A B C D E G H I L N P R S T U V W

A

Alien species: Animals and plants invading and becoming established in areas where they do not normally occur.

Aquifer: Underground accumulation of water in certain types of geological formation.

B

Basic sanitation: The prescribed minimum standard of services necessary for the safe, hygienic and adequate collection, removal, disposal and purification of human excreta, domestic waste water and sewage from households including informal households.

Basic water supply: The prescribed minimum standard of water supply services necessary for a reliable supply of sufficient quantity and quality of water to households, including informal households, to support life and personal hygiene.

Biodiversity: A measure of the number and relative abundance of biological species. The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.

Biome: A major biotic unit consisting of plant and animal communities having similarities in form and environmental conditions, but not including the abiotic portion of the environment.

Bush encroachment: Conversion of a grassland-dominated vegetation type to one that is dominated by woody species, as well as increasing woody plant density.

C

Catchment: The land area from which a river or reservoir is fed, also known as a drainage basin or watershed.

Climate change: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as a change which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.

Communal areas: Areas where the land is owned and managed communally. Individuals in the communal areas generally have few rights to own and sell land, especially large parcels of rural land.

D

Desertification: The process by which an area or region becomes more arid through loss of soil and vegetation cover.

Dolomitic springs or eyes: Sources where underground water emanates from dolomite.

E

Effluent: That water which flows out of a man-made system into a river, usually waste water.

Eutrophication: The process whereby nutrients accumulate in a body of water.

Exotic:Imported from outside South Africa.

G

Global warming: Increase in mean global temperature as a result of an increase in the concentration of atmospheric gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour.

Gross domestic product (GDP): Total value of final production of goods and services within a specific time frame, usually a calendar year.

Gross geographic product (GGP): The sum of all economic activity in a defined geographic area.

H

Habitat: The normal abode or locality of a living organism defined by the set of physical, chemical and biological features.

Human development index (HDI): HDI measures the overall achievements in a country in three dimensions of human development, namely: longevity; knowledge; and standard of living.

I

Igneous: Volcanic.

Indigenous: Born, growing, or produced naturally (native) in an area, region, or country.

Informal settlement: Houses (often of a temporary nature) erected on land of which the majority have not formally been proclaimed and serviced for residential use.

L

Land degradation: Reduction in capacity of the soil or vegetation to support life, through the damage to physical, chemical or biological properties, contributing to an unsustainable ecological system (see degradation).

Land transformation: The conversion of land usually from natural habitat to human uses such as agriculture or settlements.

N

Natural heritage: Natural features consisting of physical and biological formations or groups of such formations, which are of outstanding universal value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view.

Natural resource: A physical or biological resource available in the natural environment.

Non-perennial: Temporary or not flowing throughout the year.

Nutrient: Any food constituent or ingredient that is required for or aids in the support of life. In aquatic biology, usually a limiting nutrient, an element whose scarcity can limit plant growth (e.g. phosphorus, nitrogen and sulphates).

P

Pan: A small closed basin temporarily filled with water, generally a feature of semi-arid areas of low relief.

Perennial: Flowing or occurring throughout the year.

Pollution: Defilement or unfavourable alteration of the surroundings, normally as a result of human actions. In the water environment, any foreign substance that impairs the usefulness of water.

Poverty: A certain level of material deprivation below which an individual suffers physically, emotionally and socially. There are a number of methods of determining this level of deprivation.

Productivity (economic): The output of an organisation or individual in relation to the materials, labour, etc. it employs or consumes.

R

Radioactivity: The spontaneous decay of an atomic nucleus (especially of elements with a high number of protons in it) by emitting either electromagnetic radiation (gamma-radiation) or high energy particles (protons: alpha radiation, electrons: beta radiation).

Rare and endangered species: Species that have naturally small populations, and species which have been reduced to small (often unstable) populations by man's activities.

Riparian: Referring to or relating to areas adjacent to water or influenced by free water associated with streams or rivers on geologic surfaces occupying the lowest position on a watershed.

S

Salinisation: Increase in the amount of salts or dissolved solids in the water or the process by which salts accumulate in soils, to the detriment of cultivated plants.

Species diversity: A measure of the number and relative abundance of species (see biodiversity).

Subsistence: In the context of resource use, this suggests harvesting and use of marine resource(s) strictly for household consumption.

T

Toxicity: Capacity to cause injury to a living system, such as a human body, or parts of the body (such as the lungs or the respiratory system); or an ecosystem. Toxicity represents the kind and extent of damage that can be done by a chemical. Toxicity in the environment may be chronic or acute, with the latter being more detectable and noticeable by people.

U

Urbanisation: The process by which an increasing proportion of an area's population becomes concentrated in (legally or statistically defined) urban areas.

V

Veld: Southern African term for natural vegetation, usually grassland or wooded grassland, typically containing scattered shrubs or trees

W

Water quality: The value or usefulness of water, determined by the combined effects of its physical attributes and its chemical constituents, and varying from user to user.

Wetland: Area of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.