Glossary definitions

Sewage (or domestic wastewater or municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced from a community of people.

Natural gas from shale formations (European Commission, 2018).

A system that links people to the vital forces of nature, especially the soul or inner-self of non-humans or nature spirits, through the mediation of a specialist, the shaman. Shamans are generally trained through enduring experiences including the consumption of psychotropic substances that lead them to experience spiritual connections that are mobilized to combat illness and any dangers that may affect their community.

Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) describe alternative socioeconomic futures in the absence of climate policy intervention, comprising sustainable development (SSP1), regional rivalry (SSP3), inequality (SSP4), fossil-fuelled development (SSP5) and middle-of- the-road development (SSP2). The combination of SSP-based socio- economic scenarios and Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP)-based climate projections provides an integrative frame for climate impact and policy analysis.

Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) describe alternative socio- economic futures in the absence of climate policy intervention, comprising sustainable development (SSP1), regional rivalry (SSP3), inequality (SSP4), fossil-fuelled development (SSP5) and middle-of-the-road development (SSP2). The combination of SSP-based socio-economic scenarios and Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP)-based climate projections provides an integrative frame for climate impact and policy analysis.

Narratives outlining broad characteristics of the global future and country-level population, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), urbanisation projections based on five alternative socio- economic developments (i.e. sustainable development), regional rivalry, inequality, fossil-fuelled development, and middle-of-the- road development. The SSPs are supported by key quantitative indicators and metrics, describing trends in demographics, human development, economy and lifestyle, policies and institutions, technology, environment and natural resources.

Shared values are the broad and specific values that people express collectively, in groups, communities, and across society as a whole. They can be formed through long-term processes of socialisation and shorter-term processes such as group deliberations.

See 'Continental shelf'.

An agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned to regenerate soil fertility by the regeneration of natural vegetation. The system involves 1) the removal of the natural vegetation (usually forest or shrub land) in most cases (though not exclusively) by cutting and subsequent burning, mulching, or their combinations (such as in slash-and-burn, slash-and-mulch); 2) an alternation between a short duration of cultivation and a comparatively long duration of bush or forest fallow (such as in swidden agroforestry); and 3) the regular, in most cases cyclical, shifting of field (Erni, 2015). Shifting cultivation systems are found around the world, particularly in tropical areas, in a wide range of soils and vegetation types, under a diversity of land and resource management, using different crops and cultivation methods, and are practiced by innumerous Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned and allowed to revert to their natural vegetation while the cultivator moves on to another plot.

An agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned to regenerate soil fertility by the regeneration of natural vegetation. The system involves 1) the removal of the natural vegetation (usually forest or shrub land) in most cases (though not exclusively) by cutting and subsequent burning, mulching, or their combinations (such as in slash-and-burn, slash-and- mulch); 2) an alternation between a short duration of cultivation and a comparatively long duration of bush or forest fallow (such as in swidden agroforestry); and 3) the regular, in most cases cyclical, shifting of field (Erni, 2015). Shifting cultivation systems are found around the world, particularly in tropical areas, in a wide range of soils and vegetation types, under a diversity of land and resource management, using different crops and cultivation methods, and are practiced by innumerous Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

A building or other construction associated with a Japanese religion (Shinto) which incorporate the worship of ancestors and nature spirits.

The applied science of forest ecology and management. The foundation is based on silvics, which is concerned with the development and growth of trees and forests. The practice of silviculture is rooted in a broad understanding of forested ecosystems, which includes biometeorology, hydrology, geology and soils and ecology.

The art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health and quality of forest and woodlands to meet the targeted diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis.

Combination of livestock-cattle, sheep, goats, other ruminants-with trees or other woody perennials and forages on the same unit of land.

programmes that aim to manage the impacts of invasive alien species within a site/area through both implementation of control measures and where necessary restoration (sometimes referred to as asset protection) e.g., within high value protected sites/areas.

See ‘Shifting cultivation’.

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Traditional fishing performed by family units rather than commercial units, using a relatively small amount of capital and energy, and carrying out short fishing trips close to coasts and mainly for local consumption (FAO, 2018a).

Small-scale fisheries are defined as a category of capture fishery that generally present (some of) the following characteristics: (i) low capital investment, (ii) high labor activities often family or community-based, (iii) no vessel or small size vessel (< 12m and < 10 GT), (iv) relatively low production, which is household consumed or locally and directly sold and (v) operating close to the shoreline on a single day basis.

