Glossary

Adaptation

In climate science, the term adaptation refers to various actions that help to reduce the risks associated with climate change. In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, adaptation is the process of adjustment to the actual climate and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to the expected climate and its effects. Various types of adaptation exist, e.g. anticipatory and reactive, private and public, and autonomous and planned.

Adapted from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Adaptive Management

Adaptive management can be defined as a systematic process of continually improving management policies and practices by learning from the outcomes of existing programmes.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Affected stakeholders

Affected stakeholders can be defined as people or groups that have been, or may be, affected by an organization's operations, products, services and value chains, including an organization's nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and/or opportunities, and responses to those issues. Affected communities can range from local communities living adjacent to the organization's operations or the site of its activities to those living at a distance but affected, for example, by nature loss, such as the loss of migratory species, or impact drivers, such as water or air pollution that the organization generates.

Adapted from Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) – Glossary

Ancillary mechanisms

Mechanisms that provide necessary support to the primary activities.

Adapted from Oxford Dictionary

Benchmarking

Benchmarking involves measuring specific indicators against previous data to determine if an intervention is meeting its outcomes.

Beneficiaries

Different social actors and groups who may be benefiting from nature and its contributions to people in different ways and to different degrees, including individual, household or collective levels. They are a type of stakeholder whose primary focus is on the benefits they receive. Beneficiaries may be customers, investors, or members of a community.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Biodiversity conservation

Biodiversity conservation can be defined as the application of science to conservation problems addressing the biology of species, communities and the ecosystem that are perturbed either directly or indirectly by human or other agents. Its goal is to provide principles and tools for preserving biological diversity. The branch of biology that deals with threats to biodiversity and with preserving the biologic and genetic diversity of animals and plants.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Biodiversity loss

From the time when humans first occupied Earth and began to hunt animals, gather food and chop wood, they have had an impact on biodiversity. Over the last two centuries, human population growth, overexploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation have resulted in an ever-accelerating decline in global biodiversity. Species are diminishing in numbers and becoming extinct, and ecosystems are suffering damage and disappearing.

Adapted from Convention on Biological Diversity - Toolkit Glossary

Biological diversity or Biodiversity

Biological diversity means 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.

Adapted from Convention on Biological Diversity - Article 2

Climate change

Climate change in IPCC usage refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. This usage differs from that in the Framework Convention on Climate Change, where climate change refers to a change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.

Adapted from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - Definitions of key terms

Compensation

Measures taken to offset or remedy any residual significant adverse impacts that cannot be avoided or minimised.

Adapted from The IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS)

Conflict

Conflict can be defined as a situation where opposing attitudes, beliefs, identities, interests, norms or values coexist. This can lead to an active disagreement between people. When different interests collide in a decision-making situation, the conflict can be described as an interest conflict.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Connectivity

Connectivity refers to the external exchanges – the 2-way flows that occur between ecological units within the landscape or aquatic environment including flows of energy, water, fire, genetic material, animals and seeds. Exchanges are facilitated by habitat linkages.

Adapted from International standards for the practice of ecological restoration – including principles and key concepts

Conservation

Conservation can be defined as the protection, care, management and maintenance of ecosystems, habitats, wildlife species and populations, within or outside of their natural environments, to safeguard the natural conditions for their long-term permanence.

Adapted from International Union for Conservation of Nature & IUCN Species Survival Commission

Consultation

Consultations involve information exchanges with stakeholders with the objective to obtain feedback on the analysis, design, implementation and monitoring/evaluation and/or other decisions related to an intervention.

Adapted from IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS)

Cost

In cost-benefit analysis (CBA), cost refers to any resource or value sacrificed or lost when a decision is made or a project is undertaken, encompassing financial, non-financial, and opportunity costs.

Adapted from OECD (2018), Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Environment

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA)

Cost-benefit analysis is the systematic and analytical process of comparing benefits and costs in evaluating the desirability of a project or programme. CBA involves translating all benefits and costs into monetary terms, including nonmarketed environmental, social and other impacts.

