Food

Glossary

Afforestation

Establishment of forest plantations on land that is not

classified as forest.

Agro-forestry

The practice of traditional and modern land-use where trees

are managed together with crops and/or animal production in

agricultural settings.

Biocapacity

The capacity of ecosystems to produce useful biological

materials and to absorb waste materials generated by

humans, using available extraction technologies.

Deforestation

Conversion of forested land to non-forest areas.

Ecological Footprint

A measure of how much area of biologically productive land

and water an individual, population or activity requires to

produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the

waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource

management practices.

Ecological overshoot

The situation that occurs when humanity’s demand on the

biosphere exceeds supply or regenerative capacity.

Ecosystem

A dynamic and complex set of plant, animal and micro-

organism communities and their non-living environment

interacting as a functional unit.

Ecosystem approaches

Strategies for the integrated management of land, water and

living resources that promote conservation and sustainable

use in an equitable way. Ecosystem approaches recognize

that humans, with their cultural diversity, are an integral

component of many ecosystems.

Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM)

An environmental management approach that recognizes

the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including

humans, rather than considering single issues, species or

ecosystem services in isolation.

Ecosystem services

The benefits of ecosystems, including provisioning services

such as food and water; regulating services such as flood and

disease control; cultural services such as spiritual, recreational

and cultural benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient

cycling, which maintain the conditions for life on Earth.

Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM)

An approach that strives to balance diverse societal objectives, by

taking into account the knowledge and uncertainties about biotic,

abiotic and human components of ecosystems and their interactions

and applying an integrated approach to fisheries within ecologically

meaningful boundaries. It considers the impact fisheries have on

all components of the broader marine environment, as well as the

impact of other marine and coastal activities on fisheries.

Food loss due to environmental degradation

Potential or absolute decrease in food production caused by

environmental degradation. Such losses also refer to food that

will never be produced due to the degradation of ecosystems.

Food loss

A decrease in mass or nutritional value of food that was

originally intended for human consumption. These losses are

mainly caused by inefficiencies in the food supply chain such as

poor infrastructure and logistics, lack of technology, insufficient

skills, knowledge and management capacity of supply chain

actors, and lack of access to markets. Natural disasters also

cause food loss. Food is lost during pre-harvest production,

post-harvest handling and storage and processing

Food waste

Food appropriate for human consumption, which is discarded,

whether or not after it has been kept beyond its expiry date

or left to spoil. Food waste is often due to food having been

spoilt, but it can also be for other reasons such as oversupply or

individual consumer shopping/eating habits. Food waste occurs

at distribution and household consumption levels.

Ghost fishing

Lost or abandoned fishing gear that continues to catch fish.

Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM)

An approach that considers economic, social and ecological

perspectives in the management of coastal resources and areas.

Integrated farming

A resource-efficient crop, fish and livestock production system

that seeks to maintain productivity and profitability, while at the

same time protecting the environment and the health of farmers

and their families. It involves the recycling of farm waste for

productive purposes, and takes the form of crop-fish integration,

livestock-fish integration, crop-fish-livestock integration or a

combination of crop, livestock, fish and other enterprises.