All keywords

Storehouses of seeds or vegetative tissue, kept in low humidity and temperature, to help maintain genetic diversity. Sometimes known as seed banks or germ plasm banks. their contents mostly originate from a wide range of primitive strains and wild crop varieties. The International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR), which was established in 1974, promotes the collection, documentation, evaluation, conservation and eventual use of genetic resources of significant plant species. Gene banks are the subject of international controversy because they contain seeds that have mostly been acquired from the developing countries by the industrially rich countries, where they have been used in breeding programmes to develop new strains. Instead of taking decades over a traditional plant breeding programme by fertilization, it is now possible to manipulate directly the genes of plants, creating genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are plants modified to give a higher resistance to disease and improved growth and yields and, therefore, increase the profit of the plant breeder and farmer. (Source: WRIGHT)

An administrative mandate outlining the process by which a concept, plan, decree or law is to be put into actual practice by a specific organization or government agency. (Source: DAM)

The study of the elements and the compounds they form. (Source: DICCHE)

Informal learning or formal instruction with broad application to human existence beyond the domain of any particular subject or discipline, often equated with liberal arts in the university setting and contrasted to courses required for a specific major or program. (Source: ISEP / COE)

The variation between individuals and between populations within a species. (Source: WRIGHT)

Inheritable change, chiefly mutations produced by chemical substances, herbicides, radiations, etc. (Source: RRDA)

1) The complex of techniques for the production of new genes and the alteration of the structure of the chromosomes to produce effects beneficial to man, in agriculture and medicine. 2) The intentional production of new genes and alteration of genomes by the substitution or addition of new genetic material. (Source: ZINZAN / MGH)

The information for protein synthesis contained in the nucleotide sequences of the DNA polynucleotide chain. (Source: RRDA)

Inheritable changes produced by ionizing radiation, exposure to certain chemicals, ingestion of some medication and from other causes. (Source: CONFER)

The total number of genes or the amount of genetic information possessed by all the reproductive members of a population of sexually reproducing organisms. (Source: ALL2)

The gene pool in natural and cultivated stocks of organisms that are available for human exploitation. It is desirable to maintain as diverse a range of organisms as possible, particularly of domesticated cultivars and their ancestors, in order to maintain a wide genetic base. The wider the genetic base, the greater the capacity for adaptation to particular environmental conditions. (Source: ALL2)

Change in one or more phenotypic characteristics, due to gene mutation or rearrangement, environmental effects, etc. (Source: DELFIN)

An organism that has undergone external processes by which its basic set of genes has been altered. (Source: LEE)

The science that is concerned with the study of biological inheritance. (Source: MGH)

Data delimiting a given object, either physical or conceptual, in terms of its spatial relationship to the land, usually consisting of points, lines, areas or volumes defined in terms of some coordinate system. (Source: GIS)

A subdivision of geophysics which includes determination of the size and shape of the earth, the earth's gravitational field, and the location of points fixed to the earth's crust in an earth-referred coordinate system. (Source: MGH)

Geogenic factors are those which originate in the soil, as opposed to those of anthropic origin (anthropogenic). (Source: RRDA)

A deep steep-walled half-bowl-like recess or hollow, variously described as horseshoe- or crescent-shaped or semi-circular in plan, situated high on the side of a mountain and commonly at the head of a glacial valley and produced by the erosive activity of a mountain glacier. It often contains a small round lake, and it may or may not be occupied by ice or snow. (Source: BJGEO)

An organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information that can be drawn from different sources, both statistical and mapped. (Source: SFRC / GILP96)

The number of inhabitants in or spread across designated subdivisions of an area, region, city or country. (Source: RHW)

A representation of the globe constructed on a plane with lines representative of and corresponding to the meridians and parallels of the curved surface of the earth. (Source: GIS / RHW)

The study of the natural features of the earth's surface, comprising topography, climate, soil, vegetation, etc. and man's response to them. (Source: CED)

Disasters caused by movements and deformation of the earth's crust. (Source: ZINZANa)

Dynamic actions or events that occur at the Earth's surface due to application of natural forces resulting from gravity, temperature changes, freezing and thawing, chemical reactions, seismic shaking, and the agencies of wind and moving water, ice and snow. Where and when a force exceeds the strength of the earth material, the material is changed by deformation, translocation, or chemical reactions. (Source: DUNSTE)

The study or science of the earth, its history, and its life as recorded in the rocks; includes the study of geologic features of an area, such as the geometry of rock formations, weathering and erosion, and sedimentation. (Source: MGH)

A remote sensing term referring to the adjustment of an image for geometric errors. (Source: DWEB)

The physical and chemical interactions between the Earth's surface and the natural forces acting upon it to produce landforms. The processes are determined by such natural environmental variables as geology, climate, vegetation and baselevel, to say nothing of human interference. The nature of the process and the rate at which it operates will be influenced by a change in any of these variables. (Source: WHIT)

The study of the classification, description, nature, origin, and development of present landforms and their relationships to underlying structures, and of the history of geologic changes as recorded by these surface features. (Source: BJGEO)

The physical earth and its surroundings, consisting of the oceans and inland waters, lower and upper atmosphere, space, land masses and land forms. (Source: APD / ENZ)

The physics of the earth and its environment, that is, earth, air and space. (Source: MGH)

The application of scientific methods and engineering principles to civil engineering problems through acquiring, interpreting, and using knowledge of materials of the crust of the earth. (Source: MGH)

The application of scientific methods and engineering techniques to the exploitation and use of natural resources. (Source: BJGEO)

An energy produced by tapping the earth's internal heat. At present, the only available technologies to do this are those that extract heat from hydrothermal convection systems, where water or steam transfer the heat from the deeper part of the earth to the areas where the energy can be tapped. The amount of pollutants found in geothermal vary from area to area but may contain arsenic, boron, selenium, lead, cadmium, and fluorides. They also may contain hydrogen sulphide, mercury, ammonia, radon, carbon dioxide, and methane. (Source: KOREN)

1) A pathogenic micro-organism. 2) Living substance capable of developing into an organ, part, or organism as a whole; a primordium.

The hereditary material transmitted to the offspring via the gametes. (Source: LBC)

The beginning or the process of development of a spore or seed. (Source: MGH)

The digital form of data collected by remote sensing. (Source: YOUNG)

An organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information that can be drawn from different sources, both statistical and mapped. (Source: SFRC / GILP96)

The transformation to digital form of data collected by remote sensing, traditional field and documentary methods and of existing historical data such as paper maps, charts, and publications. (Source: YOUNG)

A laboratory where GIS data drawn from different sources are stored, handled, analyzed and updated. (Source: GILP96a)

Slow moving masses of ice which have accumulated either on mountains or in polar regions. They are found where warm, moist air or warm water meets cold air or water. They move, influenced by the force of gravity and the pressure of the ice, above the underlying slush layers and slide downhill, eventually melting at lower levels to form rivers or reaching sea-level, where they form ice shelves or fall into the water as icebergs. (Source: WRIGHT)

1) The study of all aspects of snow and ice; the science that treats quantitatively the whole range of processes associated with all forms of solid existing water. 2) The study of existing glaciers and ice sheets, and of their physical properties. (Source: BJGEO)

A hard, amorphous, inorganic, usually transparent, brittle substance made by fusing silicates, sometimes borates and phosphates, with certain basic oxides and then rapidly cooling to prevent crystallization. (Source: MGH)

Industry for the production of glassware. (Source: CED)

A coating of ice, generally clear and smooth but usually containing some air pockets, formed on exposed objects by the freezing of a film of supercooled water deposited by rain, drizzle, or fog, or possibly condensed from supercooled water vapour. (Source: MGH)

Aspects concerning the whole world considered as being closely connected by modern telecommunications and as being interdependent economically, socially and politically. (Source: CEDa)

A worldwide assembly of national, political party or organizational delegates, or the pact or the agreement that arises from such an assembly that forms, often, the preliminary to an international treaty. (Source: BLD)

An international organization established in 1990 to provide practical assistance to governments in achieving environmental improvements. The GEF is managed by the World Bank, which contributes 2/3 of its funds, the remaining 1/3 being controlled by the United Nations Development Programme.

