forest |
A minimum area of land of 0.05-1.0 hectares with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10-30 per cent with trees with the potential to reach a minimum height of 2-5 metres at maturity in situ. A forest may consist either of closed forest formations where trees of various stories and undergrowth cover a high proportion of the ground or open forest.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme), Africa assessment |
forest |
A minimum area of land of 0.05 - 1.0 hectares with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10?30 per cent with trees with the potential to reach a minimum height of 2?5 m at maturity in situ. A forest may consist either of closed fore.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme) |
forest |
A minimum area of land of 0.05 - 1.0 hectares with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10-30 per cent with trees with the potential to reach a minimum height of 2-5 m at maturity in situ. A forest may consist either of closed forest formations where trees of various stories and undergrowth cover a high proportion of the ground or open forest.
|
Pollination assessment, Asia-Pacific assessment, Land degradation and restoration assessment, Americas assessment |
formal institution |
Include law and policies e.g. regulations and directives, and fiscal, agricultural or planning policies, to name just a few examples. These are typically based on legal instruments, treaties and customary laws. Informal institutions in turn include social norms and rules, such as those related to collective action.
|
Europe and Central Asia assessment |
fossil fuel |
Fuels such as petroleum derived for fossil oil sources.
|
Land degradation and restoration assessment |
fossil fuel |
Fossil fuels are derived from the remains of ancient plant and animal life: coal, oil and natural gas. In common dialogue, the term fossil fuel also includes hydrocarbon-containing natural resources that are not derived from animal or plant sources.
|
Sustainable use assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
fragmentation |
see Habitat fragmentation.
|
|
fragmentation |
The process or state of breaking or being broken into fragments. Often used in reference to habitats.
|
Asia-Pacific assessment |
free, prior and informed consent |
Free implies that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities are not pressured, intimidated, manipulated or unduly influenced and that their consent is given, without coercion; prior implies seeking consent or approval sufficiently in advance of any authorization to access traditional knowledge respecting the customary decision-making processes in accordance with national legislation and time requirements of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities; informed implies that information is provided that covers relevant aspects, such as: the intended purpose of the access; its duration and scope; a preliminary assessment of the likely economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts, including potential risks; personnel likely to be involved in the execution of the access; procedures the access may entail and benefit-sharing arrangements; consent or approval is the agreement of the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities who are holders of traditional knowledge or the competent authorities of those Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, as appropriate, to grant access to their traditional knowledge to a potential user and includes the right not to grant consent or approval.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme), Sustainable use assessment |
functional diversity |
The range, actual values, relative abundance and distribution of functional trait attributes in a given community.
|
Europe and Central Asia assessment |
functional diversity |
Value, range and relative abundance of functional traits in a given ecosystem.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme), Land degradation and restoration assessment |
functional diversity |
The range, actual values and relative abundance of functional trait attributes in a given community.
|
|
functional extinction |
See 'Exctinction'.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme) |
functional group |
A collection of organisms with similar suites of co-occurring functional attributes. Groups are traditionally associated with similar responses to external factors and/ or effects on ecosystem processes. A functional group is often referred to as ‘guild.
|
Sustainable use assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
functional redundancy |
The occurrence in the same ecosystem of species filling similar roles, which results in a sort of insurance in the ecosystem, with one species able to replace a similar species from the same functional niche.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme) |
functional trait |
A feature of an organism, which has demonstrable links to the organism's function (Lavorel et al. 1997). As such, a functional trait determines the organism's response to pressures (Response trait), and/or its effects on ecosystem processes orservices(Effect trait).Functional traits are considered as reflecting adaptations to variation in the physical and biotic environment and trade-offs (ecophysiological and/or evolutionary) among different functions within an organism. In plants, functional traits include morphological, ecophysiological, biochemical and regeneration traits, including demographic traits(at population level). In animals, these traits are combined with lifehistory and behavioural traits (e.g. guilds, organisms that use similar resources/ habitats).
|
Asia-Pacific assessment |
functional trait |
Any feature of an organism, expressed in the phenotype and measurable at the individual level, which has demonstrable links to the organism's function. As such, a functional trait determines the organism's response to external abiotic or biotic factors (response trait), and/or its effects on ecosystem properties or benefits or detriments derived from such properties (effect trait). In plants, functional traits include morphological, ecophysiological, biochemical and regeneration traits. In animals, these traits include e.g. body size, litter size, age of sexual maturity, nesting habitat, time of activity.
