Glossary definitions

A social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or behavior.

A choice by people of a desired contemporary or future outcome.

A condition that maximizes the desired mix of ecosystem services.

Scenarios that start with the definition of a clear objective, or a set of objectives, specified either in terms of achievable targets, or as an objective function to be optimized, and then identify different pathways to achieving this outcome (e.g. through backcasting).

See “scenarios”.

A category applied to a group in a formal system of nomenclature, e.g. species, genus, family etc. (plural: taxa).

Variety of species or other taxonomic categories (IUCN, 2012a).

Technical papers are based on the material contained in the assessment reports and are prepared on topics deemed important by the Plenary.

A Technical Summary is a longer detailed and specialized version of the material contained in the summary for policymakers.

Tele-coupling refers to socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances. It involves distant exchanges of information, energy and matter (e.g. people, goods, products, capital) at multiple spatial, temporal and organizational scales.

Transboundary acquisition of land.

Relates to the environmental interactions between climatic systems over considerable distances.

A statistical association between climate variables at widely separated, geographically-fixed spatial locations. Teleconnections are caused by large spatial structures such as basin-wide coupled modes of ocean-atmosphere variability, Rossby wave-trains, mid-latitude jets and storm tracks, etc.

Socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances. It involves distant exchanges of information, energy and matter (e.g. people, goods, products, capital) at multiple spatial, temporal and organizational scales.

Refers to socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances. It involves distant exchanges of information, energy and matter (e.g. people, goods, products, capital) at multiple spatial, temporal and organizational scales.

Telecoupling refers to socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances. It involves distant exchanges of information, energy and matter (e.g. people, goods, products, capital) at multiple spatial, temporal and organizational scales.

Telecoupling refers to the phenomenon that natural or anthropogenic processes in one part of the globe have an effect on a distant part of the world (Friis et al., 2016). This concept thus enables the description of flows and impacts between globally distant places in a common language. Synonym in the literature is global inter-regional connectedness.

Comprised of two properties: 1) temporal extent - the total length of the time period of interest for a particular study (e.g. 10 years, 50 years, or 100 years); and 2) temporal grain (or resolution) - the temporal frequency with which data are observed or projected within this total period (e.g. at 1-year, 5-year or 10-year intervals).

Measurements or other observations reported along a time series.

The act, fact, manner, or condition of holding something in one’s possession, as real estate or an office; occupation.

An agreement between an individual or group to land and residential property, which is governed and regulated by a legal and administrative framework includes both customary and statutory systems.

Tenure systems define who can use which Nature’s contributions to people, for how long and under what conditions. Three related aspects of tenure offer a comprehensive understanding of the term. They include (1) tenure as a set of rights, (2) key responsibilities in relation to tenure, and (3) enabling conditions that facilitate governance of tenure. From this combined perspective, tenure is understood as the combination of a set of specific rights that connect the resource users with various aspects of the resource and puts the control and decision-making power in their hands. These rights span social, ecological, economic, and political aspects of tenure, and help provide directions to moving toward effective governance. Rights are connected with responsibilities that range from the duties of the users to maintain the resource to the duties to be performed by the state, and those jointly by both. The exercise of tenure rights can only be possible if certain conditions are meaningfully met because they offer the much required social, ecological, and political environment for the operationalization of tenure rights, performance of the tenure related duties, and necessary security and protection against tenure violations. From an integrated social-ecological (human-environmental) systems perspective, tenure is defined as relationships (also interactions and connections) between people (the users) who seek tenure and between the people (users) and the environment (includes the resource) to which tenure is being sought. Governance of tenure is then about the manner in which these host of relationships, interactions, and connections are addressed and promoted. Tenure in the context of sustainable use of wild species is not a static concept and, therefore, can be best understood as a process and its governance as continuous.

Any agent that causes an abnormality following fetal exposure during pregnancy.

Terrestrial animal harvesting is defined as the removal from their habitat of animals (vertebrates and invertebrates) that spend some or all of their life cycle in terrestrial environments. As for fishing, terrestrial animal harvesting often results in the death of the animal, but it may not in some cases. To reflect both situations, terrestrial animal harvesting has been sub-divided into a lethal and a “non- lethal” category. Hunting is defined as the lethal category of terrestrial animal harvesting which leads to the killing of the animal, such as in trophy hunting. “Non-lethal” terrestrial animal harvesting is defined as the temporary or permanent capture of live animals from their habitat without intended mortality, such as pet trade, falconry or green hunting. Non-lethal harvest of animals also includes removal of parts or products of animals that do not lead to the mortality of the host, such as vicuña fiber or wild honey. Unintended mortality may however occur in this category and the term “non-lethal” is therefore put in quotes.

Net Primary Production (NPP) from the terrestrial environment.

