UNCCD Terminology

Distinguished from drought as being an enduring feature of a location/environment. It is a natural permanent imbalance in the water availability consisting of low average annual precipitation, with high spatial and temporal variability, resulting in overall low moisture and low carrying capacity of the ecosystems.

For the purpose of UNCCD reporting, this land cover class is composed of any type of areas with a predominant artificial surface cover as a result of human activities. Natural vegetation can also be present, but it isn't dominant respect the artificial surface. Any urban or associated area is included in this class, as for example urban parks or sport facilities. The class also includes industrial areas, waste dump deposit and extraction sites: - construction sites (cities, green urban areas, towns and transportation as road and rail networks and associated land), - port and airport areas, - mineral extraction (open mines and quarries) or waste disposal, - continuous and discontinuous urban fabric and industrial or commercial units.

Those goods made in a traditional or non-mechanised way. It is generally small-scale and often considered part of the informal sector, and some cases as in the case of mining, illegal sector.

A networked approach to governance that is based on mutual trust, collaboration, devolution of power and decentralization of decisionmaking to the lowest level practicable (Gunasekara, 2006).

The baseline (or reference) is the state against which change is measured. In the context of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), the initial (t0) estimated value of each of the indicators used to monitor progress in the achievement of LDN for each land type. The baseline values of these indicators are measured at the time of implementation of the LDN conceptual framework.

Scientific data used for monitoring the status of desertification and assisting the Conference of the Parties in evaluating or assessing the effectiveness of national efforts to implement the Convention.

Individuals, groups, or organizations, whether targeted or not, that benefit, directly or indirectly, from the development intervention.
(Source: OECD Development Assistance Committee (2002). Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf)

Country(ies), subregion or region benefiting from a given project, programme or initiative.
(Source: adapted from OECD Development Assistance Committee (2002). Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf)

Measures, methods or activities that perform best or achieve the highest impact according to predefined criteria assessed through a validation process. See also ‘Practice’ and ‘Good practice’.

Organic material both above-ground and below-ground, and both living and dead, e.g., trees, crops, grasses, tree litter, roots etc. Biomass includes above – and below – ground biomass.
(Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/j9345e/j9345e12.htm)

The spatial domain within which integrated land use planning and counterbalancing decisions for LDN are made. Can be biophysical (e.g., catchment) or administrative (e.g., province).

Bonds and notes are debt instruments that usually give the holder the unconditional right to fixed money income or contractually determined variable money income. With the exception of perpetual bonds, bonds and notes also provide the holder with an unconditional right to a fixed sum as repayment of principal on a specified date or dates.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification promotes an innovative approach, enhancing full participation and involvement of affected populations and local communities, i.e. civil societies and non-governmental organisations, in the implementation process of the UNCCD.

Structure responsible for directing the work of the COP. Its members are delegates elected by each of the five regional groups. The Bureau is composed of the President, 9 Vice Presidents, and the Chair of the Committee on Science and Technology.

For the purpose of UNCCD reporting, capacity building and capacity development are equivalent terms, which both refer to the process by which countries obtain, strengthen and maintain their capability to meet the obligations laid down by the Convention and the requirements of the Strategy. On a broader and global level, UNDP defines capacity development as the process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time.

A popular (but misleading) term for a trading system through which countries may buy or sell units of greenhouse-gas emissions in an effort to meet their national limits on emissions, either under the Kyoto Protocol or under other agreements, such as that among member states of the European Union. The term comes from the fact that carbon dioxide is the predominant greenhouse gas, and other gases are measured in units called "carbon-dioxide equivalents."