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Glossary on
coastal related terms
The following glossary was first printed in the publication:
Scialabba, N., ed. 1998.Integrated coastal area management
and agriculture, forestry and fisheries. FAO guidelines.
Rome, FAO, Environment and Natural Resources Service.
256p.
To obtain the complete text click
here.
The following terms are defined in the sense that they are used in these
guidelines. Unless otherwise specified, the definitions were made
by the editor, by modifying and adapting several definitions
available in the literature to the needs of the guidelines. In
the following definitions, words that appear in bold
italics are defined elsewhere in the glossary.
Abiotic
Non-living (Lawrence, 1995).
Accretion
Build-up of the coastal land area as a result of
accumulation of sediment from the sea. Horizontal accretion occurs when
sediments accumulate against coastal land and extend it outward. Vertical
accretion occurs when sediments accumulate on coastal land and raise its level
(and, thus, counteract subsidence).
Anadromous species
Fish that spend their adult life in the sea but swim
upriver to freshwater spawning grounds in order to reproduce (e.g. salmon).
Aquaculture
The farming of aquatic organisms, including fish,
molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming implies some sort of
intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular
stocking, feeding, protection from predators. Farming
also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated.
For statistical purposes, aquatic organisms that are harvested by the
individual or corporate body that has owned them throughout their rearing
period contribute to aquaculture, while aquatic organisms that are exploitable
by the public as a common property resource, with or without appropriate
licences, are the harvest of fisheries (the definition currently used by FAO
for statistical purposes).
Avoidance costs
The actual or imputed costs of preventing environmental
deterioration by alternative production and consumption processes, or by
reduction of or abstention from economic activities (UN, 1997).
Biomass
The total weight of all the biological material or the
combined mass of all the animals and plants inhabiting a defined area; usually
expressed as dry weight per area (grams per square metre, kilograms per
hectare). Biomass should not be confused with productivity, the actual
rate at which organic matter is created. For example, a redwood forest has a
high biomass and low productivity, while phytoplankton have
a low biomass (because they are continually consumed by predators) but high
productivity.
Brackish water
Water containing salts at a concentration significantly lower than that of
sea water. The concentration of total dissolved salts is usually in the range
of 1 000 to 10 000 milligrams per litre (UN, 1997).
Carrying capacity
The point of balance between reproduction potential and
environmental resistance, which is the maximum population of a species that a
specific ecosystem can support indefinitely without deterioration
of the character and quality of the resource(s). Carrying capacity is
the level of use, at a given level of management, at which a natural or
human-induced resource can sustain itself over a long period of time. For
example, the maximum level of recreational use, in terms of numbers of people
and types of activity, that can be accommodated before
the ecological value of the area declines.
Catadromous species
Fish that spend their adult life upriver but descend to
the lower river or the sea to spawn.
Climate
Condition of the atmosphere at a particular location
(microclimate) or in a particular region over a long period of time.
Climate is the long-term summation of atmospheric elements (e.g. solar
radiation, temperature, humidity, frequency and amount of precipitation,
atmospheric pressure, speed and direction of wind) and their variations (UN,
1997).
Coast
The geographical area of contact between the terrestrial
and marine environments, a boundary area of indefinite width, appreciably wider
than the shore.
Coastal area
A geographic entity of land and water affected by the biological and
physical processes of both the terrestrial and the marine environments, and
defined broadly for the purpose of natural resources management.
Coastal area boundaries usually change over time without regard to enabling
legislation.
Coastal zone
A geographical entity including both terrestrial and submerged areas of the coast,
defined legally or administratively for coastal zone management.
Command and control policy instruments
Mechanisms (often laws) for implementing policies that
rely on prescribing modes or standards of behaviour and using sanctions to
enforce compliance with them.
Conservation
Includes protection, maintenance, rehabilitation,
restoration and enhancement of populations and ecosystems.
Coordination
The process of bringing different parts or entities into
functioning relationships with each other. In these guidelines, the term
is used to describe the process of bringing together concerned government
agencies, research institutions, municipalities, NGOs and
resource users to agree on objectives, formulate strategies
and subsequently implement them.
Deposit refund system
A policy instrument in which a surcharge is levied on the price of products
that cause resource depletion or pollution; the surcharge is refunded if the
product (or its residuals) are recycled.
Diversity
The number of different species, their relative abundance
and the number of habitats existing in a particular area.
Diversity is a measure of the complexity of an ecosystem and
often an indication of its relative age, measured in terms of the number of
different plant and animal species (often called species richness) it contains,
their distribution and the degree of genetic variability within each species.
