Glossary definitions

The IPBES glossary terms definitions page provides definitions of terms used in IPBES assessments. Some definitions in this online glossary have been edited for consistency. Please refer to the specific assessment glossary for citations/authorities of definitions.

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Concept	Definition	Deliverable(s)
willingness-to-accept	Estimate of the amount people are prepared to accept in exchange for a certain state or good (e.g. WTA for protection of an endangered species).	Global assessment (1st work programme), Sustainable use assessment
willingness-to-pay	Estimate of the amount people are prepared to pay in exchange for a certain state or good (e.g. WTP for protection of an endangered species).	Sustainable use assessment, Global assessment (1st work programme)
willingness-to-pay	the stated price that an individual would accept to pay for avoiding the loss or the diminution of an environmental service	Invasive alien species assessment
woody encroachment	Increasing dominance of shrubs in grasslands and trees in shrublands.	Land degradation and restoration assessment
world heritage site	A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area which is selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance, and is legally protected by international treaties. The sites are judged important to the collective interests of humanity.	Asia-Pacific assessment
worldview	Defined by the connections between networks of concepts and systems of knowledge, values, norms and beliefs. Individual person's worldviews are moulded by the community the person belongs to. Practices are embedded in worldviews and are intrinsically part of them (e.g. through rituals, institutional regimes, social organization, but also in environmental policies, in development choices, etc.). See also Perceptions; Concepts; Reality in this Glossary.	Europe and Central Asia assessment, Americas assessment
worldview	Defined by the connections between networks of concepts and systems of knowledge, values, norms and beliefs. Individual person's worldviews are moulded by the community the person belongs to. Practices are embedded in worldviews and are intrinsically part of them (e.g. through rituals, institutional regimes, social organization, but also in environmental policies, in development choices, etc.). See also Perceptions; Concepts; Reality.	Global assessment (1st work programme), Land degradation and restoration assessment
worldview	Worldviews defined by the connections between networks of concepts and systems of knowledge, values, norms and beliefs. Individual person's worldviews are moulded by the community the person belongs to. Practices are embedded in worldviews and are intrinsically part of them (e.g. through rituals, institutional regimes, social organization, but also in environmental policies, in development choices, etc.).
worldview	Mental lenses through which humans social groups perceive, think about, interpret, inhabit and modify the world. Rooted in cultural traditions, they shape and are shaped by knowledge systems, languages and values. Epistemic worldviews pertain to diverse knowledge systems that hold often implicit philosophical assumptions about how nature and values can be known, while human-nature worldviews guide perspectives on our conceptualization of and relationship with nature based on underlying value systems.	Values assessment

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