Environmental Degradation

Land degradation is the reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns such as soil erosion caused by wind and/or water; deterioration of the physical, chemical and biological or economic properties of soil; and long-term loss of natural vegetation (UNCCD, 1993). 

Sand mining (extraction) is defined as the removal of primary (virgin) natural sand and sand resources (mineral sands and aggregates) from the natural environment (terrestrial, riverine, coastal, or marine) for extracting valuable minerals, metals, crushed stone, sand and gravel for subsequent processing (UNEP, 2019).

Nonpoint sources of pollution refer to pollution that does not have a single point of origin or has not been introduced into a receiving freshwater or maritime environment from a specific outlet. The pollutants are generally carried off from the land by agricultural runoff, urban stormwater, atmospheric deposition or subaqueous groundwater discharges. The most common categories of nonpoint pollution are agriculture, forestry, urban areas, mining, construction, dams and channels, land disposal and saltwater intrusion.

Sea-level change (sea-level rise / sea-level fall) refers to a change in the height of sea level, both globally and locally (relative sea-level change), at seasonal, annual, or longer time scales. It results from a change in ocean volume due to a change in the mass of water in the ocean (e.g. melting of glaciers and ice sheets), changes in ocean water density (e.g. expansion under warmer conditions), changes in the shape of ocean basins, changes in the Earth's gravitational and rotational fields, and local land subsidence or uplift (IPCC, 2019). 

Salt-affected soils consist of saline and sodic soils. Saline soils are those with an elevated amount of soluble salts, which reduces the ability of plants to take up water from soil due to the high osmotic pressure of the soil solution (FAO, 1985).

Eutrophication refers to the phenomenon of increased production of organic matter, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, in aquatic systems (Nixon, 1995). Eutrophication can be caused by human activities (e.g. sewage outfall, agricultural runoff, aquaculture) and may result in secondary environmental effects such as algal blooms and fish kills (NOAA, 2007; UNEP, 2015). Given the complex structure and functioning of ecosystems, and the multitude of pressures they face (Cloern, 2001), the precise definition of eutrophication remains to be established (Pannard et al., 2024). 

Biodiversity loss refers to the reduction of any aspect of biological diversity (i.e. diversity at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels) in a particular area through death (including extinction), destruction or manual removal. It can occur at many scales, from global extinctions to local population extinctions, leading to a decline in total diversity at the same scale. 

Deforestation is the conversion of forest to other land use independently of whether human-induced or not (FAO, 2023). 

Forest declines and diebacks are episodic events characterised by premature, progressive loss of tree and stand vigour and health over a given period without obvious evidence of a single clearly identifiable causal factor such as physical disturbance or attack by primary disease or insect (Ciesla & Donaubauer, 1994).

Forest invasive species are any species that are non-native to a particular forest ecosystem and whose introduction and spread cause, or are likely to cause, socio-cultural, economic or environmental harm, or harm to human health (adapted from FAO, 2015).