover approximately 40 per cent of the world's terrain.

Drylands comprise arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. The term excludes hyper-arid areas, also known as deserts. Drylands are characterised by water scarcity and cover approximately 40% of the world's terrestrial surface.

Tropical and temperate areas with an aridity index (annual rainfall/annual potential evaporation) of less than 0.65.

Downscaling based on mechanistic models, which may be more appropriate than statistical downscaling in systems where the relationship between coarse scale and fine scale dynamics are complex and non-linear, or observational data are insufficient.

A model that describes changes through time of a specific process. See also process-based model.

See models.

refer to the emergent patterns of change across ‘depths’, ‘breadths’ and time that unfold as non-linear pathways. These may be characterised by ‘punctuated equilibrium’ in which more stable periods of incremental change are punctuated by bursts of change in which underlying structures are reorganised into new states.

Any situation in which the current state of knowledge is such that: the order or nature of things is unknown, the consequences, extent, or magnitude of circumstances, conditions, or events is unpredictable, and credible probabilities to possible outcomes cannot be assigned. Uncertainty can result from lack of information or from disagreement about what is known or even knowable. Uncertainty can be represented by quantitative measures (e.g., a range of values calculated by various models) or by qualitative statements (e.g., reflecting the judgment of a team of experts).

Any situation in which the current state of knowledge is such that (1) the order or nature of things is unknown, (2) the consequences, extent, or magnitude of circumstances, conditions, or events is unpredictable, and (3) credible probabilities to possible outcomes cannot be assigned.

Any situation in which the current state of knowledge is such that: 1. the order or nature of things is unknown, the consequences, extent, or magnitude of circumstances, conditions, or events is unpredictable, and 2. credible probabilities to possible outcomes cannot be assigned. 3. Uncertainty can result from lack of information or from disagreement about what is known or even knowable. Uncertainty can be represented by quantitative measures (e.g. a range of values calculated by various models) or by qualitative statements (e.g. reflecting the judgment of a team of experts).

Any situation in which the current state of knowledge is such that: the order or nature of things is unknown, the consequences, extent, or magnitude of circumstances, conditions, or events is unpredictable, and credible probabilities to possible outcomes cannot be assigned. Uncertainty can result from lack of information or from disagreement about what is known or even knowable. Uncertainty can be represented by quantitative measures (e.g. a range of values calculated by various models) or by qualitative statements (e.g. reflecting the judgment of a team of experts).

see linguistic uncertainty, decision uncertainty, stochastic uncertainty, and scientific uncertainty.

Any situation in which the current state of knowledge is such that: (i). the order or nature of things is unknown; (ii). the consequences, extent, or magnitude of circumstances, conditions, or events is unpredictable; and (iii). credible probabilities to possible outcomes cannot be assigned. Uncertainty can result from lack of information or from disagreement about what is known or even knowable. Uncertainty can be represented by quantitative measures (e.g. a range of values calculated by various models) or by qualitative statements (e.g. reflecting the judgment of a team of experts).

The IPBES Units of Analysis result from subdividing the Earth’s surface into units solely for the purposes of analysis. The following have been identified as IPBES units of analysis globally: Terrestrial: Tropical and subtropical dry and humid forests Temperate and boreal forests and woodlands Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub Tundra and High Mountain habitats Tropical and subtropical savannas and grasslands Temperate Grasslands Deserts and xeric shrublands Wetlands - peatlands, mires, bogs Urban/Semi-urban Cultivated areas (incl. cropping, intensive livestock farming etc.) Aquatic, including both marine and freshwater: Cryosphere Aquaculture areas Inland surface waters and water bodies/freshwater Shelf ecosystems (neritic and intertidal/littoral zone) Open ocean pelagic systems (euphotic zone) Deep-Sea Coastal areas intensively used for multiple purposes by humans These IPBES terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis serve as a framework for comparison within and across assessments and represent a pragmatic solution. The IPBES terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis are not intended to be prescriptive for other purposes than those of IPBES assessments. They are likely to evolve as the work of IPBES develops.

The IPBES Units of Analysis result from subdividing the Earth's surface into units solely for the purposes of analysis. The following have been identified as IPBES units of analysis globally: Terrestrial: Tropical and subtropical dry and humid forests, Temperate and boreal forests and woodlands, Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub, Tundra and High Mountain habitats, Tropical and subtropical savannas and grasslands, Temperate Grasslands, Deserts and xeric shrublands, Wetlands - peatlands, mires, bogs, Urban/Semi-urban, Cultivated areas (incl. cropping, intensive livestock farming etc.).; Aquatic, including both marine and freshwater: Cryosphere, Aquaculture areas, Inland surface waters and water bodies/ freshwater, Shelf ecosystems (neritic and intertidal/ littoral zone), Open ocean pelagic systems (euphotic zone), Deep-Sea, Coastal areas intensively used for multiple purposes by humans.These IPBES terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis serve as a framework for comparison within and across assessments and represent a pragmatic solution. The IPBES terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis are not intended to be prescriptive for other purposes than those of IPBES assessments. They are likely to evolve as the work of IPBES develops.

