UNCCD Terminology

Advocacy

Glossary source

PRAIS

Advocacy is the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal.
(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)

Affected countries/areas

Glossary source

UNCCD Terminology

According to 1992 United Nations estimates, over 110 countries in all continents are affected by desertification, which is defined as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and/or dry sub-humid areas.

Afforestation

Glossary source

PRAIS

Afforestation is planting of new forests on lands that historically have not contained forests.

Agenda

Glossary source

UNCCD Terminology

A programme of work that the Conference of the Parties adopts and uses to guide its work; the annotated agenda contains a more detailed explanation of each agenda item.

Agenda Item

Glossary source

UNCCD Terminology

Specific issue listed in the Agenda to be addressed by a given meeting.

Aggregation

Glossary source

PRAIS

The combination of related categories, usually within a common branch of a hierarchy, to provide information at a broader level to that at which detailed observations are taken.

Agro-ecological unit

Glossary source

PRAIS

A land resource mapping unit, defined in terms of climate, landform and soils, and/or land cover, and having a specific range of potentials and constraints for land use.
(Source: http://www.fao.org/faoterm/en/)

Above ground biomass

Glossary source

PRAIS

The biomass of living vegetation, both woody and herbaceous, above the soil including stems, stumps, branches, bark, seeds, and foliage See also ‘Below ground biomass’

Agriculture, value added (% of gross domestic product)

Glossary source

PRAIS

One of the factors recommended to estimate the economic component of the Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI). Agriculture corresponds to International Standard Industrial Classifications (ISIC) divisions 1-5 and includes forestry, hunting, and fishing, as well as cultivation of crops and livestock production. This factor refers to the value added for agriculture as a percentage of the gross value added at factor cost. It implies a higher coping capacity of populations. See also ‘Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI)’

Amounts mobilized through public interventions

Glossary source

PRAIS

Amounts mobilised from the private sector by official development finance intervention. In OECD DAC statistics, mobilisation means the stimulation by specific financial mechanisms/interventions of additional resource flows for development. Amounts mobilised from the private sector are collected following an instrument-specific approach (see Annex 6). They cover all private finance mobilised by official development finance interventions regardless of the origin of the private funds (provider country, recipient country, third country). For the purpose of the SO5 indicator framework, amounts mobilized through public interventions can be reported under SO5-1 for practical reasons (as they are incorporated in the OECD DAC CRS), but should be summed up to the amounts reported under SO5-3, international private resources.

Area closure

Glossary source

PRAIS

Enclosing and protecting an area of degraded land from human use and animal interference to permit natural rehabilitation, enhanced by additional vegetative and structural conservation measures.

Baseline period

Glossary source

PRAIS

For UNCCD reporting the baseline period during which baseline conditions should be calculated, is the 16 years from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2015.

Below ground biomass

Glossary source

PRAIS

All biomass of live roots. Fine roots of less than 2 mm diameter are often excluded because these often cannot be distinguished empirically from soil organic matter or litter See also ‘Above ground biomass’.

Bilateral contribution

Glossary source

PRAIS

International bilateral resources, provided or received, are transactions undertaken by a donor country directly with a developing country or channeled through a multilateral organisation either in the form of earmarked contributions to a developing country or contributions to specific purpose programmes and funds managed by the organisation. They also encompass transactions with non-governmental organisations active in development.

Brightspots

Glossary source

PRAIS

A term used to describe an area which is experiencing the most evident and dramatic change. Brightspots do not exhibit any signs of degradation, or have been remediated from a degraded state by implementing appropriate remediation activities, or through land planning processes to prevent degradation. See also ‘Hotspots’.

Carbon stock

Glossary source

PRAIS

The quantity of carbon in a pool or a reservoir that has the capacity to accumulate or release carbon. Ecosystem carbon pools are composed of biomass (above and below ground), dead wood and litter (above and below ground), and soil organic matter.

Classification of Environmental Protection Activities (CEPA)

Glossary source

PRAIS

The Classification of Environmental Protection Activities (CEPA) is an established international classification since 20001. CEPA 2000 is a generic, multi-purpose, functional classification used for classifying activities, products, expenditure and other transactions related to environmental protection.

Classification system

Glossary source

PRAIS

System for assigning objects to classes.

Classifier, class

Glossary source

PRAIS

Definition used to assign objects to legend classes. NOTE: Classifiers can be algorithmically defined, or defined according to a set of classification system specific rules. See also ‘Classification system’

Commitment

Glossary source

PRAIS

A commitment is a firm written obligation by a government or official agency, backed by the appropriation or availability of the necessary funds, to provide resources of a specified amount under specified financial terms and conditions and for specified purposes for the benefit of a recipient country or a multilateral agency. Donors unable to comply with this definition should explain the definition that they use.