|
Europe and Central Asia assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
functional trait |
Any feature of an organism, expressed in the phenotype and measurable at the individual level, which has demonstrable links to the organism's function (Lavorel et al. 1997; Violle et al. 2007). As such, a functional trait determines the organism's response to external abiotic or biotic factors (Response trait), and/or its effects on ecosystem properties or benefits or detriments derived from such properties (Effect trait). In plants, functional traits include morphological, ecophysiological, biochemical and regeneration traits. In animals, these traits include e.g. body size, litter size, age of sexual maturity, nesting habitat, time of activity.
|
Americas assessment, Pollination assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
functional trait |
Any feature of an organism, expressed in the phenotype and measurable at the individual level, which has demonstrable links to the organism’s function. As such, a functional trait determines the organism’s response to external abiotic or biotic factors (Response trait), and/or its effects on ecosystem properties or benefits or detriments derived from such properties (Effect trait). In plants, functional traits include morphological, ecophysiological, biochemical and regeneration traits. In animals, these traits include e.g., body size, litter size, age of sexual maturity, nesting habitat, time of activity.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme) |
fungicide |
A substance that kills or inhibits the growth and development of fungi. Fungicides may be synthetic chemicals, natural chemicals, or biological agents.
|
Pollination assessment |
identity |
The ways in which people understand who they are, their belonging and role in society, and their relation to their broader environment.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme), Sustainable use assessment |
illegal logging |
The harvesting, processing, transporting, buying or selling of timber in contravention of national and international laws.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme) |
illegal practices |
Illegal is defined in the context of this assessment when it violates laws and regulations.
|
Sustainable use assessment |
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing |
A broad term which includes: fishing and fishing-related activities conducted in contravention of national, regional and international laws; non-reporting, misreporting or under- reporting of information on fishing operations and their catches; fishing by “Stateless” vessels; fishing in convention areas of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) by non-party vessels; fishing activities which are not regulated by States and cannot be easily monitored and accounted for.
|
Global assessment (1st work programme), Sustainable use assessment |
immaterial patrimony |
Non-tangible aspects of cultural value that are passed from one human generation to the next.
|
Land degradation and restoration assessment |
environmental impact assessment |
A formal, evidence-based procedure that assesses the economic, social and environmental effects of public policy or of any human activity.
|
Pollination assessment, Land degradation and restoration assessment |
impacts |
changes to nature, nature’s contributions to people, and/or the good quality of life (Ricciardi et al., 2013). Impacts can be observed or unobserved. More specifically, impacts to nature (formerly ‘ecological impact’), is defined as a measurable change to the properties of an ecosystem (Ricciardi et al., 2013), and implies that all introduced species can have an impact, even when not yet established or widespread, which may vary in magnitude, simply by integration into the ecosystem.
|
Invasive alien species assessment |
important bird & biodiversity areas |
A Key Biodiversity Area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for bird populations.
|
Asia-Pacific assessment, Africa assessment, Europe and Central Asia assessment, Americas assessment |
in situ conservation of biodiversity |
The conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings and, in the case of domesticated or cultivated species, in the surroundings where they have developed their distinctive properties.
|
Sustainable use assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
inclusive wealth |
An economic concept that seeks to incorporate natural capital into national wealth estimates, beyong GDP.
|
Asia-Pacific assessment |
incommensurability |
Absence of a common unit along which values can be measured and compared.
|
Values assessment |
inconclusive (certainty term (q.v.)) |
Limited evidence, recognising major knowledge gaps.
|
Pollination assessment |
indicator |
A quantitative or qualitative factor or variable that provides a simple, measurable and quantifiable characteristic or attribute responding in a known and communicable way to a changing environmental condition, to a changing ecological process or function, or to a changing element of biodiversity.
|
Europe and Central Asia assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme), Americas assessment, Sustainable use assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme), Land degradation and restoration assessment, Africa assessment, Asia-Pacific assessment |
indigenous and community conserved areas |
Natural and modified ecosystems including significant biodiversity, ecological services and cultural values voluntarily conserved by indigenous and local communities through customary laws or other effective means.
|
Europe and Central Asia assessment |
indigenous and local knowledge |
Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) refers to dynamic bodies of integrated, holistic, social and ecological knowledge, practices and beliefs pertaining to the relationship of living beings, including people, with one another and with their environments.
|
Sustainable use assessment |
indigenous and local knowledge system |
Indigenous and local knowledge systems are social and ecological knowledge practices and beliefs pertaining to the relationship of living beings, including people, with one another and with their environments. Such knowledge can provide information, methods, theory and practice for sustainable ecosystem management.
|
|
indigenous and local knowledge system |
Social and ecological knowledge practices and beliefs pertaining to the relationship of living beings, including people, with one another and with their environments. Such knowledge can provide information, methods, theory and practice for sustainable ecosystem management.