Models concerning different aspects of reality which can be applied at global level. (Source: RRDA)

Changes in the surface-air temperature, referred to as the global temperature, brought about by the greenhouse effect which is induced by emission of greenhouse gases into the air. (Source: WRIGHT)

An alphabetical list of terms concerned with a particular subject, field or area of usage that includes accompanying definitions. (Source: CED / RHW)

A crude, impure, amber-colored form of commercial gelatin of unknown detailed composition produced by the hydrolysis of animal collagen; gelatinizes in aqueous solutions and dries to form a strong, adhesive layer. (Source: MGH)

The aim, purpose, objective, or end for a profit-seeking enterprise engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service. (Source: RHW)

A game played on a large open course, the object of which is to hit a ball using clubs, with as few strokes as possible, into each of usually 18 holes.

The competent, skillful and successful process of planning, leading and working toward the accomplishment or completion of goals, objectives and mission of an organization or institution. (Source: DAM)

A term of variable content and meaning. It may include every species of personal chattels or property. Items of merchandise, supplies, raw materials, or finished goods. Land is excluded. (Source: DICLAW / WESTS)

The total of economic assets, including both physical or storable objects and intangible acts of human assistance. (Source: ODE)

A body of top government officials appointed to advise the President or the chief executive officer of a country, usually consisting of the heads of government departments or agencies. (Source: OED)

Building for the offices of the main departments of government. (Source: HARRIS)

A public body's debt or other legal obligation arising out of transactions in the past which must be liquidated, renewed or refunded at some future date. (Source: EFP)

Any course of action adopted and pursued by a ruling political authority or system, which determines the affairs for a nation, state or region. (Source: RHW)

Edible, starchy seeds of the grass family (Graminae) usable as food by man and his livestock. (Source: MGH)

A very large family of plants including cereals such as wheat, maize, etc. (Source: PHC)

1) The determination of the different grain size in a granular material. 2) The proportion by weight of particles of different sizes in granular material. (Source: ECHO2)

A very large and widespread family of Monocotyledoneae, with more than 10.000 species, most of which are herbaceous, but a few are woody. The stems are jointed, the long, narrow leaves originating at the nodes. The flowers are inconspicuous, with a much reduced perianth, and are wind-pollinated or cleistogamous. The fruit in single-seeded, usually a caryopsis. Grasses are the most important of all plants for food. (Source: ALL)

A conflagration in or destroying large areas of any vegetation in the Gramineae family as found in fields, meadows, savannas or other grasslands. (Source: ISEP / ALL)

A plant-eating insect with long back legs that can jump very high and makes a sharp high noise using its back legs or wings. (Source: CAMB)

Grassland cover nearly one-fifth of the Earth's land surface. They include savannah, the prairies of North America, and the steppes of Russia and Central Asia. Grassland ecosystems support thousands of different species, above and below the ground, and have a vital part to play maintaining the ecological balance of the world. (Source: WRIGHT)

The interacting system of the biological communities located in biomes characterized by the dominance of indigenous grasses, grasslike plants and forbs, and their non-living environmental surroundings. (Source: TOE / DOE)

A mixture of rock fragments and pebbles that is coarser than sand. (Source: CED)

Obtaining a mixture of coarse sand and small water- worn or pounded stones, (used for paths and roads and as an aggregate) from the earth. (Source: GILP96a)

A place where gravel is dug out of the ground. (Source: CAMB)

The vegetation on pastures that is available for livestock to feed upon. (Source: CED)

The self-contained dwelling where man simulates the ways of ecosystems, i.e. his wastes are converted to fuel by anaerobic digestion for methane production and the residues from the digestion are used for growing food. The food residues are composted and/or used for methane production. Solar energy is trapped by the greenhouse effect and used for house, crop and water heating. A windmill would be used for electricity. Thus, given sufficient space, sunshine, rainfall and wind, the ecohouse is in theory a self-contained system recycling its own wastes and using the sun as its energy input. (Source: PORT)

Avenues along which wide-ranging animals can travel, plants can propagate, genetic interchange can occur, populations can move in response to environmental changes and natural disasters, and threatened species can be replenished from other areas. (Source: WILDLAa)

Herbaceous plant material plowed into the soil while still green. (Source: MGH)

The name given to the widespread development of high-yield strains of wheat, corn and rice during the 1960s and early 1970s. It was more formally known as the Indicative World Plan for Agricultural Development. The revolution came after the Food and Agricultural Organization held the World Food Congress in 1963. A Freedom from Hunger campaign was set up with the goal of increasing food supplies and solving the world's hunger problems. (Source: WRIGHT)

A plot of vegetated land separating or surrounding areas of intensive residential or industrial use and devoted to recreation or park uses. (Source: LANDY)

A proliferation of a marine green plankton toxic and often fatal to fish, perhaps stimulated by the addition of nutrients. (Source: RRDA)

A vegetable having the edible parts rich in chlorophyll and forming an important source of vitamins and micronutrients. (Source: WEBSTE)

1) An area of land, not necessarily continuous, near to and sometimes surrounding a large built-up area. The area is kept open by permanent and severe restriction on building. 2) An irrigated, landscaped, and regularly maintained fuelbreak, usually put to some additional use, such as a golf course, park, or playground. 3) A planning designation that mandates the setting aside of otherwise developable lands for the purpose of creating natural or semi-natural open spaces. Greenbelts are usually linear parkways, tracts, or belts of land running through or around urban conurbations. 4) An area or zone of open, semi-rural, low-density land surrounding existing major urban areas, but not necessarily continuous. The zone is to be kept open by permanent and severe restrictions on new development. (Source: ALL / DUNSTE / GOOD)

Cultivation of plants, especially of out-of-season plants, in glass-enclosed, climate-controlled structures. (Source: MGH)

The warming of the Earth's atmosphere caused by the increasing concentration of atmospheric gases, such as water vapour and carbon dioxide. These gases absorb radiation emitted by the Earth, thus slowing down the loss of radiant energy from the Earth back to space. (Source: DUNSTE)

A collective expression for those components of the atmosphere that influence the greenhouse effect, namely carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, ozone, CFCs and water vapour. (Source: GILP96)

A system of uniformly spaced perpendicular lines and horizontal lines running north and south, and east and west on a map, chart, or aerial photograph; used in locating points. (Source: MGH)

To reduce to powder or small fragments. (Source: LEE)

The total output of goods and services produced by a national economy in a given period, usually a year, valued at market prices. It is gross, since no allowance is made, for the value of replacement capital goods. (Source: GOOD)

Gross domestic product adjusted for foreign transactions, i.e. to the figure for Gross Domestic Product must be added any income accruing to residents of the country arising from investment and other factor earnings abroad and from it must be deducted any income earned in the domestic market by factors owned by foreigners abroad. (Source: GOOD)

Water that occupies pores and crevices in rock and soil, below the surface and above a layer of impermeable material. It is free to move gravitationally, either downwards towards the impermeable layer or by following a gradient. (Source: ALL)

Threat to the quality and quantity of groundwater by activities related to the use of land. As some activities (e.g. landfill) present a particular risk of pollution, the closer an activity is to a well or borehole, the greater the risk of the pumped water being polluted. The type of soil, the geology, the rainfall and the amount of water pumped out of the ground must all be taken into consideration. (Source: PORTa)

The process, deliberate or inadvertent, of extracting ground water from a source at a rate so in excess of the replenishment that the ground water level declines persistently, threatening exhaustion of the supply or at least a decline of pumping levels to uneconomic depths. (Source: BJGEO)

Contamination of any water found under the earth's surface by any leaching pollutants, such as inorganic compounds (chlorides, nitrates, heavy metals, etc.), synthetic organic chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, etc.) and pathogens (bacteria, parasites, etc.).

