UNCCD Terminology

Involves securing the recharge of groundwater reserves and protecting them from pollution, over exploitation/ overuse, and rising groundwater levels that would otherwise lead to salinization.

The G-77 was founded in 1967 under the auspices of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It seeks to harmonize the negotiating positions of its 133 developing country members.

Guarantees refer to legally binding agreements under which the guarantor agrees to pay part or the entire amount due on a loan, equity or other instrument in the event of nonpayment by the obligor or loss of value in case of investment. The term guarantee refers to both guarantee and insurance scheme.

The process of making comparable or bringing into agreement different methods, procedures or systems used for the same purpose (adapted from UNCCD, 2011a). In the context of LDN, this refers to making comparable the different methods used to quantify the same indicator or metric. See also standardization.

Since 1999, the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of the UNCCD is in Bonn, Germany.

Also called backyard or kitchen gardens, home gardens are a traditional multifunctional farming system applied on a small area of land around the family home. They have the potential to supply most of the non-staple foods (including vegetables, fruits, herbs, animals, and fish). They also provide a space for recreation, leisure, and relaxation.

A term used to describe an area which is experiencing the most evident and dramatic change. Hotspots are highly vulnerable to degradation in the absence of urgent remediation activities. See also ‘Brightspots

Impact investments are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Impact investments can be made in both emerging and developed markets, and target a range of returns from below market to market rate, depending upon the circumstances.
(Source: http://www.thegiin.org/cgi-bin/iowa/resources/about/index.html)

The positive and negative primary and secondary long-term effects—both intended and unintended—produced directly or indirectly by an intervention.

Improved drinking water sources are those which by nature of their design and construction have the potential to deliver safe water. Improved sources include: piped water, boreholes or tubewells, protected dug wells, protected springs, rainwater, and packaged or delivered water.

Any measure that aims to improve the ground cover, be it by dead material/ mulch or vegetation
(Source: WOCAT glossary https://www.wocat.net/glossary)

Refers to the development of new plant varieties or animal breeds that offer benefits such as improved production, resistance to pests and diseases, or drought tolerance, in response to changing environmental conditions and land users’ needs.
(Source: WOCAT glossary https://www.wocat.net/glossary)

A tangible or intangible reward, financial or non-financial, meant to encourage a person or group to behave in a certain way, to do certain things, or to achieve certain goals.
In the context of the UNCCD implementation, incentives may be aimed, for example, at facilitating the use of innovative technologies and best practices for SLM. Typical class of incentives may include:
- Policy or regulatory incentives (for example, relating to market requirements and regulations, import/export, foreign investment, research and development support, etc.).
- Financial incentives (for example, preferential rates, State aid, subsidies, cash grants, loan guarantees, etc.).
- Fiscal incentives (for example, exemption from or reduction of taxes, duties, fees, etc.).

Income is money that an individual or business receives in exchange for providing a good or service or through investing capital.

Income inequality is the unequal distribution of household or individual income across the various participants in an economy.

Indicators are variables that reflect a process of interest.

Indicators are variables that reflect a process of interest. Metrics are measures that are used to quantify or assess the state or level of the indicators. The monitoring of LDN is based on evaluating the significant changes (positive and negative) in three global indicators (via associated metrics) which serve as proxies of most ecosystem services flowing from land-based natural capital: land cover/land cover change, land productivity/NPP, carbon stocks/SOC, and, for a few ecosystem services not covered by these, other SDG indicators, and/or national indicators (see Figure 3 and Figure 12).

Figure 3 System description relating the provision of ecosystem services to the land-based natural capital  

Figure12 Selection of indicators based on ecosystem services to be monitored 

On the instructions of the President or Chair, delegates may meet in private to discuss specific matters in order to consolidate different views, reach a compromise, and produce an agreed proposal, often in the form of a written text.