UNCCD Terminology

Multilateral agreements are usually not legally binding until they have been ratified by a certain number of countries. The UNCCD required 50 ratifications and entered into force on 26 December 1996. Equally the Convention states, that it will enter into force for a given Party 90 days after this Party has deposited its instrument of Ratification or Accession.

The term European Communities is a collective term for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), founded in 1951, the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM or EAEC), founded in 1957. The European Union, created by the Maastricht Treaty (1993), did not make the European Communities disappear. They form its institutional framework. The Union remains based on the Communities, supplemented by the policies and the forms of cooperation brought in by that treaty. The European Union is a Party to the Convention. However, it does not have a separate vote from its members. Members states of the EU meet as a group to the COP.

Organization(s) in charge of the execution of a project, programme or initiative. This may be a local, national, regional or international organization. Common terminology used by donor agencies.

In imagery, an explainable anomaly is an area on an image that differs from the surrounding, normal area and can be interpreted accurately. For example, sensor artefacts, sun coincidence lines or a concentration of vegetation within a desert scene.
(Source: Adapted from http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/fac/rsvlab/glossary.html)

Loans or guarantees for the purpose of trade and which are not represented by a negotiable instrument. They may be extended by the official or the private sector. If extended by the private sector, they may be supported by official guarantees.

A result which wrongly indicates that a particular condition or attribute is present. For UNCCD reporting, a false positive occurs when the One-Out All-Out process has incorrectly indicated that an area is not degraded even though the change in land condition is considered sufficiently negative to qualify as degraded in the context of SDG indicator 15.3.1. See also “False negative”

Collection and gathering of information at the local level by conducting primary surveys through observation, sketching, measurement, interviews, etc.

A financial commitment (or “commitment”) is a firm obligation expressed in an agreement or equivalent contract and supported by the availability of public funds, undertaken by the government, an official agency of the reporting country or an international organisation, to furnish assistance of a specified amount under agreed financial terms and conditions and for specific purposes, for the benefit of a recipient country.
(Source: OECD, Geographical distribution of financial flows to developing countries)

A representative from each country serves as the focal point for the Convention to liaise with the Secretariat and to assist in intersessional work. Focal points are to be distinguished from the officially accredited Head of Delegation to the COP.

Plantation forests comprise even-aged monocultures and are established primarily for wood and fibre production. They are usually intensively managed and have relatively high growth rates and productivity.