Precautionary actions, procedures or installations undertaken to prevent or reduce harm to the environmental integrity of fresh water found beneath the earth's surface, usually in aquifers, which supply wells and springs. (Source: RHW / TOE)

Groundwater accounts for over 95% of the earth's useable fresh-water resources; over half the world's population depends on groundwater for drinking-water supplies. This invisible resource is vulnerable to pollution and over-exploitation. Effective conservation of groundwater supplies requires the integration of land-use and water management. (Source: GILP96)

An observable pattern of activity displayed by persons in and as an aggregate. (Source: RHW)

An inlet of the sea of large areal proportions, more indented than a bay and generally more enclosed. (Source: WHIT)

Any seed-bearing plant of the division Gymnospermae, in which the ovules are borne naked on the surface of the mega sporophylls, which are often arranged in cones. (Source: CED)

A colourless or white mineral used in the building industry and in the manufacture of cement, rubber, paper and plaster of Paris. (Source: CED)

1) The locality in which a plant or animal naturally grows or lives. It can be either the geographical area over which it extends, or the particular station in which a specimen is found. 2) A physical portion of the environment that is inhabited by an organism or population of organisms. A habitat is characterized by a relative uniformity of the physical environment and fairly close interaction of all the biological species involved. In terms of region, a habitat may comprise a desert, a tropical forest, a prairie field, the Arctic Tundra or the Arctic Ocean. (Source: WRIGHT / GILP)

Destruction of wildlife habitats by increasing pressure for land by fast-growing human populations, pollution and over-exploitation. Whole species or populations of plants and animals have disappeared causing a loss of genetic resource that is not only regrettable from an aesthetic or philosophical point of view but also threatens man's food supply. Habitat loss takes several forms: outright loss of areas used by wild species; degradation, for example, from vegetation removal and erosion, which deprive native species of food, shelter, and breeding areas; and fragmentation, when native species are squeezed onto small patches of undisturbed land surrounded by areas cleared for agriculture and other purposes. (Source: WPR / WRES)

The branch of medical science concerned with diseases of the blood. (Source: CED)

Precipitation in the form of balls or irregular lumps of ice, always produced by convective clouds, nearly always cumulonimbus. (Source: MGH)

The time required for one-half the atoms of a given amount of radioactive material to undergo radioactive decay. (Source: KOREN)

A haloalkane, containing three halogen atoms, e.g. iodoform, CHI3; a haloform reaction is a reaction to produce haloforms from a ketone. For example, if propanone is treated with bleaching powder, the chlorinated ketone so formed reacts to form chloroform. (Source: UVAROV)

Halogen derivatives of biphenyl. (Source: MGH)

A substance containing halogen atoms. (Source: MGHa)

One of a group of halogen derivatives of organic hydrogen and carbon containing compounds; the group includes monohalogen compounds (alkyl or aryl halides) and polyhalogen compounds that contain the same or different halogen atoms. (Source: MGH)

Halogen derivatives of phenol. (Source: MGHa)

An organic compound bonded with one of the five halogen elements (astatine, bromine, chlorine, fluorine, and iodine). Several of these compounds contribute to reductions in the concentration of ozone in the stratosphere. (Source: OER / ERG)

A particular skill performed with the hands. (Source: CED)

The profession, commercial firm or trade involving the production and distribution of articles that are made through the skilled use of one's hands. (Source: RHW)

Area of water next to the coast, often surrounded by thick walls, where ships and boats can be sheltered. (Source: CAMB)

Discarded material, often hazardous or in large volume, for which there is no obvious disposal route. (Source: DHW)

Resistance of a solid to indentation, scratching, abrasion or cutting. (Source: MGH)

The process by which two or more states, sometimes under the auspices of an interstate or international organization, change their legislation relevant to some area of common concern to conform their statutes and to facilitate compliance and enforcement across borders. (Source: GT2)

The amount or measure of the crop gathered in a season. (Source: AMHER)

A physical or chemical agent capable of causing harm to persons, property, animals, plants or other natural resources. (Source: FFD / HMD)

Any site or region in which there is a physical or chemical agent capable of causing harm to property, persons, animals, plants or other natural resources. (Source: FFD / HMD)

Risk or danger to human health, property or the environment posed by the introduction of a harmful substances into the ecosystem. (Source: RHW / TOE)

Transporting substances capable of producing adverse health effects, fires or explosions to other countries or areas for the conduct of foreign trade. (Source: TOE / MGHME)

Any material that poses a threat to human health and/or the environment. Typical hazardous substances are toxic, corrosive, ignitable, explosive, or chemically reactive. (Source: LEE)

A binding rule or body of rules prescribed by a government to regulate the production, use or clean-up of materials that pose a threat to human health and the environment, particularly materials that are toxic, corrosive, ignitable, explosive or chemically reactive. (Source: TOE / BLD)

Any waste or combination of wastes with the potential to damage human health, living organisms or the environment. Hazardous wastes usually require special handling and disposal procedures which are regulated by national and international laws. (Source: HMD / DEE / HMH)

Disposal facilities where hazardous waste is placed in or on land. Properly designed and operated landfills are lined to prevent leakage and contain systems to collect potentially contaminated surface water run-off. (Source: PARCOR / WPR)

A poison, corrosive agent, flammable substance, explosive, radioactive chemical, or any other material which can endanger human health or well-being if handled improperly. (Source: MGH)

Reduced visibility in the air as a result of condensed water vapour, dust, etc., in the atmosphere. (Source: CED)

A strip of land left at the end of a furrow in a field in order to facilitate the turning of the plough. (Source: WHIT)

A cape or promontory jutting seawards from a coastline, usually with a significant sea cliff. (Source: WHIT)

A state of dynamic equilibrium between an organism and its environment in which all functions of mind and body are normal. (Source: MGH)

Noise consequences on human health consist in loss of hearing and psychological effects. (Source: KOREN)

A facility or location where medical, dental, surgical, or nursing attention or treatment is provided to humans or animals. (Source: KOREN)

Laws, ordinances, or codes prescribing sanitary, clean air, etc., standards and regulations, designed to promote and preserve the health of the community and working conditions of businesses. (Source: BLACK)

A body of rules or orders prescribed by government or management to promote or protect the soundness of human bodies and minds in the workplace, at home or in the general environment. (Source: BLD / RHW)

The supply of health care to the public. (Source: CEDa)

Relationship between the quality of the environment and the health conditions of individuals. (Source: DIZAMB)

Health-related biotechnologies are concerned with large-molecule protein pharmaceuticals, genetic engineering, etc. (Source: BIOTAZ / DELFINa)

The general perceptual behaviour and the specific responses made in relation to sound stimuli. (Source: MGH)

Effectiveness of hearing. (Source: CAMB)

A decrease in strength or any abnormality or partial or complete loss of hearing or of the function of ear, or hearing system, due directly or secondarily to pathology or injury; it may be either temporary or permanent.

Any prescribed course or mode of action governing the preliminary examination by a magistrate of basic evidence and charges to determine whether criminal proceedings, a trial or other judicial actions are justified. (Source: RHW)

The total of measures and devices implemented to preserve persons from harm to the faculty of perceiving sound. (Source: OED)

The system that is concerned with the perception of sound, is mediated through the organ of Corti of the ear in mammals or through corresponding sensory receptors of the lagena in lower vertebrates, is normally sensitive in man to sound vibrations between 16 and 27.000 cycles per second but most receptive to those between 2.000 and 5.000 cycles per second, is conducted centrally by the cochlear branch of the auditory nerve, and is coordinated especially in the medial geniculate body. (Source: WEBSTE)

A form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature: it is equal to the total kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules of a system. (Source: CED)

Power station which produces both electricity and hot water for the local population. A CHP (Combined Heat and Power Station) plant may operate on almost any fuel, including refuse. (Source: PHC)

A device which transfers heat from a cooler reservoir to a hotter one, expending mechanical energy in the process, especially when the main purpose is to heat the hot reservoir rather than refrigerate the cold one. (Source: MGH)

Keeping heat created during a period of low consumption until a peak period when it is needed. (Source: PHC)

The provision of heating fuel, coal or other heating source materials, or the amount of heating capacity, for the use of a municipality, or other heat user. (Source: ISEP)

An apparatus that heats or provides heat. (Source: AMHER)

An area with poor acid soil, typically dominated by ling (Calluna) or heaths (Erica). (Source: ALL)

A system for supplying heat, especially central heating, to a building. (Source: HARRIS)

Plant for producing and supplying heat. (Source: CEDa)

Traffic of large motor vehicles designed to carry heavy loads. (Source: CEDa)

A metal whose specific gravity is approximately 5.0 or higher. (Source: MGH)

The amount of stress put on an ecosystem by heavy metal pollution released into it. (Source: ISEP)

