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Glossary

A

  • Accessibility refers to the ease of reaching destinations. In addition to physical accessibility through transport infrastructure, connectivity through advanced telecommunication systems contributes to improving the intangible accessibility of areas.

B

  • Biodiversity or biological diversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

C

  • Carbon Sequestration is the process of capturing atmospheric carbon and, most importantly, storing it for the long term.
  • Climate Change refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity.
  • Cultural Landscape embraces a diversity of manifestations of the interaction between humankind and its natural environment.

D

  • Demographic Change describes a population’s age structure adjusting to changes in living conditions and social shifts.

E

  • Ecosystem is “a dynamic complex of plant, animal, and microorganism communities and the non-living environment interacting as a functional unit” (Millennium Assessment, 2005, v).
  • Ecosystem Services are the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment 2005).
  • Environmental Governance refers to “the means by which society determines and acts on goals and priorities related to the management of natural resources (IUCN).

F

G

  • Goods AlpES Project Term
  • Governance refers to the steering and regulatory framework of a society.

H

I

  • Indicator is an observable value that is representative of a specific phenomenon of concern.

J

K

L

  • Landscape Management refers to the measures aiming at preserving landscape or controlling its transformations caused by anthropic activities or natural events.

M

  • Mountain Area can be defined using the UNEP–WCMC global delineation criteria.

N

  • Natural Heritage can be divided in natural features, geological and physiographical formations, and natural sites, which are of outstanding universal value from the aesthetic, conservationist or scientific point of view.

O

P

  • Political Ecology studies human-environment interactions. It aims to examine how political, economic and social factors are linked to environmental problems,changes, and conflicts by exploring power structures.
  • Protected Area is a “clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values” (IUCN)
  • Pollution is the introduction of substances or energy into the environment, resulting in deleterious effects of such a nature as to endanger human health, harm living resources and ecosystems, and impair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment.

Q

R

  • Remote Sensing is the technique of acquiring information about an object without actually being in contact with it (Jorgensen & Fath, 2008).
  • Renewable Energies are defined as renewable non-fossil sources: wind, solar, geothermal, wave, tidal, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogases.

S

T

  • Territorial Development is understood as the process through which the geography of territories inhabited by human societies is progressively transformed.

U

  • Urban/Peri-Urban Development refers to urbanization with its different dimensions and perceptions and to non-urban population increase and sprawl of urbanized land that takes place beyond the city's or agglomeration's physical limits.

V

W

  • Water Management refers to preventive measures for the reduction of waste water, over-utilisation and pollution of water resource.
  • Web 2.0 tools are web-based applications that allow users to actively generate content and interact with other users.

X

Y

Z

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