|
Land degradation and restoration assessment |
indigenous and local knowledge |
A cumulative body of knowledge, practice and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment. It is also referred to by other terms such as: indigenous, local or traditional knowledge; traditional ecological/environmental knowledge (TEK); farmers' or fishers' knowledge; ethnoscience; indigenous science; folk science.
|
Scenarios and models assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |
indigenous and local knowledge |
The knowledge, practices and innovations embedded in the relationships of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to nature. ILK is situated in a place and social context, but at the same time open and hybrid, continuously evolving through the combination of written, oral, tacit, practical, and scientific knowledge attained from various sources, and validated by experimentation and in practice of direct interaction with nature. See chapter 1 (section 1.3.2.1) and chapter 2.2 (section 2.2.2) for a discussion on the differences between ‘indigenous knowledge’ and ‘local knowledge’.
|
|
indigenous and local knowledge holders |
Indigenous and local knowledge holders are understood to be persons situated in the collective knowledge systems of indigenous peoples and local communities with knowledge from their own indigenous peoples and local communities; indigenous and local knowledge experts are understood to be persons from indigenous peoples and local communities who have knowledge about indigenous and local knowledge and associated issues (they may also be indigenous and local knowledge holders); and experts on indigenous and local knowledge are understood to be persons who have knowledge about indigenous and local knowledge and associated issues, not necessarily from indigenous peoples and local communities.
|
Values assessment |
indigenous and local knowledge system |
A cumulative body of knowledge, practice and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment. It is also referred to by other terms such as: Indigenous, local or traditional knowledge, traditional ecological/environmental knowledge, farmers’ or fishers’ knowledge, ethnoscience, indigenous science, folk science.
|
Pollination assessment |
indigenous and local knowledge system |
Social and ecological knowledge practices and beliefs pertaining to the relationship of living beings, including people, with one another and with their environments. Such knowledge can provide information, methods, theory and practice for sustainable ecosystem management.
|
Africa assessment, Values assessment, Pollination assessment, Europe and Central Asia assessment, Americas assessment, Asia-Pacific assessment, Invasive alien species assessment |
indigenous communities |
Human communities that are self- identified as indigenous; descent from the occupants of a territory prior to an act of conquest; possession of a common history, language, and culture regulated by customary laws that are distinct from national cultures; possession of a common land; exclusion or marginalization from political decision-making; and claims for collective and sovereign rights that are unrecognized by the dominating and governing group(s) of the state. Indigenous Peoples are often thought of as the primary stewards of the planet's biological resources. Their ways of life and cosmovisions (value systems that interpret and relate the world, life, things and time) have contributed to the protection of the natural environment on which they depend.
|
|
indigenous communities |
Social groups of indigenous peoples.
|
Asia-Pacific assessment |
Indigenous People |
Are the holders of unique languages, knowledge systems and beliefs and possess invaluable knowledge of practices for the sustainable management of natural resources based on their traditional values, visions, needs and priorities. Are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environments. Indigenous people have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live.
|
Africa assessment |
Indigenous Peoples and local communities |
Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are, typically, ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently.
|
Values assessment |
Indigenous Peoples and local communities |
Typically, ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. IPBES does not intend to create or develop new definitions of what constitutes indigenous peoples and local communities.
|
Land degradation and restoration assessment |
Indigenous Peoples and local communities |
The term “Indigenous Peoples and local communities” and its acronym “IPLC” are widely used by international organizations and conventions to refer to individuals and groups who self-identify as indigenous or as members of distinct local communities. We adopt this terminology in this assessment, with particular emphasis on those who “maintain an inter-generational historical connection to place and nature through livelihoods, cultural identity, languages, worldviews, institutions, and ecological knowledge”.
|
Sustainable use assessment |
Indigenous Peoples and local communities |
Ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. IPBES does not intend to create or develop new definitions of what constitutes indigenous peoples and local communities.
|
Americas assessment |
Indigenous Peoples and local communities |
Indigenous people are also known as first peoples, aboriginal peoples, native peoples, or autochthonous peoples, are ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. The distinctive groups, usually maintaining traditions or other aspects of an early culture that is associated with a given region, are protected in international or national legislation as having a set of specific rights based on their linguistic and historical ties to a particular territory, prior to later settlement, development, and or occupation of a region. Local community is a self-identified human group that relates to a life environment in collective ways that participate to define a shared territory and culture. The members of a local community have frequent chances of direct (possibly face-to-face) encounters and possess some common history, traditions, institutions, language, values and life plans. A local community can be long-standing (‘traditional') or relatively new, include a single or multiple ethnic identities and be permanently settled or mobile. A local community should have a form of political identity that enables it to exercise its rights and responsibilities with respect to its territory and neighbors.
|
Asia-Pacific assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme) |