A line of closely planted bushes or shrubs, marking the boundaries of a field. The type of hedge varies between parts of the country, and its age can be dated from the number of species of tree and shrub present. Over the last thirty years hedge-row removal has had a marked visual effect on lowland agricultural landscapes. From the farmer's point of view, in areas of predominant arable or intensively managed grazing, there is little or no economic justification for retaining hedges. (Source: GOOD)

A chemical that controls or destroys undesirable plants. (Source: LANDY)

An animal that feeds on grass and other plants. (Source: CED)

Compound in which the ring structure is a combination of more than one kind of atom. (Source: MGH)

The level of water when the tide is at its highest level. (Source: CED)

An electric line with a voltage on the order of thousands of volts. (Source: MGH)

Any tall, multistoried structure or edifice that is equipped with elevators. (Source: RHW)

The term high-speed traffic encompasses all trains running at speeds over 200 km/h but also trains running at 200 km/h if the terrain population density or economic reasons do not justify higher speeds. (Source: EJRCF)

Trains travelling at maximum speeds of 300kmh on special high-speed rail lines. (Source: RRDA)

Study beyond secondary school at an institution that offers programs terminating in undergraduate and graduate degrees. (Source: COE)

The interacting systems of the biological communities and their non-living surroundings in regions of relatively high elevation, typically characterized by decreased air pressure and temperature, reduced oxygen availability and increased isolation. (Source: TOE / APD)

A public road especially an important road that joins cities or towns together. (Source: CAMB)

A trail in the country along which one can walk, usually for pleasure or exercise. (Source: CEDa)

A natural elevation of the land surface, rising rather prominently above the surrounding land, usually of limited extent and having a well-defined outline, rounded rather than peaked or rugged, with no specific definition of absolute elevation. (Source: BJGEO)

That part of a town or city in which the principal public and historic buildings are located. (Source: GOOD)

The process by which small but cumulative changes in the learned, nonrandom, systematic behavior and knowledge of a people occur from generation to generation. (Source: ANT)

Monument built in memory of an historical event. (Source: RRDA)

The study of events in relation to their development over time. (Source: GOOD)

Place where significant historical events occurred and which is important to an indigenous culture or a community. (Source: LANDYa)

A systematic written account comprising a chronological record of events (as affecting a city, state, nation, institution, science, or art) and usually including a philosophical explanation of the cause and origin of such events. (Source: WEBSTE)

1) A period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel or recreation 2) A day on which work is suspended by law or custom, such as a religious festival, bank holiday, etc.

A place providing accommodation, recreational facilities, etc. for holiday-makers. (Source: CED)

A plot of cultivated ground adjacent to a dwelling and usually devoted in whole or in part to the growing of herbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables for household use. (Source: WEBSTE)

The preset document that is displayed after starting a World Wide Web browser, or the main World Wide Web document in a series of related documents. (Source: UNM / WIC)

The approval given by the judge of certain acts and agreements for the purpose of rendering them more binding and executory. (Source: WESTS)

A large animal with four legs which people ride on or use for carrying things or pulling vehicles. (Source: CAMB)

The art and science of growing plants. (Source: MGH)

A place where people who are ill or injured are treated and taken care of by doctors and nurses. (Source: CAMB)

Solid waste, both biological and non-biological, produced by hospitals and discarded and not intended for further use. (Source: SHG)

No definition needed.

The industry related with the provision of lodging and usually meals and other services for travelers and other paying guests. (Source: AMHER)

A group of persons sharing a home or living space, who aggregate and share their incomes, as evidenced by the fact that they regularly take meals together. (Source: SOCIOL)

No definition needed.

Any spending done by a person living alone or by a group of people living together in shared accommodation and with common domestic expenses. (Source: ODE)

Goods needed for living in a household.

1) Dwelling-houses collectively and the provision of these. 2) Shelter, lodging.

The number of dwelling units or the residential population of a given geographic area. (Source: MIB)

An addition, renovation or repair to a place of residence that increases its aesthetic, functional or financial value. (Source: RHW)

A binding rule or body of rules prescribed by a government to regulate the buying, selling, leasing, construction or maintenance of dwelling places. (Source: BLD)

A planned system of projects, services or activities intended to support individuals or families in need of shelter, including transitional or permanent housing and safe havens for low-income, elderly or homeless populations. (Source: HUD)

A norm or measure applicable in legal cases and considered to reflect a relatively high grade or level of excellence in the construction, maintenance, operation, occupancy, use or appearance of dwelling units. (Source: BLD)

The study of human life and character. (Source: ZINZAN)

The entire physical structure of an human being. (Source: CED)

An interruption, cessation or disorder of human bodily functions, systems or organs resulting from genetic or developmental errors, infection, nutritional deficiency, toxicity, illness or unfavorable environmental factors. (Source: SMD / ISEP)

The study of the growth, distribution, and organization of human communities relative to their interrelationships with other humans and other species and with their environment. (Source: UNUN)

Any of the conditions in which people live. Also all human settlements in villages, towns or major cities, which require environmental management to provide water, public spaces, remove public wastes, etc. (Source: WRIGHT)

The avoidance of disease and injury and the promotion of normalcy through efficient use of the environment, a properly functioning society, and an inner sense of well-being. (Source: KOREN)

The permanent or semipermanent change of a person's place of residence. (Source: GOOD)

Branch of medicine concerned with the cause, origin, and nature of disease, including the changes occurring as a result of disease. (Source: CED)

A branch of biological sciences that studies the functions of organs and tissues in human beings. (Source: OMD / WOR)

Group of individuals having common characteristics. (Source: ZINZAN)

The rights of individuals to liberty, justice, etc. (Source: CED)

Group of sciences including sociology, anthropology, psychology, pedagogy, etc. as opposed to the humanistic group. (Source: ZINZAN)

Cities, towns, villages, and other concentrations of human populations which inhabit a given segment or area of the environment. Human settlements are associated with numerous and complex environmental, pollution, and living condition problems for planning and management. (Source: UNUN)

Violent, sudden and destructive change in the environment caused by man. (Source: ISEP / RHW)

The support or relief given to save human lives or to alleviate suffering, including public health efforts and the provision of financial resources and food, often when governmental authorities are unable or unwilling to provide for such assistance. (Source: RHW / DPG)

The more or less decomposed organic matter in the soil. Besides being the source of most of the mineral salts needed by plants, humus improves the texture of the soil and holds water, so reducing the loss of nutrients by leaching. (Source: ALL)

The pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals, regarded as a sport. (Source: CED)

Official permission granted to individuals or commercial enterprises allowing and regulating by time, location, species, size or amount the wild animals or game that can be killed and taken from lands within a particular jurisdiction. (Source: RHW)

Area of land where the pursuit and killing or capture of game and wild animals is permitted. (Source: CED)

A tropical cyclone of great intensity; any wind reaching a speed of more than 73 miles per hour (117 kilometers per hour) is said to have hurricane force. (Source: MGH)

The act or process of producing hybrids that is an animal or plant resulting from a cross between genetically unlike individuals. Hybrids between different species are usually sterile. (Source: MGH)

Any structure built to route the flow of water, or to support the weight and pressure of a body of water. (Source: ENC / LIV)

A branch of civil engineering concerned with the design, erection, and construction of sewage disposal plants, waterworks, dams, water-operated power plants and such. (Source: MGH)

The branch of science and technology concerned with the mechanics of fluids, especially liquids. (Source: MGH)

Study of organisms living in water. (Source: ZINZAN)

A very large group of chemical compounds composed only of carbon and hydrogen. (Source: MGH)

A container or a reservoir for the storage of hydrocarbons. (Source: MGH)

A solution of hydrogen chloride gas in water; a poisonous, pungent liquid forming a constant-boiling mixture at 20% concentration in water; widely used as a reagent, in organic synthesis, in acidizing oil wells, ore reduction, food processing, and metal cleaning and pickling. Also known as muriatic acid. (Source: MGH)

Growing plants without soil but in sand or vermiculite or other granular material, using a liquid solution of nutrients to feed them. (Source: PHC)

