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Afforestation: Planting trees where there were none before.
Agroforestry: The integration of tree growing with crop and livestock production. Agroforestry offers a way of tackling the combined problems of wood storages, poor agricultural production and environmental degradation.
Acid rain: When strong acids fall from the atmosphere in the form of rain, snow, fog or dry particles. The acid is the result of pollution caused mostly by sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides that are discharged into the atmosphere by industry. It also is created by burning coal and oil, from the operation of smelting industries and from transportation. In the atmosphere, these gases combine with water vapour to form acids, which then fall back to Earth. The result often kills forests and sterilizes lakes.
Anthropogenic: Human-induced or human-caused, derived from the Greek root anthropos meaning "man."
Algae blooms: The rapid growth of algae on the surface of lakes, streams, or ponds; stimulated by nutrient enrichment; an explosive increase in the density of phytoplankton within an area.
Algae: Rootless plants that grow in sunlit waters in relative proportion to the amounts of nutrients available. They can affect water quality adversely by lowering the dissolved oxygen in the water. They are food for fish and small aquatic animals. However, when algae exists in excess, it takes away oxygen from the water, thus killing all life.
Aquifer: A porous, water-saturated layer of sediment and bedrock under the Earth's surface; also described as artesian (confined) or water table (unconfined).
Arid: Regions where precipitation is insufficient in quantity for most crops and where agriculture is impractical without irrigation.
Atmosphere: The envelope of air surrounding the Earth. Most of the total mass of the atmosphere lies within the troposphere and the stratosphere. Most weather events are confined to the troposphere, the lower eight to 12 km of the atmosphere. The ozone layer is found in the stratosphere which typically extends from 10 to 40 km above the Earth.
Biodegradable: Capable of being broken down by living organisms into inorganic compounds. Ideally all waste should be biodegradable.
Biological diversity (biodiversity): The variety of different living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the variety of different ecosystems that they form. This includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems, and the genetic variability of each species.
Biological resources: Includes genetic resources, organisms or parts thereof, populations, or any other biotic component of ecosystems with actual or potential use or value for humanity.
Biomass: The total amount of living organisms in a given area.
Biosphere: The global ecosystem; that part of the earth and atmosphere capable of supporting living organisms.
Carbon tetrachloride: A solvent which is considered toxic and can cause cancer in humans. It is used primarily as a feedstock material for the production of other chemicals, including CFCs.
Cataracts: Damage to the eye lens, which impairs vision. It is often caused by UV-B radiation, which is usually filtered out by the ozone layer.
CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons): Any of the various compounds consisting of chlorine, hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon. They were first invented by DuPont Corporation in 1928 and have been widely used as refrigerants, as aerosol propellants, as cleaning solvents and in the manufacture of plastic foam. In 1972, scientists discovered that gaseous CFCs can deplete the ozone layer when they slowly rise into the stratosphere and their chlorine atoms react with ozone molecules. Efforts are now underway through the Montreal Protocol to reduce and then eliminate production of this substance worldwide.
Carbon dioxide: A colourless, odourless, non-poisonous gas, which results from fossil fuel combustion and is normally a part of the air.
Climate change: The slow variations of climatic characteristics over time at a given place. Usually refers to the change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is, in addition to natural climate variability, observed over comparable periods.
Climate system: The totality of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere and their interactions that characterize the average and extreme conditions of the atmosphere over a long period of time at any one place or region of the earth's surface.
Climate: The long term average condition of the weather in a given area.
Composting: The natural biological decomposition of organic material in the presence of aerobic bacteria to form a rich, dark soil fertilizer.
Conservation: The long-term protection and sustainable management of natural resources in accordance with principles that ensure long-term economic and social benefits.
Contaminant: Any biological, chemical, physical or radiological substance that has an negative effect on air, soil or water.
Deforestation: The felling of trees, usually for commercial purposes.
Desertification: Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.
Developed World: Those countries that have industrialized through possessing the means and the technology to do so. Also referred to as the "North" or the "Industrialized World."
Developing World: Those countries that are underdeveloped and are not industrialized to the extent of the developed world. Characterized by high infant mortality rates, lack of proper sanitation, low literacy rates, poverty, etc. Most organizations, including the United Nations, estimate that 60 to 80 per cent of the world fits into this category. Also referred to as the "South", "Underdeveloped" or "Third World."
DDT: An organochloride used as an insecticide. It has been banned since 1969 in most developed countries because it is a probable cause of cancer. However, it is still widely used in developing countries.
