UNCCD Terminology

Technical assistance (cooperation)

Glossary source

PRAIS

Technical cooperation (grants) include free-standing technical cooperation (grants), which are intended to finance the transfer of technical and managerial skills or of technology for the purpose of building up general national capacity without reference to any specific investment projects; and investment-related technical cooperation (grants), which are provided to strengthen the capacity to execute specific investment projects.

Technical backstopping

Glossary source

PRAIS

Backstopping is used as a technical tool for project and programme consultancy, whereby it supports the development and transfer of new evidences and innovations. Based on research and practice it provides critical technical advisory support for process development, testing and implementation as well as their documentation and evaluation.

Technology transfer

Glossary source

PRAIS

Technology transfer refers to the transfer, acquisition, adaptation and development of environmentally sound, economically viable and socially acceptable technologies relevant to combating desertification and/or mitigating the effects of drought, with a view to contributing to the achievement of sustainable development in affected areas. The UNCCD recognizes the key role of appropriate technology, knowledge and know-how for the implementation of the commitments under the Convention. Thus, it recognizes the importance of facilitating through international cooperation the transfer of technology, knowledge and knowhow. It also recognizes the importance of technology transfer as well as scientific research and development, information collection and dissemination and financial resources, encouraging international cooperation among Parties.

Temporal Resolution

Glossary source

PRAIS

The precision of a measurement with respect to time. Often there is a trade-off between temporal resolution of a measurement and its spatial resolution.

Tenure

Glossary source

PRAIS

Property rights. The right to specific uses of ecosystems and their services.
(Source: adapted from Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). Current State & Trends Assessment Report. http://www.maweb.org/en/Condition.aspx)

The Adaption Fund

Glossary source

PRAIS

The Adaptation Fund was established to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable and are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Fund is to be financed with a share of proceeds from clean development mechanism (CDM) project activities and receive funds from other sources. It is operated by the Adaptation Fund Board.

Thematic Programme Network (TPN) / Regional Cooperation Networks (RCN)

Networks established at the regional level by affected country Parties to address specific themes of relevance in the framework of the UNCCD implementation. In particular, the Asian region is working on six TPNs (the following have been launched: TPN for desertification monitoring and assessment; on agro-forestry and soil conservation; on pasture management and sand dune fixation; on Water resources management for agriculture in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas; etc), the African region is also working on six TPNs (Networks for the integrated management of international river, lake and hydrogeological basins,; the promotion of agroforestry and soil conservation; the rational use of rangelands and promotion of fodder crops development; the ecological monitoring, natural resources mapping, remote sensing and early warning systems; the promotion of new and renewable energy sources and technologies; and the promotion of sustainable agricultural farming systems.).

Tier of Vulnerability Assessment (Tier of VA)

Glossary source

PRAIS

A representation of a level of methodological complexity in calculating the Drought Vulnerability Index. It is being used in a similar way as was defined in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC, 2006) and approved through Decision 20/CP.7.

Time series

Glossary source

PRAIS

Data which facilitates analysis at more than one time (e.g. Daily, monthly, seasonal or annual time scales). The advantage of time series analysis is the increased amount of information that is obtainable compared with single date data acquisition.

Total carbon stock

Glossary source

PRAIS

The quantity of carbon in all of the components of ecosystem carbon pools

Total land area

Glossary source

PRAIS

The total surface area of a country excluding the area covered by inland waters such as major rivers and lakes

Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD)

Glossary source

PRAIS

Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) is a new international standard for measuring the full array of resources in support of the 2030 Agenda. It is designed to monitor all official resources flowing into developing countries for their sustainable development, but also private resources mobilised through official means.

Total renewable water resources per capita

Glossary source

PRAIS

One of the factors recommended to estimate the infrastructural component of the Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI). The total annual actual renewable water resources per inhabitant, including surface and groundwater sources for the whole country. This variable does not take into account whether the water is easily accessible, or safe, but is indicative of how much water each person in a country could have access to at any given time, which may indicate a higher adaptive capacity to drought. See also ‘Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI)’

Tree-covered areas

Glossary source

PRAIS

For the purpose of UNCCD reporting, this land cover class includes any geographic area where the vegetative cover is dominant (cover >15%) and consists of a main layer of natural trees with a cover between 15% -100%: i) Tree cover closed to open: >15%; ii) Trees cover open : 15-40%; and iii) Tree cover closed: 40-100%;. Other types of plants (shrubs and/or herbs) can be present, even with a density higher than trees: Mosaic trees and shrubs (>50%) / herbaceous cover (< 50%)

Type of flow

Glossary source

PRAIS

For the purpose of the SO5 indicators framework, the type of flows are categorized by the OECD DAC CRS as follows: ODA, OOF, Officially Supported Export Credits, Private Development Finance, Private Foreign Direct Investments, other private flows at market terms.

Type of funding

Glossary source

PRAIS

The type of funding provided in support of a project, programme or initiative within the reporting period. Examples of funding types include grants, concessional loans, commercial loans, basket funding, sectoral support, debt swap, equity, etc.

Type of support

Glossary source

PRAIS

For the purpose of the SO5 indicators framework, the type of support refers to the relevance or specificity of the resource allocated to the purpose of implementing the Convention. Each reported activity, project, programme, measure or investment can be either directly or indirectly related to DLDD. There isn’t any prescriptive definition of which activities can be considered as being DLDDrelevant. Similarly, there isn’t any fixed threshold for the categorization as directly or indirectly related to DLDD. The reporting Party should explain how is relevance is assessed, and which tracking methods and indicators are used. In the OECD DAC CRS, Rio Marker for Desertification is included in the data collection. In the default data provided, activities marked with Rio Marker for desertification 2 (“principal”) are indicated as “direct”, while activities marked with Rio Marker 1 (“significant”) are indicated as “indirect”.

UNCCD comprehensive communication strategy (CCS)

Glossary source

PRAIS

A coordinated plan of action aimed at supporting the implementation of the Convention by according land/soils the attention and priority they deserve in political and economic decisions at the local, national and international levels, in order to support the optimal deployment of The Strategy. It identifies communication goals, target audiences and planned activities.
http://www.unccd.int/Lists/SiteDocumentLibrary/convention/css.pdf

UNCCD Conference of Parties (COP)

Glossary source

PRAIS

The COP was established by the Convention as the supreme decision-making body; it comprises ratifying governments and regional economic integration organizations, such as the European Union.

UNCCD National Action Programmes (NAPs)

Glossary source

PRAIS

National action programmes (NAPs) are the key instruments to implement the Convention. They are often supported by action programmes at sub-regional (SRAP) and regional (RAP) levels. The NAPs are developed through a participatory approach involving various stakeholders, including relevant governmental offices, scientific institutions and local communities. They spell out the practical steps and measures to be taken to combat desertification in specific ecosystems.