S
Data and Resources
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Sacred site
May refer to a site, object, structure, area or natural feature or area, held...
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Sacred species
A plant or animal that indigenous peoples and local communities deem to be of...
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Safari Park
Specialized zoos where the captive animals are housed in any large...
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Safe biological limit
The concept of a safe biological limit has been developed and is being used...
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Safe drinking water
Water that does not contain harmful bacteria, toxic materials, or chemicals,...
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Safe minimum standard
A decision analytical framework (DAF) in which the benefits of ecosystem...
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Safe sex
Term used to refer to a variety of sexual practices that reduce the risk of...
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Sahel
A loosely defined strip of transitional vegetation that separates the Sahara...
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Salic horizon
A salic horizon (from Latin sal, salt) is a surface horizon or a subsurface...
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Salinisation/salination
The process by which water-soluble salts accumulate in the soil. Salinization...
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Salmonella bacteria
cause foodborne illness, commonly called food poisoning, with symptoms of...
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Salt bridge
A plastic tube 2 cm in diameter and with open ends, filled with 0.5 percent...
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Salt flat
A dry, flat area at the lowest part of an undrained desert basin in which...
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Saltation
Sediment that bounces along the soil surface (wind erosion) or channel bed...
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Sand and dust storms
Sand and dust storms are common meteorological hazards in arid and semi-arid...
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Sandy soil
Soil texture class characterized by the following features: Is loose and...
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Scale
The spatial, temporal (quantitative or analytical) dimension used to measure...
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Scalped area
A modified slope, feature, or land area where much or all of the natural soil...
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Scenario
A description of how the future may unfold based on if-then propositions,...
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Sea-based marine plastic litter
Any form of man-made, synthetic (non-natural) debris deposited directly into...
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Sea-grabbing
When companies from rich countries buy fishing rights in the waters of poor...
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Seagrass bed
Profusion of grass-like marine plants, usually on shallow, sandy or muddy...
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Seamounts
Underwater mountain formed by volcanic activity.
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Seats held by women in national legislatures
The proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments is the number...
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Secondary carbonate
The term secondary carbonates refers to translocated lime, soft enough to be...
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Secondary pollutant
Not directly emitted as such, but forms when other pollutants (primary...
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Security
Relates to personal and environmental security. It includes access to natural...
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Sediment
Solid material that originates mostly from disintegrated rocks and is...
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Sediment concentration
Quantity of sediment carried in a unit volume of water.
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Sediment delivery ratio
The ratio of sediment delivered at the basin outlet to gross erosion within...
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Sedimentation
Strictly, the act or process of depositing sediment from suspension in water...
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Selective culture medium
A culture medium containing substances that inhibit the growth of certain...
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Semi-natural grassland
Managed ecosystem dominated by indigenous or naturally occurring grasses and...
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Semi-natural habitat
Permanent woody or herbaceous areas in agricultural landscapes such as...
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Sensitive habitat
Essential to the ecological and biological requirements of at least one of...
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Sensitivity
Measures the magnitude and rate of response in proportion to the magnitude...
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Septicemia
Septicemia is a severe generalized infection resulting from hematogenous...
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Sequestration
In GEO-5, sequestration refers to the capture of carbon dioxide in a manner...
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
A viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, SARS- associated...
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus...
A novel coronavirus causing the 2019– 2020 coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)...
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Sewage
Liquid waste matter, usually containing human excrement.
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Sewage irrigation
The use, in irrigation, of sewage or waste water from towns or institutions,...
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Sewage sludge
Residual organic material derived from sewage.; Solid materials removed from...
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Sewer
An artificial channel or conduit, usually underground, for carrying off and...
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Sex-disaggregated data
Sex-disaggregated data is data that is cross-classified by sex, presenting...
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Sexism
It is an attitude of a person of one sex who thinks that he or she is...
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Sexual abuse
Any actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by...
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Sexual exploitation
Any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential...
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Sexual harassment
A particular form of harassment which includes unwelcome sexual advance,...
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Sexual health
A state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to...
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Sexual violence
Any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or...
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Sharing economy
The peerto-peer-based activity of obtaining, giving, or sharing the access to...
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Sheet erosion
A uniform removal of soil in thin layers from sloping land, which occurs...
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Short-term climate forcers
Substances such as methane, black carbon, tropospheric ozone, and many...