The free renewable source of energy provided by falling water that drives the turbines. Hydropower is the most important of the regenerable energy sources because of its highest efficiency at the energy conversion. There are two types of hydroelectric power plants: a) run-of-river power plants for the use of affluent water; b) storage power plants (power stations with reservoir) where the influx can be regulated with the help of a reservoir. Mostly greater differences in altitudes are being used, like mountain creeks. Power stations with reservoirs are generally marked by barrages with earth fill dam or concrete dams. Though hydropower generally can be called environmentally acceptable, there exist also some problems: a) change of groundwater level and fill up of the river bed with rubble. b) Risk of dam breaks. c) Great demand for land space for the reservoir. d) Diminution, but partly also increase of value of recreation areas. As the hydropowers of the world are limited, the world energy demand however is rising, finally the share of hydropower will decrease. (Source: PORT / PHC / PZ)

Power station which operates with the free renewable source of energy provided by falling water. (Source: PORT)

A flammable colourless gas that is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe. It occurs mainly in water and in most organic compounds and is used in the production of ammonia and other chemicals, in the hydrogenation of fats and oils, and in welding. (Source: CED)

Flammable, poisonous gas with characteristic odour of rotten eggs, perceptible in air in a dilution of 0.002 mg/l. It is used as a reagent in chemical analysis; extremely hazardous; collapse, coma and death from respiratory failure may come within a few seconds after one or two inspirations; low concentrations produce irritation of conjunctiva and mucous membranes. Headache, dizziness, nausea, lassitude may appear after exposure. (Source: MGH / INDMER)

The science dealing with the occurrence of surface and ground water, its utilization, and its functions in modifying the earth, primarily by erosion and deposition. (Source: MGH)

1) The drainage basin of a stream. 2) An area occupied by a lake and its drainage basin. (Source: BJGEO)

The configuration or arrangement in plan view of the natural stream courses in an area. It is related to local geologic and geomorphologic features and history. Synonym: drainage pattern. (Source: BJGEO)

Science which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of the oceans, lakes, rivers, and their adjoining coastal areas, with particular reference to their control and utilization. (Source: MGH)

An accounting of the inflow to, outflow from, and storage in a hydrologic unit such as a drainage basin, aquifer, soil zone, lake or reservoir; the relationship between evaporation, precipitation, runoff, and the change in water storage. (Source: BJGEO)

The movement of water between the oceans, ground surface and atmosphere by evaporation, precipitation and the activity of living organisms, as one of the mayor biogeochemical cycles. Each day water evaporates from the oceans and is carried in the air from the sea over the land, which receives it as precipitation, and finally returns from the land to the sea through rivers, thus completing the cycle. (Source: ALLa)

Violent, sudden and destructive change either in the quality of the earth's water or in the distribution or movement of water on land, below the surface or in the atmosphere. (Source: ISEP / APD)

The characteristic behaviour and the total quantity of water involved in a drainage basin, determined by measuring such quantities as rainfall, surface and subsurface storage and flow, and evapotranspiration. (Source: BJGEO)

The science that treats the occurrence, circulation, distribution, and properties of the waters of the earth, and their reaction with the environment. (Source: MGH)

1) Decomposition or alteration of a chemical substance by water. 2) In aqueous solutions of electrolytes, the reactions of cations with water to produce a weak base or of anions to produce a weak acid. (Source: MGH)

That part of meteorology of direct concern to hydrologic problems, particularly to flood control, hydroelectric power, irrigation, and similar fields of engineering and water resource. (Source: ZINZAN)

The science and technology of measuring specific gravities, particularly of liquids. (Source: MGH)

The waters of the Earth, as distinguished from the rocks (lithosphere), living things (biosphere), and the air (atmosphere). Includes the waters of the ocean; rivers, lakes, and other bodies of surface water in liquid form on the continents; snow, ice, and glaciers; and liquid water, ice, and water vapour in both the unsaturated and saturated zones below the land surface. Included by some, but excluded by others, is water in the atmosphere , which includes water vapour, clouds, and all forms of precipitation while still in the atmosphere. (Source: BJGEO)

The science that deals with the principles and practices of good health. (Source: MGH)

Insects including bees, wasps, ants, and sawflies, having two pair of membranous wings and an ovipositor specialized for stinging, sawing or piercing. (Source: CED)

The organization of information units typically containing visible links that users can select or click with a mouse pointer or some other computer device to automatically retrieve or display other documents. (Source: WIC / TWI)

The dense substance formed by the freezing of water to the solid state; it commonly occurs in the form of hexagonal crystals. (Source: MGH)

Large areas of floating ice, usually occurring in polar seas, consisting of separate pieces that have become massed together. (Source: CED)

A large mass of detached land ice floating in the sea or stranded in shallow water. (Source: MGH)

The determination of the specific substance or substances that are causing pollution. (Source: RHW)

A body of ideas that reflects the beliefs and interest of a nation, political system, etc. and underlies political action. (Source: CED)

Processing techniques which apply quantitative methods to the values in a digital yield or remotely sensed scene to group pixels with similar digital number values into feature classes or categories. (Source: DYNAMO)

In remote sensing, the filtering of data and other processes to manipulate pixels to produce an image that accentuates features of interest or visual interpretation. (Source: DUNSTE)

A remote sensing term related to image enhancement that refers to the removal of a spatial component of electromagnetic radiation. (Source: WHITa)

The process of converting 'raw' remotely sensed data into a usable form through the application of various transformations such as supervised and unsupervised classification schemes. (Source: FORUMT)

A coordinated assemblage of computer devices designed to capture and manipulate pictures stored as data in discrete, quantized units or digits. (Source: GIS)

The process of linking map coordinates to control points with known earth-surface coordinates. Related term: coordinate systems. (Source: FORUMT)

Codes published by Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (IMCO) relating to international shipping, particularly regarding safety and marine pollution. (Source: BRACK) CK!

The reception of material, such as pollutants, by the environment and from any source. (Source: ALL)

Legislative and administrative procedures aimed at reducing the damage caused by emissions. Pollution control programmes are normally based on human-oriented acceptable dose limits. A very important measure concerns the organisation of an emission inventory. (Source: GOODa)

Damage caused by pollution from a distinct source of emission. (Source: GILP96)

The prediction of immissions is calculated on the basis of the pollutant load, the source height, the wind speed and the dispersion coefficient. (Source: FLGISA)

Maximum levels of selected pollutants which would lead to unacceptable air quality. (Source: PORT)

The total amount of immissions introduced in a given environment. (Source: RRDA)

A body system that helps an organism to resist disease, through the activities of specialised blood cells or antibodies produced by them in response to natural exposure or inoculation. (Source: KOREN / CED)

The ability of an organism to resist disease or toxins by natural or artificial means. (Source: KOREN)

Any of several methods for the quantitative determination of chemical substances such as hormones, drugs, and certain proteins that utilize the highly specific binding between an antigen and an antibody. (Source: KOREN)

The disruption of the complex system of interacting cells, cell products and cell-forming tissues that protects the body from pathogens, destroys infected and malignant cells and removes cellular debris. (Source: SMD / RHW)

A branch of biological science concerned with the native or acquired resistance of higher animal forms and humans to infection with microorganisms. (Source: MGH)

Evaluation of the effect of a project upon the environment. (Source: PHC)

Actions, procedures or installations undertaken to reduce the extent or degree of negative effects on human health and the ecosystem introduced by human design or interaction with the environment. (Source: OED)

Precautionary measures, actions or installations implemented to avert negative effects on the environment. (Source: TOE)

The counteracting or undoing of negative effects or influences on the environment. (Source: OED)

Elements of an action which cause damage to the surrounding environment. (Source: RRDA)

Instrument which samples atmospheric suspensoids by impaction; such instruments consist of a housing which constrains the air flow past a sensitized sampling plate. (Source: MGH)

The act of bringing goods and merchandise into a country from a foreign country. (Source: WESTS)

Permission from a government to bring within its borders and sell a product manufactured in a foreign country. (Source: BLD)

No definition needed.