The IPBES Units of Analysis result from subdividing the Earth's surface into units solely for the purposes of analysis. The following have been identified: IPBES units of analysis (terrestrial): Tropical and subtropical dry and humid forests; Temperate and boreal forests and woodlands; Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub; Tundra and High Mountain habitats; Tropical and subtropical savannas and grasslands; Temperate Grasslands; Deserts and xeric shrublands; Wetlands - peatlands, mires, bogs; Urban/Semi-urban; Cultivated areas (incl. cropping, intensive livestock farming etc.).; IPBES units of analysis (aquatic, including both marine and freshwater units):; Cryosphere; Aquaculture areas; Inland surface waters and water bodies/ freshwater; Shelf ecosystems (neritic and intertidal/ littoral zone); Open ocean pelagic systems (euphotic zone); Deep-Sea; Coastal areas intensively used for multiple purposes by humans.; These IPBES terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis serve as a framework for comparison within and across assessments and represent a pragmatic solution, which may evolve as the work of IPBES develops. The IPBES terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis serve the purposes of IPBES, and are not intended to be prescriptive for other purposes.

Units of analysis result from subdividing the Earth's surface into units solely for the purposes of analysis. The terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis serve as a framework for comparison within and across IPBES assessments and represent a pragmatic solution. The terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis used by IPBES are not intended to be prescriptive for purposes other than those of IPBES assessments. They are likely to evolve as the work of IPBES develops.

The IPBES Units of Analysis result from subdividing the Earth's surface into units solely for the purposes of analysis. The following have been identified: IPBES units of analysis (terrestrial): Tropical and subtropical dry and humid forests, Temperate and boreal forests and woodlands, Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub, Tundra and High Mountain habitats, Tropical and subtropical savannas and grasslands, Temperate Grasslands, Deserts and xeric shrublands, Wetlands - peatlands, mires, bogs, Urban/Semi-urban, Cultivated areas (incl. cropping, intensive livestock farming etc.).; IPBES units of analysis (aquatic, including both marine and freshwater units): Cryosphere, Aquaculture areas, Inland surface waters and water bodies/ freshwater, Shelf ecosystems (neritic and intertidal/ littoral zone), Open ocean pelagic systems (euphotic zone), Deep-Sea, Coastal areas intensively used for multiple purposes by humans. These IPBES terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis serve as a framework for comparison within and across assessments and represent a pragmatic solution, which may evolve as the work of IPBES develops. The IPBES terrestrial and aquatic units of analysis serve the purposes of IPBES, and are not intended to be prescriptive for other purposes.

The IPBES Units of Analysis result from subdividing the Earth?s surface into units solely for the purposes of analysis. The following have been identified as IPBES units of analysis globally:Terrestrial:Tropical and subtropical dry and humid forestsTem.

Something difficult or impossible to foretell or foresee.

Multiple independent studies exist but conclusions do not agree.

Each of a series of Hindu sacred treatises written in Sanskrit c.800-200 BC, expounding the Vedas in predominantly mystical and monistic terms.

The process of scaling information from local, fine-grained resolution to global, coarse-grained resolution.

A process in which deep, cold water rises toward the surface replacing warmer water pushed away by winds. Water that rises to the surface as a result of upwelling is typically colder and rich in nutrients, which “fertilize” surface waters, meaning that these surface waters often have high biological productivity.

adj. Pertaining to the built-up, human- inhabited environment (cities, towns, villages, etc.).

Any ecological system located within a city or other densely settled area or, in a broader sense, the greater ecological system that makes up an entire metropolitan area (Pickett, 2018).

The term heat island describes built up areas that are hotter than nearby rural areas.

A method to evaluate the flows of energy and materials within an urban system, which can provide insights into the system's sustainability and the severity of urban problems such as excessive social, community, and household metabolism at scales ranging from global to local.

The increase in the proportion of a population living in urban areas; the process by which a large number of people becomes permanently concentrated in relatively small areas, forming cities.

Increase in the proportion of a population living in urban areas; process by which a large number of people becomes permanently concentrated in relatively small areas, forming cities.

The process by which villages, towns, cities and other built-up areas grow or by which societies become more urban.

The wild species uses are defined through the practices of fishing, gathering, terrestrial animal harvesting, logging, and non-extractive practices. For the purposes of this assessment, the use of wild species have been divided into different categories, which are not mutually exclusive: ceremony and ritual expression, decorative and aesthetic, energy, food and feed, learning and education, materials and construction, medicine and hygiene, recreation and other: companionship.