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Shrub-covered area
A land cover class that includes any geographical area dominated by natural...
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Significant adverse environmental impact
Significant adverse impacts are those that compromise ecosystem integrity...
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Silica gel
An inert chemical that absorbs water from its surroundings and will give up...
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Silt
A soft, flocculent, finely-divided soil.
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Siltation
The deposition of finely divided soil and rock particles on the bottom of...
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Silviculture
The art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition,...
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Silvopastoral production systems
The integration of trees and shrubs in pastures with animals for economic,...
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Simian
Relating to, resembling, or affecting apes or monkeys.
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Sink
Any process, activity or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an...
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Slightly salt-affected soil
Salt patches on soil surface less than 1% with ¾ occurrence of saline...
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Slope gradient
The slope gradient refers to the slope of the land immediately surrounding...
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Smart cities
A smart city is a designation given to a city that incorporates information...
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Social amenities
refer to places, buildings or infrastructural facilities which are to be...
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Social conditioning
The sociological process of training individuals in a society to act or...
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Social distancing
also called ‘physical distancing’, means keeping six feet (two meters) of...
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Social ecological systems
Complex adaptive systems composed of many diverse human and non-human...
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Social life cycle assessment
A method that can be used to assess the social and sociological aspects of...
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Social network
A social structure made up of a set of actors, such as individuals or...
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Social reproduction
Social reproduction is a sociological term referring to processes which...
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Socioeconomic
of, relating to, or involving a combination of social and economic factors.
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Soft law
Rules that are neither strictly binding in nature nor completely lacking...
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Soil
The upper layer of the Earth’s crust transformed by weathering and...
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Soil and water assessment tool
A continuous time model that operates on a daily time step at basin scale.
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Soil biodiversity loss
It is a decline in the diversity of (micro- and macro-) organisms present in...
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Soil carbon
Organic carbon in mineral and organic soils (including peat) to a specified...
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Soil climate
Soil moisture and temperature.
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Soil complex
A mapping unit used in detailed and reconnaissance soil surveys where two or...
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Soil conservation
The preservation of soil against deterioration or erosion, and the...
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Soil contamination
It refers to the increase of toxic compounds (heavy metals, pesticides, etc.)...
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Soil disturbance
Disturbance, such as displacement or compaction, which may or may not be...
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Soil erosion
Natural process of soil loss or degradation that results in partial or...
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Soil formation factor
The factors that define the kind and intensity of soil formation processes.
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Soil health
The capacity of soil to function as a living system.; The continued capacity...
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Soil horizon
A layer within the soil that has a distinct morphology (e.g. colour,...
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Soil organic carbon loss
It refers to the decline of organic carbon stock in the soil affecting its...
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Soil particle
Soil mineral particles are commonly split by size into clay (< 2 μm), silt...
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Soil plasticity
Plasticity is the ability of soil material to change shape continuously under...
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Soil pollution
It refers to the presence of a chemical or substance out of place and/or...
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Soil processes
Physical or reactive geochemical and biological processes which may...
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Soil profile
A cross-sectional view of the layers (also known as horizons) in a soil.
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Soil rehabilitation
It is required when the land is already degraded to such an extent that the...
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Soil salinization
It is defined as the increase in water-soluble salts in soil which is...
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Soil saturation
It refers to a soil's water content when practically all pore spaces are...
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Soil sealing
It refers to the permanent covering of the soil surface with impermeable...
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Soil sodification
It is defined as an increase of the exchangeable sodium content of the soil,...
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Soil stickiness
Stickiness is the quality of adhesion of the soil material to other objects...
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Soil texture
It refers to the particle size or the relative amounts of sand, silt and clay.
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Soil water
Water suspended in the uppermost belt of soil, or in the zone of aeration...
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Soil-water status
It is the term used for the moisture condition of a horizon at the time the...
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Solar pond
A pool of salt water heated by the sun and used either as a direct source of...
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Solid state lighting technology
Environmentally friendly, economically viable, socially appropriate and have...
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Solum
It comprises the surface layer and subsoil layers that have been altered by...
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Sombric horizon
A sombric horizon (from French sombre, dark) is a dark-coloured subsurface...
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Son preference
A preference for male children.
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Sooty mangabey
Also known as the white-crowned or white-collared mangabey (Cercocebus atys),...
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Sorption
In chemistry sorption is a physical or chemical process by which one...
