Ecosystem A dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment, interacting as a functional unit.; Ecosystem: A dynamic complex of vegetable, animal and microorganism communities and their nonliving environment that interact as a functional unit. Ecosystems may be small and simple, like an isolated pond, or large and complex, like a specific tropical rainforest or a coral reef in tropical seas.


Ecosystem function An intrinsic ecosystem characteristic related to the set of conditions and processes whereby an ecosystem maintains its integrity (such as primary productivity, food chain and biogeochemical cycles). Ecosystem functions include such processes as decomposition, production, nutrient cycling, and movements of nutrients and energy.


Ecosystem health The degree to which ecological factors and their interactions are reasonably complete and function for continued resilience, productivity and renewal of the ecosystem.


Ecosystem restoration The “process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed”.


Electrification The action or process of charging something with electricity.


Emerging contaminant Broadly defined as any synthetic or naturally occurring chemical or any microorganism that is not commonly monitored in the environment but has the potential to enter the environment and cause known or suspected adverse ecological and(or) human health effects.


Emission pathway The trajectory of annual greenhouse gas emissions over time.


Empowerment of women According to the UN, it has five components: 1) women’s sense of self-worth; 2) their right to have and to determine choices; 3) their right to have access to opportunities and resources; 4) their right to have the power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home; 5) their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally.


Endangered species A species is endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E specified for the endangered category of the IUCN Red List and is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.


Environment Surroundings including water, air, soil and their interrelationship as well as all relationships between them and any living organisms.


Environmental conservation Action aimed at preventing environmental degradation; implies rational use and management of resources.


Environmental degradation Environmental degradation is the deterioration in environmental quality from ambient concentrations of pollutants and other activities and processes such as improper land use and natural disasters.


Environmental education The process of recognizing values and clarifying concepts in order to develop skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the interrelatedness of humans, their culture and biophysical surroundings. Environmental education also entails practice in decision-making and self-formulation of a code of behaviour about issues concerning environmental quality.


Environmental flows Quantity, timing and quality of water flows required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and the human livelihoods and well-being that depend on these ecosystems. Through implementation of environmental flows, water managers strive to achieve a flow regime, or pattern, that provides for human uses and maintains the essential processes required to support healthy river ecosystems.


Environmental footprint The effect that a person, company, activity, etc. has on the environment, for example the amount of natural resources that they use and the amount of harmful gases that they produce.


Environmental health


Those aspects of human health and disease that are determined by factors in the environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assessing and controlling factors in the environment that can potentially affect health. Environmental health includes both the direct pathological effects of chemicals, radiation and some biological agents, and the effects, often indirect, on health and well-being of the broad physical, psychological, social and aesthetic environment. This includes housing, urban development, land use and transport.


Environmental impact


The change in well-being of ecosystems, resulting from a process set in motion or accelerated by human actions.; Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organization’s activities, products or services.


Environmental justice


A mechanism of accountability for the protection of rights and the prevention and punishment of wrongs related to the disproportionate impacts of growth on the poor and vulnerable in society from rising pollution and degradation of ecosystem services, and from inequitable access to and benefits from the use of natural assets and extractive resources.


Appendix 135


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146