Adapted from OECD (2018), Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Environment

Cost-effectiveness Analysis (CEA)

Cost-effectiveness analysis is an analytical tool to identify the best activity, process, or intervention that justifies/minimizes resource use to achieve a desired result/outcome. When multiple interventions are potentially available to reach the same objective, CEA assesses which option achieves the target for the least cost.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Cultural

Cultural refers to spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, tradition and beliefs.

Adapted from UNESCO

Cultural diversity

Cultural variety can be defined as the variety or multiformity of human social structures, belief systems, and strategies for adapting to situations in different parts of the world. Language is a good indicator of cultural diversity, with over 6,000 languages currently being spoken.

Adapted from Convention on Biological Diversity - Toolkit Glossary

Decision maker

In the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a decision-maker is an individual or entity that has the authority to make decisions about the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization.

Adapted from Convention on Biological Diversity - Article 2

Decision-making

Decision-making refers to the process of making decisions. It can happen at the individual level or amongst groups and entails the prioritisation of certain values. This prioritization greatly influences which issues are found worthy of consideration, do and do not become part of the agenda, as well as determine which decision-makers are considered socially legitimate to participate in the process.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Disaster

Disaster can be defined as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

Adapted from International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) 2004

Distributional equity

Distributional equity refers to the allocation of costs, benefits, risks and responsibilities as well as of the products of nature requiring the disaggregation of values to highlight who benefits and who loses, and to demonstrate the consequences for those affected. It refers to the fair and just allocation of resources, benefits, and burdens across different groups and individuals in a society.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Duty-bearers

In a human rights context, duty-bearers are actors who have human rights duties or responsibilities towards rights-holders. States are the primary human rights duty-bearers - they have a legal obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. Companies have a responsibility to respect human rights, which includes avoiding infringing upon the rights of others and addressing impacts with which they are involved.

Adapted from UNESCO

Ecological connectivity

Ecological connectivity is defined as the unimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on Earth.

Adapted from UNEP/CMS/Resolution 12.26

Economic analysis

Economic analysis to assess societal benefits and costs associated with the activity. The economic costs of an intervention are not the same as its financial costs, in part because the economic costs also consider externalities. Externalities (positive or negative) are economic impacts that affect persons who are not necessarily part of the intervention scope.

Economic justification

Economic justification takes a broader view than financial justification by assessing the overall economic benefits and costs on the society. This includes the monetary costs and revenues but also the societal impacts (positive and negative) that go beyond the investor, including environmental externalities.

Economic viability

A project is economically viable if the economic benefits of the project exceed its economic costs, when analysed for society as a whole.

Adapted from The World Bank

Ecosystem

Ecosystem means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit.

Adapted from Convention on Biological Diversity - Article 2

Ecosystem approach

Ecosystem Approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. Ecosystem Approach aims to manage the ecosystem, based on the multiple functions that ecosystems perform and the multiple uses that are made of these functions.

Adapted from Convention on Biological Diversity - Toolkit Glossary

Ecosystem integrity

The integrity of ecosystems is broadly defined by the status of their component species and the ecological processes they support and require. Integrity can be assessed by the degree of change (loss and gain) in the set of species and associated processes observed within an ecosystem and its habitats.

Adapted from Convention on Biological Diversity

Ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. In the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, ecosystem services can be divided into supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Equity

Equity can be described as the quality of being fair and impartial. Principle under which all individuals that are in the same situation must abide by the same laws, without any type of distinction or discrimination. Equity in conservation is a matter of governance and includes recognition and respect for actors and their human and resource rights.

Adapted from Franks, P., Booker, F., & IIED. (2022). Equity in conservation

Feedback loops

Feedback loops can be defined as "processes that either amplify (positive feedback loop) or diminish (negative feedback loop) the effects of a biological invasion. Feedback loops may make the impacts of biological invasions stronger or weaker, starting a chain reaction that repeats again and again."

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Financial analysis

Financial analysis considers any investor revenues and costs associated with the activity, including the market value of goods and services produced, sold, or otherwise compensated for, as well as any costs to initiate, operate and maintain the activity. Financial analysis also includes any positive or negative public incentives for the activity, such as subsidies or taxes.

Financial feasibility

Financial feasibility determines if an intervention is financially possible and practical to undertake.

Adapted from The World Bank

Financial viability

Financial viability focuses on the ability of an intervention to sustain itself and generate profit over the long term.