A material used to fill holes in wood, plaster, or other surfaces before applying a coating such as paint or varnish. (Source: MGH)

The forcing of a liquid substance into the spaces of a porous solid in order to change its properties, as the impregnation of wood with creosote to preserve its integrity against water damage. (Source: MGHa)

The beneficial development or progress in the volume of output that is achieved in terms of productivity and input, or in getting the maximum possible output from given or allocated resources. (Source: ODE)

Noise characterized by transient short-duration disturbances distributed essentially uniformly over the useful passband of a transmission system. (Source: MGH)

In the natural or normal place. (Source: KOREN)

Assay taking place in an artificial environment. (Source: KOREN)

Experiments that are carried out in the living organism. (Source: UVAROV)

Money or financial resources set aside to stimulate, encourage, or incite action towards greater productivity. (Source: RHW)

Pollution caused by oil spills, by the accidental release of radioactive substances, by the immission in water bodies or in the atmosphere of chemical substances deriving from industrial activities. (Source: DIFIDa)

Controlled process by which solid, liquid, or gaseous combustible wastes are burned and changed into gases; residue produced contains little or no combustible material. (Source: LANDY)

The controlled burning of solid, liquid, or gaseous combustible wastes to produce gases and solid residues containing little or no combustible material in order to reduce the bulk of the original waste materials. (Source: ISEP)

Any material, solid or semisolid, left after processing in a device designed to reduce waste volume by combustion. (Source: DEE / HMD)

Device which burns waste. (Source: PHC)

The gain derived from capital, from labour or effort, or both combined, including profit or gain through sale or conversion of capital. (Source: WESTS)

A tax on the annual profits arising from property, business pursuits, professions, trades or offices. (Source: BLACK)

No definition needed.

A condition or extent of time in a government enforced contract, instrument or agreement that lacks precision, distinguishing characteristics or fixed boundaries. (Source: BLD)

Financial compensation, reimbursement or security for damages or loss offered by a government, insurance policy or contractual agreement under specified conditions and for specific casualties. (Source: BLD)

A list of record surrogates arranged in order of some attribute expressible in machine-orderable form. (Source: MGH)

A service which creates a special contents list, containing titles, authors, abstracts, subject headings and other information, to describe a large number of publications and to be used in searchable, machine-readable (or printed) look-up tables. (Source: RHW)

A body of water between the continents of Africa, Antarctica, Asia and Australia including the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Arabian Sea (with the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf) in the west, and containing several islands and island chains, such as the Andaman, Nicobar and Seychelles. (Source: INP)

Something that provides an indication especially of trends. (Source: CED)

Qualitative or quantitative parameter used as a measure of an environmental condition, e.g. of air or water quality. (Source: DIZAMB)

Forests which are native to a given area. (Source: LANDY)

Local knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society, which is the basis for local-level decision making in agriculture, health care, education and other matters of concern in rural communities. (Source: WIK)

Technologies employed by the native inhabitants of a country and which constitute an important part of its cultural heritage and should therefore be protected against exploitation by industrialized countries; the problem of indigenous knowledge has been discussed during the Rio Conference but it does not receive much protection under the Biodiversity Convention. Article 8 mandates that parties \respect preserve and maintain knowledge innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional life styles... and promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of holders of such knowledge innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of benefits arising from them. (Source: RRDA / WRES)

A non-domestic source introducing pollutants into a publicly owned waste-treatment system. Indirect dischargers can be commercial or industrial facilities whose wastes enter local sewers. (Source: EPAGLO)

The process of using a natural system or mechanical device to collect, treat and discharge or reclaim wastewater from an individual dwelling without the use of community-wide sewers or a centralised treatment facility. (Source: DWT)

Chemical, physical or biological contaminants in the air inside buildings and other enclosed spaces occupied by humans. This pollution can arise from tobacco smoke, pesticides, cleaning agents, gases released from building materials, rugs, household products, etc. (Source: EED / ISEP)

Environment situated in the inside of a house or other building. (Source: CED)

Operations, functions and processes involved in industrial production. (Source: RRDA)

Areas allocated for industry within a town-planning scheme or environmental plan. The range of industries accommodated in a plan may include: light industry, service industry, general industry, hazardous, noxious or offensive industry, waterfront industry, extractive industry. Standards are usually defined for industrial areas relating to access and roads, drainage, car parking, aesthetics, landscaping, buffer zones, noise levels, and air and water pollution. (Source: GILP96)

A building directly used in manufacturing or technically productive enterprises. Industrial buildings are not generally or typically accessible to other than workers. Industrial buildings include buildings used directly in the production of power, the manufacture of products, the mining of raw materials, and the storage of textiles, petroleum products, wood and paper products, chemicals, plastics, and metals. (Source: JJK)

Any crop that provides materials for industrial processes and products such as soybeans, cotton (lint and seed), flax, and tobacco. (Source: MGH)

The disposal of any waste generated by a manufacturing or processing process by the agency or body which produced it. (Source: RHW / ERG)

The production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services resulting from all manufacturing business. (Source: RHW)

Materials generally discarded from industrial operations or derived from manufacturing processes. (Source: LANDY)

Gas-borne pollutants discharged into the atmosphere from smokestacks of industrial plants. (Source: LEE)

Environment where the manifold activities connected with the production of goods and services take place. (Source: RRDA)

The guiding procedure, philosophy or course of action for the protection of natural resources from pollution generated by manufacturing or business enterprises. (Source: RHW)

Equipment related to industrial activities. (Source: RRDA)

Any smokelike or vaporous exhalation from matters or substances, especially of an odorous or harmful nature, which result from trading, commercial or manufacturing processes. (Source: RHW / ALL)

A device, system or piece of equipment installed for a particular industry. (Source: CED)

A binding rule or body of rules prescribed by a government to regulate working conditions or the acquisition, processing and disposal of materials by the aggregate of factories, companies and enterprises in one or more manufacturing or technically productive fields. (Source: RHW)

To make or process (a raw material) into a finished product, especially by means of a large-scale industrial operation. (Source: AMHER)

No definition needed.

The branch of medicine which deals with the relationship of humans to their occupations, for the purpose of the prevention of disease and injury and the promotion of optimal health, productivity, and social adjustment. (Source: MGH)

Noise produced by industrial plants activities.

The process of making arrangements or preparations to facilitate the manufacturing, producing and processing of goods or merchandise. (Source: RHW / ODE)

Buildings where the operations related to industrial productive processes are carried out. (Source: ZINZAN)

Plants employed in industry, e.g. cotton, flax, hemp, peanuts, etc. (Source: RRDA)

Course of action adopted by national government to support and promote industrial activities. (Source: GOODa)

Pollution as a result of industrial processes and manufacturing. (Source: RRDA)

No definition needed.

No definition needed.

Any process of converting or transforming raw materials and other resources into goods or services which have value. (Source: ODE)

No definition needed.

A justifiable claim granted by government or some other authority that offers protection or excludes others from making, using or selling an invention, a unique design of an article of manufacture or some other creation or discovery. (Source: BLD)

Measures or techniques implemented to reduce the risk of injury, loss and danger to persons, property or the environment in any facility or place involving the manufacturing, producing and processing of goods or merchandise. (Source: ODE)

The location for the individual manufacturing firm. (Source: GOOD)

Sludge produced as a result of industrial production processes or manufacturing.

A large-scale community with diverse manufacturing sectors and an infrastructure and economy based on the science, technology and instrumental rationality of the modern West. (Source: FUT / RHW)

No definition needed.

Waste materials discarded from industrial operations, or derived from manufacturing processes; may be solid, sludge (wet solids) or liquid wastes and may or may not be considered hazardous. (Source: HMD / ISEP)

Waste gases resulting from manufacturing and other industrial processes which may be treated and released, treated and reused or released without treatment. (Source: ISEP)

Waste water that results from industrial processes and manufacturing. It may either be disposed of separately or become part of the sanitary or combined sewage.

Area of land which is no longer usable for cultivation or for any other purpose after having been the site of an industrial plant. (Source: PHCa)

A system of land use planning that forms zones or boundaries to be used only by manufacturing or business enterprises. (Source: ISEP)

The process whereby manufacturing industry comes to occupy the predominant position in a national or regional economy. (Source: GOOD)

An industry is a group of establishments engaged in the same or similar kinds of economic activities. Industries produce commodities that are sold with the expectation of recovering the total cost of production. A single industry can produce many different commodities. (Source: PGE)

Wastes that do not undergo any significant physical, chemical, or biological transformations when deposited in a landfill.