Biological diversity is the term used to designate the variety of life in all
its forms, levels and combinations and includes ecosystem, species and genetic
diversity.
Earth Summit
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
3 to 14 June 1992. Texts of
agreements negotiated by more than 178 governments at the Conference were
Agenda 21 (the Programme of Action for Sustainable Development), the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of Forest
Principles. The Conference also presented the Convention on Climate Change and
the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Economic policy instruments
Policy instruments that create the economic incentives for
individuals to choose freely to modify or reduce their activities, thus
indirectly producing an environmental improvement (Barbier,
1992).
Ecosystem
A natural entity (or a system) with distinct structures
and relationships that interlink biotic communities (of plants and animals) to
each other and link them to their abiotic
environment. The study of an ecosystem provides a methodological basis
for complex synthesis between organisms and their environment. A complex of
ecosystems is constituted of many ecosystems and is characterized by a common
origin or common dynamic processes (for example, the complex of ecosystems of a
watershed).
Edaphic
Of or pertaining to the soil; resulting from or influenced by factors in the
soil or other substrate rather than by climatic factors (Canadian Society of
Soil Science, 1972). An edaphic requirement is a
requirement of the crop for a particular condition or range of conditions in
the soil environment (FAO, 1996a).
Efficiency
In general, the ratio of a system's output (or production)
to the inputs that it requires, as in the useful energy produced by a system
compared with the energy put into that system. In ecology, efficiency is
the percentage of useful energy transferred from one trophic
level to the next (such as the ratio of production of herbivores to
that of primary producers). Used in the context of production, efficiency is
the ratio of useful work performed to the total energy expended, thus it does not
count any wastage that is generated. In the context of the allocation of
resources, efficiency is the condition that would make at least one person
better off and no one worse off. This implies that some may get richer and
others not improve their status.
Environmental impact assessment (EIA)
A sequential set of activities designed to identify and predict the impacts
of a proposed action on the biogeophysical
environment and on human health and well being, and to interpret and
communicate information about the impacts, including mitigation measures that
are likely to eliminate risks. In many countries, organizations planning new
projects are required by law to conduct EIA.
Equity
Term used for the administration of justice according to principles of fairness
and conscience, balancing the hardships in those cases where legal remedies and
monetary damages would not suffice. Intragenerational
equity is the principle by which all sections of the community share equitably
in the costs and benefits of achieving sustainable development.
Intergenerational equity is the principle by which each generation utilizes and
conserves the stock of natural resources (in terms of diversity
and carrying capacity) in a manner that does not compromise their
use by future generations.
Erosion
Geologically, erosion is defined as the process that slowly shapes
hillsides, allowing the formation of soil cover from the weathering of rocks
and from alluvial and colluvial deposits. Erosion
caused by human activities, as an effect of careless exploitation of the
environment, results in increasing runoffs and declined arable layers (Roose, 1996).
Estuary
Generally the broad portion of a river or stream near its
outlet that is influenced by the marine water body into which it flows.
The demarcation line is generally the mean tidal level (UN, 1997).
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
A concept adopted at the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1982), whereby
a coastal state assumes jurisdiction over the exploitation of marine resources
in its adjacent section of the continental shelf, which is taken to be a band
extending 200 miles from the shore (UN, 1997).
Externality
An outside force, such as a social and/or environmental benefit or cost, not
included in the market price of the goods and services being produced; i.e.
costs not borne by those who occasion them, and benefits not paid for by the
recipients. Some economists suggest that externalities should be internalized,
if they are known to have a significant effect on the demand or cost structure
of a product, that is, corrections should be made, to allow for externalities
when calculating marginal cost. Marginal cost thus becomes a social opportunity
cost, or true cost.
Habitat
The place or type of site where species and communities normally live or
grow, usually characterized by relatively uniform physical features or by
consistent plant forms. Deserts, lakes and forests are all habitats.
Half-life
The time during which radioactivity or some other property of substances
falls to half of its original value (UN, 1997).
Human settlements
An integrative concept that comprises (a) physical components of shelter and
infrastructure and (b) services to which the physical elements provide support,
that is, community services such as education, health, culture, welfare,
recreation and nutrition (UN, 1997).
Indicators
Signals of processes - inputs, outputs, effects, results,
outcomes, impacts, etc. - that enable them to be
judged or measured. Both qualitative and quantitative indicators are
needed for management learning, policy review, monitoring and evaluation.
Institutions
The rules that operate in a society or, more formally, the
humanly devised constraints that shape human interactions. An
institution is formed when at least two individuals or groups create
arrangements that bind more than themselves. Institutions therefore structure
incentives in human exchange, whether political, social or economic.
