Languages:
The mass of air surrounding the Earth.
The atmosphere consists of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and traces of other gases such as argon, helium, carbon dioxide, and ozone.
The atmosphere plays an important role in the protection of life on Earth; it absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation and reduces temperature extremes between day and night. (Source: GreenFacts)
Biodiversity is a contraction of biological diversity. Biodiversity reflects the number, variety and variability of living organisms.
It includes diversity within species (genetic diversity), between species (species diversity), and between ecosystems (ecosystem diversity). (Source: GreenFacts)
The long-term fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, wind, and all other aspects of the Earth's climate.
It is also defined by the United Nations Convention on Climate Change as
“change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity
that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to
natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods”
(Source:
CoRIS
glossary
Coronary heart disease is atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, i.e. a "hardening" of the walls of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart (coronary arteries).
This hardening is due to fatty deposits called plaques that build on the inner walls of these arteries.
The resulting narrowed passageway decreases or stops the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart, which damages the heart muscles and leads to chest pain, shortness of breath, heart attack, and possibly to death. (Source: GreenFacts)
Effects in the developing offspring due to exposure before conception (either
parent), prenatally, or postnatally to the time of sexual maturation.
Developmental effects may be expressed at any time in the life span of the
organism. Developmental effects are a subset of reproductive effects.
(Source:
CSIRO
CSIRO biological effects and safety of EMR
Glossary
Any natural or human-induced factor that directly or indirectly causes a
change.
(Source:
MA
The benefits people obtain from ecosystems.
These include provisioning services such as food and water; regulating
services such as flood and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual,
recreational, and cultural benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient
cycling that maintain the conditions for life on Earth.
(Source:
MA
The complex system of plant, animal, fungal, and microorganism communities and their associated non-living environment interacting as an ecological unit.
Ecosystems have no fixed boundaries; instead their parameters are set to the
scientific, management, or policy question being examined. Depending upon the
purpose of analysis, a single lake, a
watershed, or an entire region could be
considered an ecosystem.
(Source:
US EPA
Glossary of Climate Change Terms
The European Environmental Agency (EEA) is one of the 15 specialised agencies of the European Union, which handle specific technical, scientific or management tasks. Operational since 1994, the EEA is based in Copenhagen.
"Its mission is to collect, prepare and disseminate timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information on the state and trends of the environment at European level. The founding regulation of EEA stipulates that it is open to countries that do not belong to the European Union but share its concern for the environment. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have been members from the start, and 12 out of 13 candidate countries have joined in 2002 (...)."
(Source: EEA website
The increase in additions of nutrients [especially nitrogen and phosphorus] to
freshwater or marine systems, which leads to increases in plant growth and often
to undesirable changes in ecosystem structure and function.
(Source:
MA
The population or [total mass] of a fishery resource. Such stocks are usually
identified by their location. They can be, but are not always, genetically
discrete from other stocks.
(Source:
MA
A particular kind of fishing activity, e.g., a trawl fishery or a particular species targeted, e.g., a cod fishery or salmon fishery.
(Source:
MA
A general term for buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials,
formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil,
coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's
crust over hundreds of millions of years.
(Source:
US EPA
Glossary of Climate Change terms
Water that is not salty, for instance water found in lakes, streams, and rivers, but not the ocean. Also used to refer to things living in or related to freshwater (e.g., "freshwater fish"). (Source: GreenFacts)
The increasing integration of economies and societies around the world,
particularly through trade and financial flows, and the transfer of culture and
technology.
(Source:
MA
Greenhouse gases are those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds.
This property causes the greenhouse effect.
Water vapour (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2),
nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and
ozone (O3) are the primary greenhouse gases
in the Earth’s atmosphere. Moreover there are a number of entirely human-made
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as the halocarbons and other
chlorine and bromine containing substances,
dealt with under the Montreal Protocol. Beside CO2, N2O and CH4, the
Kyoto Protocol deals with the greenhouse gases
sulphur hexafluoride (SF6),
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs).
(Source:
IPCC
Glossary
An area of land that contains a mosaic of ecosystems, including human-dominated ecosystems.
The term cultural landscape is often used when referring to
landscapes containing significant human populations or in which there has been
significant human influence on the land.
(Source:
MA
An extension of the economic notion of capital (manufactured means of
production) to environmental 'goods and services'. It refers to a stock (e.g., a
forest) which produces a flow of goods (e.g., new trees) and services (e.g.,
carbon sequestration, erosion control, habitat).
(Source:
EEA
Multilingual Environmental Glossary
Sum of all microscopic solid and liquid particles, of human and natural origin, that remain suspended in a medium such as air for some time. These particles vary greatly in size, composition, and origin, and may be harmful.
Particulate matter may be in the form of fly ash, soot, dust, fog, fumes etc. (Source: GreenFacts)
A primary pollutant is an air pollutant emitted directly from a source.
A secondary pollutant is not directly emitted as such, but forms when other pollutants (primary pollutants) react in the atmosphere.
Examples of a secondary pollutant include ozone, which is formed when hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) combine in the presence of sunlight; NO2, which is formed as NO combines with oxygen in the air; and acid rain, which is formed when sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides react with water. (Source: GreenFacts)
Refers to the amount of disturbance or stress that an ecosystem can absorb and
still remain capable of returning to its pre- disturbance state.
(Source: GreenFacts, based on Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
A group of organisms that differ from all other groups of organisms and that
are capable of breeding and producing fertile offspring. This is the smallest
unit of classification for plants and animals.
(Source:
OceanLink
Glossary of Common Terms and Definitions in Marine
Biology
A characteristic or state whereby the needs of the present and local population can be met without compromising the ability of future generations or populations in other locations to meet their needs.
When the combined effect of several forces operating is greater than the sum
of the separate effects of the forces.
(Source:
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
The Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) is an advisory body, established in 1969, that advises the United Nations (UN) system on the scientific aspects of marine environmental protection.
At present GESAMP is jointly sponsored by nine UN organizations with responsibilities relating to the marine environment, and they utilize GESAMP as a mechanism for coordination and collaboration among them. GESAMP functions are to conduct and support marine environmental assessments, to undertake in-depth studies, analyses, and reviews of specific topics, and to identify emerging issues regarding the state of the marine environment. GESAMP itself today consists of 16 experts, drawn from a wide range of relevant disciplines, who act in an independent and individual capacity. Studies and assessments are usually carried out by dedicated working groups, most of whose members are not sitting members of GESAMP but part of the broader GESAMP network.
GESAMP's UN sponsors: IMO, FAO, UNESCO-IOC, WMO, IAEA, UN, UNEP, UNIDO, UNDP.GESAMP
Source:
(Source:
www.gesamp.org/about
Exposure to contingencies and stress, and the difficulty in coping with them.
(Source:
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
 Biological diversity (Part 3): challenges 2050 |  Biological diversity (Part 2): the objectives, actions and means at the horizon 2030 |  Biological diversity (Part 1): the context of the Convention |
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