The process of waste inertisation includes solidification and stabilisation; stabilisation is the process used for reduction of hazard potential of the waste by converting the contaminants into their least soluble, least immobile, or least toxic form. Solidification physically binds or encapsulates the waste in a monolithic solid of high structural integrity. Thus solidification may be used for powders, liquids or gases. (Source: ENVAR)

A young child in the first years of life. (Source: ISEP)

The rate of deaths occurring in the first year of life for a given population. (Source: MED)

The entry and development or multiplication of an infectious agent in the body of a living organism. (Source: KOREN)

Pathogenic condition resulting from invasion of an host by a pathogen that propagates causing infection. (Source: KOREN)

Invasion of crop by parasites. Among vertebrate animals, many crop pests are mammals, especially in the order of rodents and birds. Among invertebrates, certain species of gastropods and a large number of roundworms from the class of nematodes harm crops. The most varied and numerous species of crop pests are arthropods-insects, arachnids and some species of millipedes and crustaceans. Diseases vary from viral, bacterial, and nutritional to fungal, environmental and non-specific. The FAO has estimated that annual worldwide losses done by plant pests and diseases amount to approximately 20-25% of the potential worldwide yield of food crops. (Source: RRDA / WPR)

Food that has been contaminated and deteriorated by some kind of pest. (Source: RRDA)

Movement of water through the soil surface into the ground. (Source: MGH)

Substance liable to catch fire. (Source: CED)

1) Water other than wastewater that enters a sewer system (including sewer service connections) from sources such as, but not limited to, roof leaders, cellars drains, yard drains, area drains, drains from springs and swampy areas, manhole covers, cross connections between storm sewers and sanitary sewers, catch basins, cooling towers, storm waters, surface runoff, street wash waters, or drainage. Inflow does not include, and is distinguished from, infiltration. 2) Action of flowing in; an inflow of effluent into a river. (Source: JJK / PHC)

Science and technique of data elaboration and of automatic treatment of information. (Source: ZINZAN)

All facts, ideas or imaginative works of the mind which have been communicated, published or distributed formally or informally in any format, or the knowledge that is communicated or received. (Source: CCL / RHW)

Any facility devoted to the collection, maintenance and distribution of materials or data compiled to convey knowledge on some subject, often with trained staff persons available to answer questions. (Source: RHW)

A central institution or agency for the collection, maintenance, and distribution of materials or data compiled to convey knowledge on some subject. (Source: RHW)

A reciprocal transference of data between two or more parties for the purpose of enhancing knowledge of the participants. (Source: RHW)

The basic, underlying framework and features of a communications system supporting the exchange of knowledge, including hardware, software and transmission media. (Source: WIC / RHW)

A set or collection of materials compiled to convey knowledge on some subject and usually placed in some type of container. (Source: RHW)

A system of interrelated persons and/or devices linked to permit the exchange of data or knowledge. (Source: ISEP / RHW)

A systematic series of actions performed by a person or computer on data elements including classifying, sorting, calculating, summarizing, transmitting, retrieving and receiving. (Source: JON)

An organized system of providing assistance or aid to individuals who are seeking information, such as by using databases and other information sources to communicate or supply knowledge or factual data. (Source: RHW / OMD)

Generally, any resource initiating and substantiating the reception of knowledge or specifically, the origin of a data transmission. (Source: RHW)

Any coordinated assemblage of persons, devices and institutions used for communicating or exchanging knowledge or data, such as by simple verbal communication, or by completely computerized methods of storing, searching and retrieving information. (Source: MHD)

The systems, equipment, components and software required to ensure the retrieval, processing and storage of information in all centres of human activity (home, office, factory, etc.), the application of which generally requires the use of electronics or similar technology. (Source: ECHO2)

A sector of the economy in which an aggregate of commercial enterprises is engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of electronic machines designed to accept information or data that is easily manipulated for some result based on a program or some set of instructions, and the technology or materials used with these machines, such as storage devices, terminals and peripheral equipment. (Source: WIC / SIC)

The communication or conveyance of data or materials for the purpose of enhancing knowledge from one person, place or position to another. (Source: RHW)

A breach, violation, or infringement; as of a law, a contract, a right or duty. (Source: BLACK)

Electron magnetic radiation whose wavelengths lie in the range from 0.75 or 0.8 micrometer to 1000 micrometers. (Source: MGH)

Vibrations of the air at frequencies too low to be perceived as sound by the human ear, below about 15 hertz. (Source: MGH)

The basic network or foundation of capital facilities or community investments which are necessary to support economic and community activities. (Source: LANDY)

A person occupying a region, town, house, country, etc.

Any education, instruction or discipline occurring at the beginning of an activity, task, occupation or life span. (Source: RHW)

A stress upon an organism that disrupts the structure or function and results in a pathological process. (Source: KOREN)

A dispersion of a pigment or a solution of a dye in a carrier vehicle, yielding a fluid, paste, or powder to be applied to and dried on a substrate; writing, marking, drawing, and printing inks are applied by several methods to paper, metal, plastic, wood, glass, fabric, or other substrate. (Source: MGH)

Fishing grounds located in lakes, streams, etc. (Source: RRDA)

The navigation of inland waterways, i.e. navigable rivers, canals, sounds, lakes, inlets, etc.

A lake, river, or other body of water wholly within the boundaries of a state. (Source: MGH)

Transportation of persons and goods by boats travelling on rivers, channels or lakes. (Source: RRDA)

1) Part of a city at or near the centre, especially a slum area where poor people live in bad housing. 2) City centres of many industrialized countries which exhibit environmental degradation. The numerous and highly competitive activities entailing land use overwhelm the limited space and create a situation of overcrowding, functional incompatibility and cultural degradation. Inner city areas have a high level of commercial specialization, a large number of offices and a sizeable daytime population. At the same time, city centres generally remain a sort of ghetto for a permanent, low-income population living in run-down housing and enjoying little in the way of public services and civic amenities. The concentration of service industries inevitably entails the replacement of traditional housing and shops by office blocks, the provision of basic utilities at the expense of civic amenities and the provision of major access roads which eat up urban space. Structures of historic origin are often unable to meet modern requirements and, notwithstanding their value, frequently face demolition. (Source: PHC / WPR)

Something newly introduced, such as a new method or device. (Source: CED)

A branch of chemistry dealing with the chemical reactions and properties of all inorganic matter. (Source: LEE)

Inorganic chemical which promotes plant growth by enhancing the supply of essential nutrients such as ammonium sulphate or lime. (Source: PORT)

A pollutant of mineral origin and not of basically carbon structure. (Source: ERG)

Chemical compounds that do not contain carbon as the principal element (excepting carbonates, cyanides, and cyanates), that is, matter other than plant or animal. (Source: MGH)

A class of the Arthropoda typically having a segmented body with an external, chitinous covering, a pair of compound eyes, a pair of antennae, three pairs of mouthparts, and two pairs of wings. (Source: MGH)

Any chemical agent used to destroy invertebrate pests. (Source: LBC)

Any placental mammal of the order Insectivora, being typically small, with simple teeth, and feeding on invertebrates. The group includes shrews, moles, and hedgehogs. (Source: CED)

Substance incapable of forming a solution, especially in water. (Source: CED)

An official examination and evaluation of the extent to which specified goals, objectives, standards, policies or procedures of an agency, organization, department or unit have been met properly. (Source: DAM)

An organization designated to look into, supervise and report upon, the staff members and workings of some institution or department, or the conforming to laws and regulations by a segment of society or other group. (Source: OED)

Adjustments made to a building or to a mechanical or electrical system or apparatus in order to maximize its functionality and efficiency. (Source: OED)

The official authorization needed to assemble and place into position any apparatus, facility, military post or machinery. (Source: RHW)

The process of repairing or reconstructing an edifice in order to return it to its original condition. (Source: ZINZANa)

The specific tasks, undertakings or functions that governments, businesses and other organizations perform. (Source: RHW)

An organization's complex system of mutually connected and dependent elements or parts, which make up a definite manner of arrangement. (Source: OED)

The establishment and normalization of a law, custom, usage, practice, system or regulative principle in the activity or purpose of a group or organization. (Source: OED)

No definition needed.

