Gross domestic product (GDP) The value of all final goods and services produced in a country in one year. GDP can be measured by adding up all of an economy’s incomes – wages, interest, profits, and rents – or expenditures – consumption, investment, government purchases, and net exports (exports minus imports).


Groundwater Water that flows or seeps downward and saturates soil or rock, supplying springs and wells. The upper surface of the saturated zone is called the water table.


Habitat (1) The place or type of site where an organism or population occurs naturally. (2) Terrestrial or aquatic areas distinguished by geographic, living and non-living features, whether entirely natural or semi-natural.; The natural home or environment of an animal, plant or other organism.


Habitat fragmentation Alteration of habitat resulting in spatial separation of habitat units from a previous state of greater continuity.; A general term describing the set of processes by which habitat loss results in the division of continuous habitats into a greater number of smaller patches of lesser total and isolated from each other by a matrix of dissimilar habitats. Habitat fragmentation may occur through natural processes (e.g., forest and grassland fires, flooding) and through human activities (forestry, agriculture, urbanization). Habitat loss and fragmentation have long been considered the primary cause for biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation worldwide. Habitat fragmentation often refers to the reduction of continuous tracts of habitat to smaller, spatially distinct remnant patches. Although some habitats are naturally patchy in terms of abiotic and biotic conditions, human actions have profoundly fragmented landscapes across the word, altering the quality and connectivity of habitats.


Habitat loss


Habitat destruction: a process of land use change in which one habitat-type is removed and replaced with another habitat-type. In the process of land-use change, plants and animals which previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity.


Hazard A potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.; The potential occurrence of a natural or human- induced physical event or trend or physical impact that may cause loss of life, injury, or other health impacts, as well as damage and loss to property, infrastructure, livelihoods, service provision, ecosystems and environmental resources. In this report, the term hazard usually refers to climate- related physical events or trends or their physical impacts.


Heavy metals A subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties, including transitional metals and semi-metals (metalloids), such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury,


138 GEO for Cities


nickel and zinc, that have been associated with contamination and potential toxicity.


Human health Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well- being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.


Human well-being The extent to which individuals have the ability to live the kinds of lives they have reason to value; the opportunities people have to pursue their aspirations. Basic components of human well-being include: security, meeting material needs, health and social relations.


Institutions Regularized patterns of interaction by which society organizes itself: the rules, practices and conventions that structure human interaction. The term is wide and encompassing, and could be taken to include law, social relationships, property rights and tenurial systems, norms, beliefs, customs and codes of conduct as much as multilateral environmental agreements, international conventions and financing mechanisms. Institutions could be formal (explicit, written, often having the sanction of the state) or informal (unwritten, implied, tacit, mutually agreed and accepted).


Invasive species Introduced species that have spread beyond their area of introduction (and, rarely, native species that have recently expanded their populations), and which are frequently associated with negative impacts on the environment, human economy or human health.


Land cover The physical coverage of land, usually expressed in terms of vegetation cover or lack of it. Influenced by but not synonymous with land use.


Land degradation


a long-term loss of ecosystem function and services, caused by disturbances from which the system cannot recover unaided.


Land reclamation The restoration of productivity or use to lands that have been degraded by past human activities or have been impaired by natural phenomena.; The operation or process of changing the condition or characteristics of land so that improved utilization can be achieved. This may be accomplished by various means such as irrigation of arid land, drainage of swamp or waterlogged land, protection from flood menace of land constantly subject to overflow.


Land use


The functional dimension of land for different human purposes or economic activities. Examples of land use categories include agriculture, industrial use, transport and protected areas.


Land use planning Land-use planning involves the systematic assessment of environmental, economic and social impacts of the range


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