Adapted from The World Bank

Gender

The term gender refers to the socially constructed expectations about the characteristics, aptitudes and behaviors associated with being a woman or a man. Gender defines what is feminine and masculine. Gender shapes the social roles that men and women play and the power relations between them, which can have a profound effect on the use and management of natural resources.

IPBES Glossary

Gender equality

Gender equality is the state in which all people, regardless of their gender, have equal rights, freedoms, conditions and opportunities. To achieve it, gender equality programming uses gender equity approaches to identify gaps and barriers to gender equality and rectify the imbalances between genders.

IUCN (2024). Gender equality for greener and bluer futures

Governance

Governance relates to the processes of interaction and decision-making among the actors involved in a collective problem that lead to the creation, reinforcement, or reproduction of social norms and institutions. It can be undertaken by a government, market or network, whether over a family, tribe, formal or informal organization or territory and whether through laws, norms, power or language.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Grievance resolution mechanism

A grievance resolution mechanism can be defined as the mechanisms that provides stakeholders fearing or suffering adverse impacts from an intervention with the assurance that they will be heard and assisted in a timely manner.

Adapted from IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS)

Human Health

Human Health can be described as a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The health of a whole community or population is reflected in measurements of disease incidence and prevalence, age-specific death rates, and life expectancy.

Adapted from Millennium Ecosystem Services – MEA

Impact(s) (on nature)

Impacts (on nature) are changes in the state of nature (quality or quantity), which may result in changes to the capacity of nature to provide social and economic functions. Impacts can be positive or negative. They can be the result of an organization's or another party's actions and can be direct, indirect or cumulative.

Adapted from the TNFD Glossary

Inclusive governance

Inclusive governance involves "equitable, accountable and transparent processes and institutions that secure the rights of people to access, influence and exercise oversight over decision-making processes that recognise rights and duties, distribute resources, and determine the direction of public policy at all levels, with the view to enhancing inclusive outcomes."

Adapted from OECD. (2024). Policy guidance: Enabling inclusive governance

Inclusive outcomes

Inclusive outcomes refer to an expansion of enjoyment of rights and/or a better protection of these rights for individuals and groups. It also refers to the equitable distribution of social and material benefits across divides within societies (e.g., gender, ethnicity, income, religion, caste and other), including benefits related to enhanced well-being and capacities.

Adapted from OECD. (2024). Policy guidance: Enabling inclusive governance

Indigenous and Local Knowledge

Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) refers to dynamic bodies of integrated, holistic, social and ecological knowledge, practices and beliefs pertaining to the relationship of living beings, including people, with one another and with their environments.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Indigenous Peoples

IUCN recognises Indigenous Peoples as those set out in the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169 (1989) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP): 1) tribal peoples in independent countries whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national community, and whose status is regulated wholly or partially by their own customs or traditions or by special laws or regulations; 2) peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonisation.

Adapted from IUCN

Iterative learning process

An iterative learning process involves repeatedly building, testing, and refining a product or process, incorporating feedback from each iteration to improve the final outcome.

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction refers to the power of a state to affect persons, property, and circumstances within its territory. The CBD text mentions "beyond the limits of national jurisdiction".

Adapted from Britannica

Jurisdictional boundaries

In land and sea planning, jurisdictional boundaries define the extent of legal authority and responsibility for managing specific areas.

Adapted from Buchanan, J., Durbin, J., McLaughlin, D., McLaughlin, L., Thomason, K., & Thomas, M. (2019). Jurisdictional approach to sustainability commitments in palm oil and soy supply chains. Conservation International

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs are a quantifiable measure of performance over time for a specific outcome/objective.

Life cycle

Life cycle can be described as the consecutive and interlinked stages of a product (good or service), from the extraction of natural resources to the final disposal.

Adapted from UNDP Glossary - adapted from ISO 14040:2006

Mainstreaming

Mainstreaming can be defined as incorporating a specific concern, e.g. sustainable use of ecosystems, into policies and actions.

Adapted from Millennium Ecosystem Services – MEA

Maintenance

Maintenance is the process of preserving a condition or situation or the state of being preserved.