Dioxin: Any of a family of compounds known chemically as dibenzo-p-dioxins. Concern about them arises from their potential toxicity and contamination in commercial products.
Drought: A naturally-occurring phenomenon that occurs when precipitation is significantly below normal levels, causing water levels to drop and vegetation to die. This extended period of dry weather usually lasts longer than expected and leads to measurable losses for a human community (crop damage, water supply shortage).
Ecosphere: Refers to the entire global ecosystem that comprises atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere as inseparable components.
Ecosystem: A dynamic and complex system of plant, animal and microorganism communities and their non-living environment all interacting as a functional unit within a defined physical location. The term may be applied to a unit as large as the entire ecosphere, but usually refers to a division thereof.
Effluent: The discharge of industrial or urban waste material into the environment; the outflow from a lake or river.
Emissions: The release of greenhouse gases and/or their precursors into the atmosphere over a specified area and period of time.
Endangered species: A species threatened with extinction.
Environment: All of the external factors, conditions, and influences which affect an organism or a community. Also, everything that surrounds an organism or organisms, including both natural and human-built elements.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): The critical appraisal, both positive and negative, of the likely effects of a proposed project, ,development, activity or policy on the environment.
Environmentally Sound: That which does not harm the environment in any way.
Erosion: The wearing away of land surface by wind, water, glaciers, chemicals, and exposure to the atmosphere. Erosion occurs naturally but can be intensified by land-clearing practices related to farming, residential or industrial development, road building or deforestation.
Eutrophication: Over-enrichment of a water body with nutrients, resulting in excessive growth of organisms and depletion of oxygen concentration.
Extinct species: A species that no longer survives anywhere in the world.
Fossil fuels: Coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas and other hydrocarbons are called fossil fuels because they are made of fossilized, carbon-rich plant and animal remains. These remains were buried in sediments and compressed over geologic time, slowly being converted to fuel.
Global Warming: Strictly speaking, global warming and global cooling refer to the natural warming and cooling trends that the Earth has experienced all through its history. However, the term usually refers to the gradual rise in the Earth's temperatures that could result from the accumulated gases that are trapped in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse effect: A warming of the Earth's atmosphere caused by the presence in the atmosphere of certain heat-trapping gases (e.g., water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane). These gases absorb radiation emitted by the Earth, thereby retarding the loss of energy from the system to space. The greenhouse effect has been a property of Earth's atmosphere for millions of years and is responsible for maintaining the Earth's surface at a temperature that makes it habitable for human beings. An Enhanced Greenhouse Effect is when the increased concentrations of these gases are "enhancing" the natural greenhouse effect. It is the "enhanced greenhouse effect" that is expected to cause a large and rapid rise in average global temperatures.
Greenhouse gases: Those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and artificial, that absorb and reemit infrared radiation and that are responsible for global warming. The most potent greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, is rapidly accumulating in the atmosphere due to human activities.
Gross National Product (GNP): The total market value of all the goods and services produced by a nation during a specific period of time.
Ground-level ozone (tropospheric ozone): Ozone (O3) that occurs near the surface of the Earth. In pollution it causes concern because of its toxic effects.
Groundwater: The supply of fresh water found beneath the earth's surface (usually in aquifers) which is often accessed through wells and springs.
Habitat: The geographical location(s) and the associated set(s) of environmental conditions that are necessary for the flourishing of a particular type of plant or animal. In other words, their home.
Halons: Chemical compounds developed from hydrocarbons by replacing atoms of hydrogen with atoms of halogens, such as fluorine, chlorine, or bromine. CFCs are halons (see above). Halons are widely used as fire extinguishing agents.
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs): Organic substances composed of hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine, and carbon atoms. These chemicals are less stable than CFCs, and are therefore less damaging to the ozone layer.Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs): Chemicals with fluorine but no chlorine, and therefore likely not damaging to the ozone layer. However, HFCs are potent greenhouse gases.
Hazardous waste: Refuse that could present dangers through the contamination and pollution of the environment. It requires special disposal techniques to make it harmless or less dangerous.
Hydroelectricity: Electric energy produced by water-powered turbine generators.
Hydrologic cycle: The cycle that water through its natural process of evaporation and precipitation: from the sea, through the atmosphere, to the land and back to the sea.
Industrial Revolution: The Industrial Revolution began in the early 1800's and heralded the birth of the "modern times." After the Industrial Revolution, work that was done by hand was accomplished through the use of machines. It brought on the advent of the steam engine, cotton gin, sewing machine, paper, telegraph, and railroad and it saw the beginnings of many of our present industries. While it occurred in the North, the effects of the Industrial Revolution have affected the entire world. Cars, planes, many objects made of metal, telephones, televisions and many other products are the result of this "revolution."