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Source
Any process, activity or mechanism that releases a greenhouse gas, an aerosol...
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Sparse vegetation
A land cover class that includes any geographic areas where the cover of...
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Spate irrigation area
Area of land equipped for spate irrigation.
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Spatial planning
Spatial planning is a process that should consider the social, economic,...
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Spatial poverty trap
Spatial poverty traps may be geographically remote (remote regions or areas),...
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Spawning (fisheries)
To deposit or fertilize spawn; to produce young especially in large numbers.
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Special area of conservation
These areas are defined in the 92/43/EEC, also known as the Directive on the...
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Species (biology)
An interbreeding group of organisms that is reproductively isolated from all...
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Species diversity
Biodiversity at the species level, often combining aspects of species...
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Species richness
The number of species within a given sample, community or area.
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Spent irrigation water
Water that has been in contact with sprouts during the sprouting process.
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Spillover effect
The trickle down of growth from one region to another.
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Spodic B horizon
The spodic horizon (from Greek spodos, wood ash) is a dark coloured...
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Sport hunting
Hunting without collection of a food or other commercial product; hunting for...
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Stagnic property
Soil material has stagnic properties (from Latin stagnare, to flood) if it...
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Stagnosol
Soils with perched water. They show periodically reducing conditions...
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Stakeholder analysis
A process that: i) defines aspects of a social and natural phenomenon...
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State of the stock
An appreciation of the situation of a stock, usually expressed as: protected,...
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Step microterracing
The traditional method of step microterracing is directly derived from the...
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Stewardship
The job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organization...
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Strategic environmental assessment (SEA)
A range of analytical and participatory approaches that aim to integrate...
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Strategic gender need
Needs that, if met, would enable the transformation of existing power...
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Stratospheric ozone depletion
Chemical destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer, particularly by...
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Stunting
Stunting is the impaired growth and development that children experience from...
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Subholder
A person to whom the holder delegates the authority to sub-manage a sub-holding.
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Subholding
A part of a holding managed by a particular person in the household.
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Submarine canyon
A steep-sided, V-profile trench or valley winding along the continental shelf...
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Subtidal
The shallow water zone, often only a few feet deep, which is influenced by...
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Succession
The natural, sequential change (stage) of species composition in an ecosystem...
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Sulfuric horizon
he sulfuric horizon (from Latin sulfur) is an extremely acid subsurface...
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Sulphidic material
It is a waterlogged deposit containing S, mostly in the form of sulphides,...
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Support vector machine
A machine learning algorithm [that] uses a different combination of...
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Surface drainage
It is the removal of excess water from the surface of the land.; Planned...
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Surface water
All water naturally open to the atmosphere, including rivers, lakes,...
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Surface water status
The general expression of the status of a body of surface water, determined...
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Suspended particulate matter
Particles floating in the air with a diameter is below 10 µ m. Studies have...
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Sustainability
A characteristic or state whereby the needs of the present population can be...
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Sustainable agricultural intensification
A concept that challenges global agriculture (crops, livestock, forests,...
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Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable Agriculture puts the emphasis on methods and processes that...
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Sustainable development
Development that meets the needs of the present generation without...
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Sustainable development goal
The blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They...
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Sustainable forest management (SFM)
The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate,...
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Sustainable land management
The use of land resources, including soils, water, animals and plants for the...
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Sustainable process index
It measures the total amount of land that is necessary for the production of...
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Sustainable soil management
Soil management is sustainable if the supporting, provisioning, regulating,...
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Sustainable urban planning
The sustainability principles have clearly a distinct and strategic meaning...
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Synergies
These arise when two or more processes, organizations, substances or other...
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System
A system is a collection of component parts that interact with one another...
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Source | https://wesr-staging.azurewebsites.net/glossary/ajax/ajax.searchbyindex.php?q=S |
| Author | UNEP GEO |
| Maintainer | UNEP GEO |
| Last Updated | January 26, 2023, 06:38 (UTC) |
| Created | September 13, 2022, 18:30 (UTC) |
| GUID | unep-geo-glossary-letter-s |
| Issued | 2022-09-03 10:25:08 |
| Language | en |
| Modified | 2022-11-09 17:41:18 |
| Publisher name | UNEP GEO |
| Theme | Glossary |
| data_type | webpage |
| spatial | Global |