Institutions can be formal (i.e. devised rules) or informal (i.e. socially
transmitted conventions and codes of behaviour). Thus, they can be created or
may simply evolve over time, as does the common law. Institutions determine the
opportunities in a society; organizations are created to take advantage of
those opportunities and, as organizations evolve, they alter institutions
(after North, 1990).
Integration
The process of bringing together separate components as a
functional whole that involves coordination of interventions.
In ICAM, integration may take place at
three levels, system, functional and policy systems integration
refers to the physical, social and economic linkages of land and water uses and
ensures that all relevant interactions and issues are considered; functional
integration ensures that programmes and projects are consistent
with ICAM goals and objectives; and
policy integration ensures that management actions are consistent with other
development and policy initiatives.
Integrated coastal area management (ICAM)
A dynamic process by which actions are taken for the use, development and
protection of coastal resources and areas to achieve national goals established
in cooperation with user groups and regional and local authorities. In this
definition, integrated management refers to the management of sectoral components as parts of a functional whole with
explicit recognition that it is the users of resources, not the stocks of natural
resources,
that are the focus of management. For the purpose of
integrated management, the boundaries of a coastal area should be
defined according to the problems to be resolved. The definition thus implies a
pragmatic approach to the defining of coastal areas in which the area under
consideration might change over time as additional problems are addressed that
require resolution over a wider geographical area.
Land-use planning
The systematic assessment of land and water potential, alternative patterns
of land use and other physical, social and economic conditions, for the purpose
of selecting and adopting the land-use options that are most beneficial to land
users without degrading the resources or the environment, together with the
selection of measures most likely to encourage such land uses (Choudhury and Jansen, 1997).
Liability legislation
Law requiring polluters or resource users to pay damages
to those individual or corporate bodies affected by their actions.
Damaged parties collect settlements through litigation and the court system.
Examples include long-term performance bonds posted for potential
or uncertain hazards from infrastructure construction and zero net
impact requirements for road alignments or water crossings.
Lithosphere
Upper layer of the earth, including its crust and upper
mantle.
Natural resources
Any portion of the natural environment, such as air,
water, soil, botanical and zoological resources and minerals. A
renewable resource can potentially last indefinitely (provided stocks are not
overexploited) without reducing the available supply because it is replaced
through natural processes (either because it recycles rapidly, as water does,
or because it is alive and can propagate itself or be propagated, as some
organisms and ecosystems do). Non-renewable resources (such as
coal and oil) may eventually be replaced by natural processes, but these
processes occur over long periods of geologic time rather than within the
time-frame of current generations, and their consumption necessarily involves
their depletion.
Non-governmental organization (NGO)
Any organization that is not a part of federal,
provincial, territorial or municipal government. The term usually refers
to non-profit organizations involved in development activities.
Non-compliance fees
Additional prices to be paid to meet the social costs arising
from environmental damages caused by failure to comply with environmental
requirements.
Non-point source of pollution
Pollution sources that are diffused and do not have a single point of origin
or are not introduced into a receiving stream from a specific outlet. The
pollutants are generally carried off the land by storm-water runoff. Non-point
sources of pollutants include agriculture, urban areas and mining (UN, 1997).
Objectives
The aims of an action, or what is intended to be achieved.
Any objective will include explicit statements against which progress can be
measured, and will identify which outcomes are truly important and the way that
they interrelate; quantified objectives are referred to as targets.
Open access
A situation in which access to a natural resource (e.g. a
fishery or grazing land) is, for practical purposes, free, unlimited and
available to everyone. This situation arises either where no one is legally
entitled to deny others access (e.g. to fish on the high seas) or where the
owner or manager of the resource fails to control access effectively. Because these resources are freely available or at minimal cost,
they are frequently overexploited and degraded.
Performance bonds
Similar to a deposit refund system but categorized as an economic
policy instrument, a bond is placed that is equal to the estimated
social costs of possible environmental damage as a surety for complying with
environmental requirements and is forfeited if these requirements are not met.
Plan
Amplification of the strategy showing the precise means by
which objectives will be reached; the policy instruments to be
employed; the financial and human resources required; and the time frame for
implementation. See also Rolling plan.
Planning
The plotting of a course of action (involving executive
action or enforcement) that is proposed to carry out some proceeding, devising
the relative positions and timing of a set of actions.
Policy
The course of action for an undertaking adopted by a
government, a person or some other party. The instruments that exist to
support policy and the tools used to achieve policy objectives
comprise some or all of the following societal instruments; economic or
market-based instruments; command and control instruments; direct government
involvement; and institutional and organizational arrangements. It is to be
mentioned that, although law may be used as a policy instrument, there are
cases where law may impose constraints on what policies can be adopted. For
example, if the constitution states that the shore is the patrimony of the
nation or requires the payment of compensation for the expropriation of the
land, the policies that could be adopted for ICAM
are restricted.