Industrial halocarbons: A group of synthetic chemical compounds containing carbon and one or more of chlorine, fluorine, or bromine. Only those industrial halocarbons containing chlorine or bromine pose a threat to the ozone layer.
Inorganic: Matter other than plant or animal, and not containing a combination of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which all living things contain.
Integrated resource planning: The management of two or more resources in the same general area, such as water, soil, timber, grazing land, fish, wildlife and recreation.
Land degradation: The reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity from rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands. Land degradation usually results from unsustainable land use.
Molecules: A group of atoms held together by chemical forces.
Natural resource: (e.g., tree biomass, fresh water, fish) whose supply can essentially never be exhausted, usually because it is continuously produced.
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO): An organization centred around a cause or causes that works outside the sphere of governments. NGOs often lobby governments in an attempt to influence policy.
Non-renewable resources: Natural resources that are not naturally replenished once they have been harvested. Non-renewable resources can be used up completely or else used up to such a degree that it is economically impractical to obtain any more of them. Fossil fuels and metal ores are examples of non-renewable resources.
North: See "Developed World."
Nuclear fission: The splitting of uranium isotopes to produce heat, which is then harnessed to produce electricity.
Nuclear fusion: The fusing together of elements to produce either electrically-charged particles or heat, which is then harnessed to produce electricity. This technology is currently being researched but thus far is not cost-effective. Some scientists believe that it is possible to produce non-radioactive nuclear power with this type of technology.
Official Development Assistance (ODA): That which one country, usually of the North, commits to give to another country, usually of the South, for purposes of assisting with development. The United Nations has been trying for many years to get every country in the developed world to commit to giving 0.7 per cent of its GNP to developing countries as ODA.
Organic Compounds: Compounds composed of carbon and hydrogen. Organic compounds form the basic building blocks of living tissue.
Organic: Referring to or derived from living organisms. In chemistry, organic refers to any compound containing carbon.
Organism: A living thing.
Ozone: A gas composed of three atoms of oxygen (03). Ozone partially filters certain wavelengths of ultraviolet light from the Earth. Ozone is a desirable gas in the stratosphere, but in high concentrations at ground level, it is toxic to living organisms.
Ozone layer (stratospheric ozone): Ozone that is formed in the stratosphere from the conversion of oxygen molecules by solar radiation. Ozone absorbs much ultraviolet radiation and prevents it from reaching the Earth.
Parts Per Million (PPM): The number of "parts" by weight of a substance per million parts of water. This unit is commonly used to represent pollutant concentrations. Large concentrations are expressed in percentages.
Pesticide: A substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest. Pesticides can accumulate in the food chain and/or contaminate the environment if they are misused.
pH: An expression of both acidity and alkalinity on a scale of zero to 14, with seven representing neutrality; numbers less than seven indicate increasing acidity and numbers greater than seven indicate increasing alkalinity. Acid rain can increase the pH level of the water in a lake, thereby killing all life.
Photosynthesis: The manufacture by plants of carbohydrates and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll, using sunlight as an energy source. Plants thereby absorb carbon from the atmosphere with the process, and store it in their forms.
Phytoplankton: Usually microscopic aquatic plants, sometimes consisting of only one cell.
Plankton: Those organisms that are unable to maintain their position or distribution independent of the movement of water or air masses.
Pollution: The contamination of a natural ecosystem, especially with reference to the activity of humans.
Precipitation: Any and all forms of water, whether liquid or solid, that fall from the atmosphere and reach the Earth's surface. A day with measurable precipitation is a day when the water equivalent of the precipitation is equal to or greater than 0.2 mm.
Recyclable: Refers to such products as paper, glass, plastic, oil and metals that can be reprocessed into products again instead of being disposed of as waste.
Reforestation: The process of reestablishing a forest on previously cleared land.
Renewable resources: Natural resources that have the capacity to be naturally replenished despite being harvested (e.g., forests, fish). The supply of natural resources can, in theory, never be exhausted, usually because it is continuously produced.
Resource: A person, thing, or action that is used to produce a desired affect or product, usually for meeting human needs or improving the quality of life.
Septic Tank: An tank (usually kept underground) that is used to hold domestic wastes when a sewer line is not available to carry them to a treatment plant. It stores the solid waste until bacteria breaks it down and the relatively clean water is absorbed by the ground.