Oxford Dictionary

Monitoring

Monitoring is the repeated observation of a system in order to detect signs of change. Monitoring includes baseline establishment, regular data collection, and adaptive feedback into planning.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Offsetting and offset

Participatory process

Participatory process entails specific methods employed to achieve active participation by all members of a group in a decision-making process.

Adapted from IPBES Glossary

Rights-holders

Rights-holders are individuals or social groups that have particular entitlements in relation to specific duty-bearers. In general terms, all human beings are rights-holders under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In particular contexts, there are often specific social groups whose human rights are not fully realized, respected or protected.

Adapted from UNESCWA

Risk

Risk can be defined as the possibility that the occurrence of an event will adversely affect the achievement of the organization's objectives. The IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) defines environmental or social risks of proposed projects as potential negative impacts on communities and peoples' rights, livelihoods and well-being, and/or on the physical, natural, socioeconomic or cultural environment.

Adapted from IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS)

Risk identification and management framework

Risk Management Framework can be defined as a structured approach that helps organizations identify, assess, prioritize, and manage risks, ensuring proactive mitigation and continuous improvement.

Adapted from IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS)

Risk response measure

A risk response measure can be defined as a specific action or strategy taken to address an identified risk, encompassing actions like avoidance, mitigation, transfer, or acceptance, all part of a broader risk management framework.

Adapted from IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS)

Safeguards

A measure taken to protect someone or something or to prevent something undesirable" (i.e. do no harm). They have wide remit and can apply to a project, set of projects or more widely to programmes as well as act as policies.

Adapted from UN-REDD Programme

Societal challenges

Societal challenges can be defined as complex, multi-level, multi-dimensional, human-induced problems, faced by humanity and impacting ecosystems and biodiversity, that require concerted efforts by various actors be successfully addressed.

Stakeholder analysis and mapping

Stakeholder analysis and mapping can be defined as a process that involves identifying, analysing, and visually representing individuals or groups who have a vested interest in a project or organization, and their relationships with each other, to inform engagement strategies.

Adapted from Herazo, B., & Lizarralde, G. (2016). Understanding stakeholders' approaches to sustainability in building projects

Stakeholder engagement

Stakeholder engagement means a process involving stakeholder identification and analysis, planning the actual forms of engagement and implementing the actions. Engagement strategies include dissemination/disclosure of information, consultation and participation – during all phases of the project cycle as well as for addressing grievances and on-going reporting to stakeholders.

Adapted from IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS)

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are persons or groups who may have an interest ("stake") in the outcome of a project, are likely to be able to influence the project and/or who are potentially impacted by the project, whether positively or negatively. Examples of stakeholder are local communities, farmers, Indigenous Peoples, national or local government authorities, traditional or religious leaders, civil society organizations, private sector entities and the academic community.

Adapted from IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS)

Sustainability

In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

United Nations Brundtland Commission

Systems

A system can be defined as "a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole".

Adapted from Glendell, M., Hare, M., Waylen, K. A., Adams, K., Boucher, J. L., Gagkas, Z., Gimona, A., Martino, S., Matthews, K. B., & Polhill, J. G. (2025). Systems thinking and modelling to support transformative change

Systems perspective

System perspective can be described as a holistic approach to understanding and solving complex problems by focusing on the interconnectedness and relationships within a system, rather than analyzing individual parts in isolation.

Adapted from Mahajan, S. L., Glew, L., Rieder, E., Ahmadia, G., Darling, E., Fox, H. E., Mascia, M. B., & McKinnon, M. (2019). Systems thinking for planning and evaluating conservation interventions

Vulnerable groups

Vulnerable groups are often defined as individuals or populations who, due to specific characteristics or circumstances, are at a higher risk of experiencing negative outcomes compared to others. Examples of vulnerable groups are women, children, Indigenous People, and other groups highly dependent on biodiversity and ecosystem services for survival, such as subsistence farmers.

Adapted from Convention on Biological Diversity - CBD/SBSTTA/21/9

Well-being

Well-being can be defined as a context- and situation-dependent state, comprising basic material for a good life, freedom and choice, health and bodily well-being, good social relations, security, peace of mind, and spiritual experience.

Millennium Ecosystem Services – MEA