Policy process
The whole process of defining goals and objectives, and the
means to achieve them, that are formulated in strategies
and plans.
Programme
Descriptive notice of series of events, including an
indication of the intended proceedings. In these guidelines, the term is
used for an undertaking structured around a defined objective,
usually consisting of a number of projects.
Protected area
A geographically defined area that is designed and managed
to achieve specific conservation objectives.
Rolling plan
The practice of preparing a plan for a
number of years in annually sequentially less detail, revising the plan
annually and maintaining the number of years covered by the plan.
Stumpage value
The economic value of a standing tree, equivalent to the amount
concessionaries earn when a log is sold to the sawmill
or the exporter, less the cost of logging. It is used as the net-price
valuation in environmental accounting (UN, 1997).
Subnational government
Any level of government below the national level.
In large, federally organized countries (e.g. Australia,
Brazil, India
and the United States),
the ICAM responsibility rests on the
state governments; in unitary countries (e.g. Kenya),
there may also be a devolution of responsibility.
Subsidence
Sinking of the earth's surface in response to geological
or human-induced causes (e.g. mining, extraction of water or petroleum by
wells). When subsidence occurs over large areas, the resulting features
are termed geosynclines. Non-linear subsidence produces basins and irregular
depressions. Subsidence may be counteracted by vertical accretion
where sediment-loaded floodwater enters the area.
Stakeholders
Individuals and groups of individuals (including government and non-governmental
institutions, traditional communities, universities, research
institutions, development agencies, banks and donors) with an interest or claim
(whether stated or implied) that has the potential of being affected by or
affecting a given project and its objectives. Stakeholder groups
that have a direct or indirect stake can be at the household,
community, local, regional, national or international level.
Strategy
A coherent statement indicating how resources will be
deployed and the approach that will be taken to achieve one or more objectives
successfully (often set out in a policy or plan).
Subsidiarity
Transfer of certain tasks of general interest to the civil society with
responsibilities at a hierarchical level (minimizing economic costs and
maximizing social welfare). Subsidiarity entails that
each member of the social group involved shall organize their own actions
towards an end that must remain part of the objectives pursued by
the entire group (Babin et al., 1998).
Sustainable development
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Bruntland Report, 1987) or ...the management and the conservation
of the natural resource base and the orientation of the
technological and institutional change in such a manner as to ensure the
attainment and continued satisfaction of human need for present and future
generations. Such sustainable development in the agriculture, forestry and
fisheries sectors concerns land, water, plant and animal genetic resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically
appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable (FAO Council, 1989).
Synergism
Cooperative interaction of two or more elements, producing
a greater total effect than the sum of their individual effects.
Threshold
Limit below which a stimulus ceases to be perceptible or
signal, indicating that a critical state of a resource has been reached.
In ICAM, thresholds are used (e.g. in
fisheries) as an early warning when a resource is approaching a target
reference point or a limit reference point, suggesting that a certain type of
action (usually agreed beforehand) needs to be taken. Thresholds therefore add
precaution to natural resource management, especially for
resources or situations (e.g. uncertainty of available information, inherent
inertia of the management system) involving high risk (Garcia, 1996).
Tidal flat
Level, muddy surface bordering an estuary,
alternatively submerged and exposed to the air by changing tidal levels (UN,
1997).
Tradable permits
An economic policy instrument under which the rights to
discharge pollution or exploit resources can be exchanged through either a free
or a controlled permit market. Examples include individual
transferable quotas in fisheries, tradable depletion rights to mineral
concessions, tradable pollution or resource use permits, and marketable
discharge permits for water-borne effluents.
Trade-off
The value of something that has to be given up in order to get something
else that is desired (e.g. the environmental cost incurred to obtain economic
development). Sustainability can be evaluated by the sum of the various social,
economic and natural resources where the degrees of use, exchange
and trading among resources will vary according to the values given to each.
Trade-off patterns are therefore determined by the different properties of a
system and their importance to different groups. The understanding of social
dynamics and resource-use systems and the evaluation of related trade-offs, in
terms of equity, productivity, resilience and environmental
stability, are useful to envision alternative development scenarios.
Trophic levels
Classification of natural communities or organisms
according to their place in the food chain.
Twin-track
As used in these guidelines, the process of working at the national (or subnational) and area levels simultaneously.
Usufruct
Right of enjoying the use and advantages of another's
property (e.g. land) short of destruction or waste of its substance.
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