Sinks: Sinks remove gases from the atmosphere either by destroying them through chemical processes or storing them in some other form. Carbon dioxide is often stored in ocean water, plants, or soils, from where it can be released at a later time.
Smog (photochemical smog): Literally a contraction of "smoke" and "fog"; the colloquial term used for photochemical fog, which includes ozone and numerous other contaminants. Smog is usually adds a brownish haze to the atmosphere.
South: See "Developing World."
Stratosphere: The layer of the atmosphere between about 10 and 40 km above the Earth's surface within which temperatures rise with altitude. The stratosphere contains 90 per cent of the atmosphere's ozone (O3).
Sustainable development: Development that ensures that the use of resources and the environment today does not compromise their use in the future.
Toxic: Harmful to living organisms.
Transnational corporation: A corporation that is not based in any one country but may maintain corporate offices in several countries.
Troposphere: Layer of the atmosphere that contains about 95 per cent of the Earth's air and extends about six to 17 km up from the Earth, depending upon latitude and season.
Ultraviolet Radiation (UV): Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of 200 to 400 nanometres. (Also known as ultraviolet light).
Urban runoff: Storm water from city streets and adjacent domestic or commercial properties that may carry pollutants of various kinds into the sewer systems and from there to rivers, lakes or oceans.
VOC (volatile organic compound): The term used to describe the organic gases and vapours that are present in the air. They are believed to be involved in ground-level ozone formation. Some VOCs are toxic air pollutants.
Wastewater: Water that carries wastes from homes, businesses, and industries. It is usually a mixture of water and dissolved or suspended solids.
Wastewater treatment plant: A facility containing a series of tanks, screens, filters, and other processes by which pollutants are removed from water.
Water Quality: A term used to describe the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water with respect to its suitability for a particular use.
Wetlands: Lands where water saturation is the dominant
factor that determines the nature of soil development and the
types of plant and animal communities living in the surrounding
environment. Other common names for wetlands are bogs, ponds,
estuaries and marshes.
Common Abbreviations
CFC: Chlorofluorocarbon
CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
EETU: Environmental Education and Training Unit
EEU: Environmental Economics Unit
EIA: Environmental Impact Assessment
ELIU: Environmental Law and Institutions Unit
FAO: (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization
GATT: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GEF: Global Environment Facility
GEMS: Global Environment Monitoring System
GESAMP: Group of Experts on Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution
GRID: Global Resource Information Database
HABITAT: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS)
IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency
IE/PAC: Industry and Environment Programme Activity Centre
IEEP: International Environmental Education Programme
ILO: (UN) International Labour Organization
IMF: International Monetary Fund
IMO: (UN) International Maritime Organization
IOC: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
IPA: (UNEP) Information and Public affairs
IRPTC: International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals
IUCN: The World Conservation Union
MARC: Monitoring and Assessment Research Centre
NGO: Non-Governmental Organization
OCA: Oceans and Coastal Areas
OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
PAC: Programme Activity Centre
PCRI: Pollution Control Research Institute
RCU: Regional Co-ordinating Unit
TEB: Terrestrial Ecosystems Branch
UNCED: United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (The Earth Summit)
UNCHE: United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
UNCLS: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
UNCOD: United Nations Conference on Desertification
UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNDP: United Nations Development Programme
UNDRO: United Nations Disaster Relief Organization
UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund
UNICEF: United Nations Children's Fund
UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNITAR: United Nations Institute for Training and Research
UNSCEAR: United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
UNSO: United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office
WHO: (UN) World Health Organization
WICEM: World Industry Conference on Environmental Management
WMO: (UN) World Meteorological Organization
Resources for Glossary
A Primer on Environmental Citizenship; Environment Canada,
Minister of Supply and Services, 1993 - A Dictionary of Ecology,
Evolution and Systematics, Lincoln, R.J., Boxhall, G.A., and Clark,
P.F., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982 - Dictionary
of the Environmental Sciences; Durrenberger, Robert W, National
Press Books, Palo Alta, Ca., 1973 - Environmental Literacy:
The A-To-Z Guide; Dashefsky, H. Steven, Random House, New
York, 1993 - Glossary of Environmental Terms and Acronym List;
US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., l989 - Glossary
of selected terms (from The State of Canada's Environment); Government
of Canada, , Ottawa, 1991 - International Glossary of Hydrology;
UNESCO, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland,
1974 - McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms;
Parker, Sybil P. (Ed), McGraw-Hill, New York 1984 - The Penguin
Dictionary of Physical Geography; Whittow, John. Markham,
Penguin Books, 1984
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