Designing, manufacturing, and utilizing physical instruments or instrument systems for detection, observation, measurement, automatic control, automatic computation, communication, or data processing. (Source: MGH)

Material that prevents or reduces the transmission of electricity, heat, or sound to or from a body, device or region. (Source: CED)

The process of preventing or reducing the transmission of electricity, heat, or sound to or from a body, device, or region by surrounding it with a nonconducting material. (Source: CED)

The act, system, or business of providing financial protection contingencies, such as death, loss or damage and involving payment of regular premiums in return for a policy guaranteeing such protection. (Source: CED)

A commercial service which provides a guarantee against most losses or harm to a person, property or a firm in return for premiums paid. (Source: RHW / ISEP)

The protection provided against risks or a risk, often as specified by the type of protection or the item being protected. (Source: RHW)

Areas allocated to preserve and protect certain animals and plants, or both. They differ from national parks, which are largely a place for public recreation, because they are provided exclusively to protect species for their own sake. Endangered species are increasingly being kept in nature reserves to prevent them from extinction. Nature reserves also serve as a place for more plentiful species to rest, breed or winter. (Source: WRIGHT)

Technologies that meet environmental objectives by incorporating pollution prevention concepts in their design. Integrated environmental control strategies introduced in the early design stages of a process, rather than an end-of-pipe control option introduced in the later stages, improve the technical and economic performance of a process. (Source: ENVAR)

Unified, combined and coordinated management of environmental problems which correlates relevant organisations, groups, individuals and disciplines by bringing the parts together for a complete approach. (Source: UNUN)

A systematic, comprehensive approach to pest control that uses the insect's or rodent's own biology and behaviour to find the least toxic control methods at the lowest cost. (Source: KOREN)

A procedure whereby all major emissions to land, air, and water are considered simultaneously and not in isolation to avoid situations in which one control measure for one medium adversely affects another. (Source: GILP96)

Specialized system of breeding animals where the livestock are kept indoors and fed on concentrated foodstuffs, with frequent use of drugs to control diseases which are a constant threat under these conditions. (Source: PHC)

Farming in which as much use is made of the land as possible by growing crops close together or by growing several crops in a year or by using large amounts of fertilizers. (Source: PHC)

The service provided by one library in which a second library's clients are temporarily allowed to use books and other printed materials belonging to the first library; and consequently the system providing rules and infrastructure for this service to a group of libraries. (Source: RHW)

The enhancement of activity of pesticides when they are used in combination with others. (Source: PARCOR)

A transference of binary coded information items between two or more computers across any communications channel capable of carrying electromagnetic signals. (Source: WIC)

The utilisation, combination and coordination of two or more appropriate disciplines, technologies and humanities in an integrated approach toward environmental problems. (Source: UNUN)

A sum paid or charged for the use of money or for borrowing money over a given time period. (Source: RHW)

A group of people who share common traits, attitudes, beliefs or objectives and who have formed a formal organization to serve specific concerns of the membership. (Source: AUB)

Tests performed at the same time in different laboratories to validate the quality of the results. (Source: RRDA)

Partly finished goods or products that re-enter into production elsewhere. (Source: ISEP / MGHME)

Product that has undergone a partial processing and is used as raw material in a successive productive step. (Source: ZINZAN)

Noise occurring at regular or irregular intervals. (Source: CED)

A population shift occurring within national or territorial boundaries, often characterized by persons seeking labor opportunities in more advantageous areas. (Source: ISEP)

The process of getting those who produce goods or services with adverse effects on the environment or on society to incorporate a knowledge of possible negative repercussions into future economic decisions. (Source: ODE)

Cooperation in international efforts to support global environmental goals. Solutions to environmental problems such as trans-boundary airborne and waterborne pollution, ozone depletion and climate change require action by all responsible countries. (Source: WRES)

Economic, military, technical or financial aid or support given to nations or countries in need, often from other governments or international or intergovernmental organizations. (Source: INP)

A system in which nations or blocs of nations strive to maintain an equilibrium of power to prevent dominance by any single nation or to reduce conflict or the possibility of war. (Source: IPE)

The collaboration between governments, businesses or individuals in which it is agreed to work together on similar objectives or strategies, particularly in research or in setting industrial standards. (Source: ODE)

The ability of firms to strive with rivals in the production and sale of commodities in worldwide markets. (Source: ODE / OED)

A controversy, disagreement, quarrel or warfare between or among two or more nations or countries, often requiring involvement or monitoring by other members of the global community. (Source: OED / ISEP)

Treaties and other agreements of a contractual character between different countries or organizations of states creating legal rights and obligations between the parties. (Source: BLACK)

Judicial arm of the United Nations. It has jurisdiction to give advisory opinions on matters of law and treaty construction when requested by the General Assembly, Security Council or any other international agency authorised by the General Assembly to petition for such opinion. It has jurisdiction, also, to settle legal disputes between nations when voluntarily submitted to it. (Source: BLACK)

The worldwide allocating of resources or dispersing of goods. (Source: ISEP / RHW)

The recognized rules guiding the commercial relations of at least two sovereign states or private parties involved in cross-border transactions, including regulations for trade, finance and intellectual property. (Source: IEL)

The political or diplomatic interaction or dealings between independent nations that pertain to ecological concerns. (Source: RHW)

Harmonisation of the interrelationship of sovereign states by the application of general principles recognized by civilized nations. (Source: DICLAWa)

The system of law regulating the interrelationship of sovereign states and their rights and duties with regard to one another. (Source: DICLAW)

An international organization established in 1944, affiliated with the United Nations that acts as an international bank facilitating the exchange of national currencies and providing loans to member nations. It also evaluates the performance of the economies of the world's countries. (Source: KINGST)

An association of independent states, whose representatives gather for the promotion of common interests including defense and trade. (Source: GT2)

The use of methods, strategy, intrigue, decision making and power by governments and their representatives to achieve goals in policy making or governmental affairs in a worldwide or international arena. (Source: RHW)

The political or diplomatic interaction or dealings between independent nations. (Source: RHW)

Land area drained by a river and its tributaries whose waters are situated in and utilized by two or more countries. (Source: TOE / EWP)

Freedom from danger or the quality of averting risk of harm to persons, property or the environment shared across one or more national boundaries; consequently, the combined efforts of more than one nation to achieve or preserve that state. (Source: OED / RHW)

The process of establishing or conforming something to a norm or measure that is recognized beyond the boundaries of a single country or nation. (Source: RHW)

The flow of commodities and goods between nations. (Source: GOOD)

Any agreement or act involving two or more countries in which business dealings, negotiations or other affairs are settled or concluded. (Source: BLD)

Portions of a geographical area which constitutes a hydrogeological unit as the catchment area for a single river which are under the jurisdiction of two or more countries. (Source: WPRa)

Ecosystems whose importance is recognised at international level and which are, in some cases, protected by international conventions. (Source: RRDA)

A global consortium of local computer networks that uses the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocol to connect machines to each other, providing access to the World Wide Web, Gopher, electronic mail, remote login and file transfer. (Source: WON)

The provision of special aid by library staff trained to query bibliographic or other information contained on the Internet, a large distributed electronic system, usually to meet the research needs of the library's clients. (Source: RHW / LFS)

A business or organization that supplies connections to a part of the Internet, often through telephone lines. (Source: TWI)

A process used to estimate an intermediate value of one (dependent) variable which is a function of a second (independent) variable when values of the dependent variable corresponding to several discrete values of the independent variable are known. (Source: MGH)

Method employed in the assessment of the meaning and significance of data, results, facts, etc. (Source: RRDA)

1) The area between land and sea which is regularly exposed to the air by the tidal movement of the sea. Marine organisms that inhabit the intertidal zones have to adapt to periods of exposure to air and to the waves created by wind, which makes it the most physically demanding of the marine habitats. 2) The shore zone between the highest and lowest tides. (Source: WRIGHT / LBC)

Money or financial resources set aside to interpose or interfere in any business affair in order to affect an outcome. (Source: OED)

Stepping in or participating in problem solving efforts for troublesome or perplexing situations involving the natural world or scenery. (Source: RHW)

Stepping in or participating in problem solving efforts for troublesome or perplexing situations involving ground areas or the earth's surface. (Source: RHW)

The state of being poisoned; the condition produced by a poison which may be swallowed, inhaled, injected, or absorbed through the skin. (Source: KOREN)

Animals which have been translocated by human agency into lands or waters where they have not lived previously, at least during historic times. Such translocation of species always involves an element of risk if not of serious danger. Newly arrived species, depending on their interspecific relationships and characteristics, may act as or carry parasites or diseases, prey upon native organisms, display toxic reactions, or be highly competitive with or otherwise adversely affect native species and communities. (Source: WPR)