Definitions of technical terms and acronyms can be found below. Acronyms are also indicated in the main part of this site by a dotted or dashed underline (depending on the browser used to view this site): hover over the initials to display the full title.
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- BAT
- British Antarctic Territory
- Biodiversity
- The variety of life on Earth, at all levels, from gene level to ecosystems. The official CBD definition is:
The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems
(CBD (1992) Article 2.) - Biodiversity composition
- What makes up the biodiversity of an area: what there is and how abundant it is
- Biodiversity function
- The role played in maintaining natural processes and dynamics
- Biodiversity pattern
- What there is: the structure and composition of biodiversity in an area
- Biodiversity process
- The function that biodiversity provides: for instance, pollination, water filtration etc.
- Biodiversity structure
- How biological units are arranged in time and space
- BIOT
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- Bryophyte
- Lower plants, of the order Bryophyta: mosses, liverworts and hornworts.
- Carrying capacity
- The maximum number of individuals of any species that can be supported by a particular ecosystem on a long-term basis
- CBD
- The Convention on Biological Diversity
- CITES
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
- CMS
- The (Bonn) Convention on Migratory Species
- EBA
- Endemic Bird Area. Area identified by BirdLife International as holding two or more restricted range bird species
- EBI
- Energy and Biodiversity Initiative
- Ecological Resilience
- A measure of the amount of change or disruption required to transform a system from being maintained by one set of mutually reinforcing processes and structures to a different set of processes and structures. Alternatively has been defined as the capacity of an ecosystem to tolerate disturbance without collapsing into a qualitatively different state that is controlled by a different set of processes.
- Ecosystem
- A dynamic complex of plant, animal, and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit
- Ecosystem approach
- Advocated by CBD and Ramsar Convention to ensure sustainable use. Biodiversity depends on healthily functioning ecosystems and processes that have to be assessed and managed in an integrated way
- Ecosystem services
- The quantifiable services that an ecosystem provides to humans, including consumables and non-consumables. Resource economists assign monetary values to these services to estimate the economic value of a healthy ecosystem.
- EIA
- Environmental Impact Assessment: an assessment into the likely effects of a proposed activity or development on the environment. The assessment consists of a number of stages through which the likely impacts are first identified, then assessed, then any potential mitigation measures are generally suggested, if necessary
- EcIA
- Ecological Impact Assessment
- EIS
- Environmental Impact Statement: A report that documents the information required to evaluate the environmental impact of a project. It informs decisionmakers and the public of the reasonable alternatives that would avoid or minimize adverse impacts or enhance the quality of the environment.
- Endemic
- Unique to or confined to a particular area
- Environment
- The interaction of climate, soil, topography, and other plants and animals in any given area. An organism's environment influences its form, behavior, and survival.
- Fauna
- All animal species - from whales down to planktonic micro-organisms and, by some definitions, bacteria and viruses as well
- Feldmark
- Community of prostrate plants growing on a stony pavement in an extreme alpine environment
- Flora
- All plant species - this includes algae, and phtyo-planktonic organisms as well as the obvious trees, shrubs and herbs
- Footprint
- The area or extent of impacts felt by consumption of a resource, for instance.
- Herptile
- Alternative term for 'herpetofauna' - refers collectively to amphibians and reptiles
- Hotspot
- A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction.
- IA
- Impact Assessment: the process by which potential impacts of development are identified and their magnitude assessed.
- IAIA
- International Association for Impact Assessment
- IBA
- Important Bird Area: An Important Bird Area (IBA) is an area designated as globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations.
- ICMM
- International Council on Mining and Metals
- IEMA
- Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment
- iied
- International Institute for Environment and Development
- Indicator species
- A species whose status provides information on the overall condition of the ecosystem and of other species in that ecosystem. They reflect the quality and changes in environmental conditions as well as aspects of community composition
- Indigenous
- Native, belonging to the place in question - often used to describe species composition of a place before human influence through trade and agriculture. The term can be applied with various levels of strictness, depending on studies - some define indigenous species as occurring in an area before our species evolved.
- IPIECA
- International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association
- IUCN
- International Union for Nature Conservation; more commonly known as:
IUCN - the World Conservation Union
- Introduced species
- A species not indigenous to an area, deliberately or accidentally introduced through human interventions - e.g. through agriculture or trade. Also known as 'Non-native species'.
- Invasive species
- A species, not usually native, which outcompetes native species, usually leading to a loss of biodiversity - a classic example being the Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), pictured right.
- Keystone species
- A species whose impacts on its community or ecosystem are much larger and more influential than would be expected from mere abundance.
- Littoral
- The shoreline habitats between low and high tide limits.
- MDG
- Millennium Development Goal(s)
- NEMS
- National Environmental Management Strategy (Anguilla)
- NGO
- Non-Governmental Organisation. Official organisation not supported through government - e.g. most charities, environmental organisations
- No net loss principle
- Requires that the status quo be maintained in terms of both quantitative and qualitative aspects of biodiversity.
- PA
- Protected Area: area of land officially protected from some or all forms of development in at least national legislation.
- Precautionary principle
- Presumes in favour of protecting biodiversity where there is a lack of knowledge required to effeectively mitigate or compensate for an adverse impact. This principle should also apply when there is enough evidence to show an adverse impact is possible, yet not enough to confirm no significant impact
- Protected Area
- Area of land officially set aside for some purpose, such as nature conservation, with rules or laws preventing or restricting the type of activity that may be carried out within the boundaries
- Ramsar Convention
The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 154 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1669 wetland sites, totaling 151 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
<http://www.ramsar.org/>- Raptor
- Member of the true birds of prey: includes Old World vultures, kites, eagles, harriers, hawks and falcons, but not necessarily the New World vultures, which may be more closely related to storks
- Red Data Book
- The catalogue of species considered to be threatened with extinction, published by the IUCN. a.k.a. Red List (below).
- Red (Data) List
- The catalogue of species considered to be threatened with extinction, published by the IUCN. a.k.a. Red Data Book (above).
- Restricted range bird
- Species of bird with a world range of less than 5,000 km2
- Screening
- The process of identifying which features of the environment are likely to be affected by development
- Scoping
- Analyzing alternative ways for conducting a development
- Sensitivity
- Degree to which the feature may be affected by impacts
- SEA
- Strategic Environmental Assessment
- Sublittoral
- The habitats immediately below the low water mark
- Terrestrial
- Belonging to the land
- Threatened
- Classically, species which are threatened with extinction
- UKOT
- United Kingdom Overseas Territory
- UKOTCF
- United Kingdom Overseas Territory Conservation Forum [link to website]
- UNCCD
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
- UNEP
- United Nations Environment Programme
- WCMC
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre
- WCBSD
- World Council for Business and Sustainable Development
- WSSD
- World Summit on Sustainable Development