Give a specific harvester exclusive access to ocean areas.

Give a specific harvester exclusive access to ocean areasJ. E. Wilen, Cancino, & Uchida, 2012.

The science of the relationship between heat, work, temperature, and energy. In broad terms, thermodynamics deals with the transfer of energy from one place to another and from one form to another. The key concept is that heat is a form of energy corresponding to a definite amount of mechanical work. The behaviour of a complex thermodynamic system, such as Earth's atmosphere, can be understood by first applying the principles of states and properties to its component parts—in this case, water, water vapour, and the various gases making up the atmosphere. By isolating samples of material whose states and properties can be controlled and manipulated, properties and their interrelations can be studied as the system changes from state to state.

In the IUCN Red List terminology, a threatened species is any species listed in the Red List categories: critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable.

Harmful or fatal effect of a small change in environmental conditions that exceeds the limit of tolerance of an organism or population of a species.

Magnitudes or intensities that must be exceeded for a certain reaction, phenomenon, result, or condition to occur or be manifested.

Intertidal, non-vegetated, soft sediment habitats, found between mean high- water and mean low-water spring tide datums and generally located in estuaries and other low energy marine environments (Dineen, 2010).

In agriculture, the preparation of soil for planting and the cultivation of soil after planting.

The altitude (in mountains) and latitude above which trees are unable to grow - also called tree line (Lawrence, 2005).

A set of conditions of an ecological or social system where further perturbation will cause rapid change and prevent the system from returning to its former state.

A level of change in system properties beyond which a system reorganizes, often abruptly, and does not return to the initial state even if the drivers of the change are abated.

Systems driven by top level or higher- order processes.

The upper part of a natural soil that is generally dark coloured and has a higher content of organic matter and nutrients when compared to the (mineral) horizons below. It excludes the litter layer.

The total catch allowed to be taken from a resource within a specified time period (usually a year) by all operators; designated by the regulatory authority. Usually allocated in the form of quotas (IUCN, 2012a).

The total catch allowed to be taken from a resource within a specified time period (usually a year) by all operators; designated by the regulatory authority. Usually allocated in the form of quotas.

A concept in cost-benefit analysis that refers to the value derived by people from a natural resource, a man-made heritage resource or an infrastructure system, compared to not having it.

A principle or an ontology found within societies that differentiate different sections of the society, according to the attachment of these sections to animal or plant tutelar spirits. In other words, totemism defines discontinuities in social order according to each group's attachment to a specific animal or plant spirit that is perceived as having similar features to this section (or clan) and an innerself that also ressembles people in this section (and reciprocally).

A principle or an ontology found within societies that differentiate different sections of the society, according to the attachment of these sections to animal or plant tutelar spirits. In other words, totemism defines discontinuities in social order according to each group's attachment to a specific animal or plant spirit that is perceived as having similar features to this section (or clan) and an inner-self that also resembles people in this section (and reciprocally).

Trade is defined in formal markets as the exchanges in which records are kept and statistics generated. It is expected that currency is the medium of exchange in formal markets. Trade in informal markets encompasses exchanges in which neither records nor statistics are generated; the medium of exchange may be currency or goods and/or services.

A trade-off is a situation where an improvement in the status of one aspect of the environment or of human well-being is necessarily associated with a decline in or loss of a different aspect. Trade-offs characterize most complex systems, and are important to consider when making decisions that aim to improve environmental and/or socio-economic outcomes. Trade-offs are distinct from synergies (the latter are also referred to as “win-win” scenarios): synergies arise when the enhancement of one desirable outcome leads to enhancement of another.

A situation where an improvement in the status of one aspect of the environment or of human well-being is necessarily associated with a decline in or loss of a different aspect. Trade-offs characterize most complex systems, and are important to consider when making decisions that aim to improve environmental and/or socio-economic outcomes. Trade-offs are distinct from synergies (the latter are also referred to as win-win scenarios): synergies arise when the enhancement of one desirable outcome leads to enhancement of another.

A balance achieved between two desirable but incompatible features; a compromise.

A trade-off is a situation where an improvement in the status of one aspect of the environment or of human well-being is necessarily associated with a decline in or loss of a different aspect. Trade-offs characterize most complex systems and are important to consider when making decisions that aim to improve environmental and/or socio-economic outcomes. Trade-offs are distinct from synergies (the latter are also referred to as “win-win” scenarios): synergies arise when the enhancement of one desirable outcome leads to enhancement of another.

Any type of farming that uses techniques developed over decades or centuries to ensure good, sustainable yields in a specific area or region. Traditional farms are based around mixed crops that complement one another.

Resource management strategies and practices based on accumulated indigenous and local knowledge acquired through community-based learning processes and transmitted between successive generations.