A Hindu religious text containing traditional teachings on religion.

see “Policy instruments”.

defined as interactions among individuals, normally within the same species, that are usually beneficial to one or more of the individuals. It is believed that social behaviour evolved because it was beneficial to those who engaged in it, which means that these individuals were more likely to survive and reproduce. Social behaviour serves many purposes and is exhibited by an extraordinary wide variety of animals, including invertebrates, fish, birds, and mammals. Thus, social behaviour is not only displayed by animals possessing well-developed brains and nervous systems.

As used in the global assessment, social capital refers to networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate co-operation within or among groups. Put together, these networks and understandings engender trust and so enable people to work together.

As used in the global assessment, social capital refers to networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate co-operation within or among groups. Put together, these networks and understandings engender trust and so enable peo.

Networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate co-operation within or among groups. Social capital represents the capacity of a community (local or international like the UN) to gather and achieve common goals.

Emphasizes that social/cultural processes behind the creation of artefacts, values and institutions. To the extent that these constructs influence people’s identity and personality, one talks of social construction of the human.

A state whereby resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons.

Social learning is both the cooperation of partners and the outcome of this cooperation that occurs most efficiently through joint problem solving and reflection within learning networks can be reinforced by experiences.

The process in which individuals or people are systematically blocked from (or denied full access to) various rights, opportunities and resources that are normally available to members of a different group, and which are fundamental to social integration and observance of human rights within that particular group (e.g. housing, employment, healthcare, civic engagement, democratic participation and due process).

A network of social interactions and personal relationships.

A social norm is what people in some group believe to be normal in the group, that is, believed to be a typical action, an appropriate action, or both (Gerry Mackie et al., 2015).

A social norm is what people in some group believe to be normal in the group, that is, believed to be a typical action, an appropriate action, or both.

Refers to transparent social practices that are based on ethical values, compliance with legal requirements, and respect for people, communities, and the environment.

Social welfare services provided by a community of individuals at the state and local levels. These services are geared toward eliminating poverty in a specific area. These services may include housing re- assignment, job placement, subsidies for household bills, and other cash equivalents for food. Social safety net works in conjunction with a number of other poverty reduction programs with the primary goal of reducing/preventing poverty.

Social values refer to value indicators at a social scale, such as social willingness to pay in economics. They can be established by aggregation from individual values through analytical procedures, or through social processes, such as deliberative valuation, that lead to shared social values.

The condition of a society emphasizing happiness and contentment; social welfare relates to how individuals use their relationships to other actors in societies for their own and for the collective good; it has both material elements and wider spiritual and social dimensions.

Social-ecological systems are complex adaptive systems in which people and nature are inextricably linked, in which both the social and ecological components exert strong influence over outcomes. The social dimension includes actors, institutions, cultures and economies, including livelihoods. The ecological dimension includes wild species and the ecosystem they inhabit.

The capacity of a social-ecological system to absorb or withstand perturbations and other stressors such that the system remains within the same regime, essentially maintaining its structure and functions. It describes the degree to which the system is capable of self-organization, learning and adaptation.

Aggregations of people involved in persistent social interactions or sharing geographical or social territories, often with individual political authorities and dominant cultural expectations.

Values shared by people in groups and/or values that inform shared identity of a particular group.

Dynamic mosaics of habitats and land uses where the harmonious interaction between people and nature maintains biodiversity while providing humans with the goods and services needed for their.

Dynamic mosaics of habitats and land uses where the harmonious interaction between people and nature maintains biodiversity while providing humans with the goods and services needed for their livelihoods, survival and well-being in a sustainable manner.

A bio-geo- physical unit and its associated social actors and institutions. Socio-ecological systems are complex and adaptive and are delimited by spatial or functional boundaries surrounding particular ecosystems and their specific context.

A concept used in a variety of analytical approaches intended to examine the relationship between people and nature as inter-linked, recognizing that humans should be seen as a part of, not apart from, nature, and nature as inter-linked to social systems.

see indirect drivers.

An ecosystem, the management of this ecosystem by actors and organizations, and the rules, social norms, and conventions underlying this management.

The upper layer of the Earth’s crust transformed by weathering and physical/ chemical and biological processes. It is composed of mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms organized in genetic soil horizons.

Soil acidification is caused by a number of factors including acidic precipitation and the deposition from the atmosphere of acidifying gases or particles, such as sulphur dioxide, ammonia and nitric acid. The most important causes of soil acidification on agricultural land, however, are the application of ammonium-based fertilizers and urea, elemental S fertilizer and the growth of legumes.

Decline in the diversity of (micro- and macro-) organisms present in a soil. In turn, this prejudices the ability of soil to provide critical ecosystem services.