Publications Freshwater in Europe Glossary

	Freshwater in Europe - Facts, Figures and Maps - Contents, Credits - Summary - Freshwater Resources - Freshwater Consumption - Freshwater Quality - Freshwater Ecosystems - Major European Watersheds - Water Policy and Institutions - Glossary - llustrations Fresshwater in Europe in PDF

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - I - L - M - N - O - P - R -S -T - U - W

A

Agenda 21 - Global action plan adopted by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Agenda 21 contains principles and recommendations aiming at sustainable development for the 21st century.

Aquifer - The underground layer of water-soaked sand and rock that acts as a water source for a well; described as artesian (confined) or water table (unconfined).

B

Base flow - The portion of stream flow that is not runoff and results from seepage of water from the ground into a channel slowly over time. The primary source of running water in a stream during dry weather.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - Amount of dissolved oxygen required by organisms for the aerobic decomposition of organic matter present in water.

Biosphere reserves - Established under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme, biosphere reserves are a series of protected areas linked through a global network, intended to demonstrate the relationship between conservation and development.

C

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) - The amount of oxygen consumed by the chemical breakdown of organic and inorganic matter.

Climatic Change - Significant change observed in the climate of a region between two reference periods.

D

Dam - A structure of earth, rock, concrete, or other materials designed to retain water, creating a pond, lake, or reservoir.

Desertification - Land degradation occurring in the arid, semiarid and dry subhumid areas of the world.

Dimictic Lake (or Reservoir) - A stratified lake or reservoir that experiences two periods of full mixing or (Fall and Spring) overturns annually.

Discharge - Outflow of water from a stream, pipe, groundwater aquifer or watershed; opposite of recharge.

Drought - Phenomenon that exists when precipitation has been significantly below normal recorded levels, causing serious hydrological imbalances that adversely affect land resource production systems.

E

Ecosystem - A system formed by the interaction of a group of organisms and their environment.

Effluent - The sewage or industrial liquid waste that is released into natural waters by sewage treatment plants, industry, or septic tanks.

Enteric Diseases - Diseases of or relating to the small intestine.

Estuary - Regions of interaction between rivers and nearshore ocean waters, where tidal action and river flow create a mixing of freshwater and saltwater. These areas may include bays, mouths of rivers, salt marshes, and lagoons.

European Envionment Agency (EEA) - The European Environment Agency, with currently 31 member countries, aims to support sustainable development and to help achieve significant and measurable improvement in Europe's environment through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy making agents and the public.

European Union (EU) - The European Union--previously known as the European Community, created after World War II to unite the nations of Europe economically to avoid another war --is an institutional framework of 15 countries (25 from May 2004), sharing the common institutions and policies, for the construction of a united Europe.

Eutrophic lake - Shallow, murky bodies of water that have high concentrations of plant nutrients causing excessive algal production.

Eutrophication - The process by which lakes and ponds become enriched with dissolved nutrients, resulting in increased growth of algae and other microscopic plants.

Evapotranspiration - The loss water from the soil through both evaporation and transpiration from plants.

F

Flood - The temporary inundation of normally dry land areas resulting from the overflowing of the natural or artificial confines of a river or other body of water.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - UN specialized agency and lead agency for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development.

G

Glacier - Accumulation of ice of atmospheric origin generally moving slowly on land over a long period.

Global Environment Outlook (GEO) - Global state of the environment reporting project initiated by UNEP in response to the environmental reporting requirements of Agenda 21 and to a UNEP Governing Council decision of May 1995.

Global Environment Facility (GEF) - established in 1991, helps developing countries fund projects and programmes that protect the global environment.

GEMS/Water - UN Programme providing scientificallysound data and information on the state and trends of global inland water quality.

Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) - Water programme led by UNEP, aiming at producing a comprehensive and integrated global assessment of international waters.

Groundwater - The supply of fresh water found beneath the earth’s surface (usually in aquifers) that is often used for supplying wells and springs.

I

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - Independent intergovernmental, science and technology-based organization, in the United Nations family, that serves as the global focal point for nuclear cooperation and promotes safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies.

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) - Established by the UN as a global framework to foster the resiliency of communities to the effects of natural hazards through the implementation of risk management, hazard mitigation, and ultimately sustainable development.

Irrigation - The controlled application of water to cropland, hayland, and/or pasture to supplement that supplied through nature.

L

Lake - Any inland body of standing water, usually fresh water, larger than a pool or pond; a body of water filling a depression in the earth’s surface.

Lake morphology - Relating to physical structure (depth, shoreline length, shape) of a lake.

Land degradation -A human induced or natural process which negatively affects the land to function effectively within an ecosystem, by accepting, storing and recycling water, energy, and nutrients.

M

Marsh - A type of wetland that does not accumulate appreciable peat deposits and is dominated by herbaceous vegetation. Marshes may be either fresh water or saltwater and tidal or non-tidal.

Mesotrophic Lake - Lake characterized by moderate nutrient concentrations such as nitrogen and phosphorous and resulting significant productivity.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - Eight targets that would help meet these basic needs, to ne acheived by 2015, proposed at the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000.

N

Natural hazards - Natural processes or phenomena occurring in the biosphere that may constitute a damaging event.

Nutrient - As a pollutant, any element or compound, such as phosphorus or nitrogen, that fuels abnormally high organic growth in aquatic ecosystems (e.g., eutrophication of a lake).

O

Overturn - The sinking of surface water and rise of bottom water in a lake or sea that results from changes in/ temperature that commonly occur in spring and fall.

P

Pesticide - A substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest, or intended to regulate plant or leaf growth.Pesticides can accumulate in the food chain and/or contaminate the environment.

Physical exposure - Elements at risk, an inventory of those people or artefacts that are exposed to a hazard.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) - POPs are chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and are toxic to humans and wildlife.

R

Remediation - Cleanup or other methods used to remove or contain a toxic spill or hazardous materials from a site.

Reservoir - A pond, lake, or basin (natural or artificial) that stores, regulates, or controls water.

River - A natural stream of water of substantial volume.

River basin - The area drained by a river and its tributaries.

Runoff - The amount of precipitation appearing in surface streams, rivers, and lakes; defined as the depth to which a drainage area would be covered if all of the runoff for a given period of time were uniformly distributed over it.

S

Sewage (Water) - Liquid waste matter, usually containing human excrement.

Sustainable development - Development that ensures that the use of resources and the environment today does not restrict their use by future generations.

Swamp - A type of wetland that is dominated by woody vegetation and does not accumulate appreciable peat deposits. Swamps may be fresh water or saltwater and tidal or nontidal.

U

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) - The lead UN organization working for the long-term survival, protection and development of children. Its programmes focus on immunization, primary health care, nutrition and basic education.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA) - UN Department aiming at promoting broad-based and sustainable development through a multidimensional and integrated approach to economic, social, environmental, population and gender related aspects of development.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - The central funding, planning, and coordinating organization for technical assistance and development in the UN system.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) - Regional commission of the United Nations.Its primary goal is to encourage greater economic cooperation among its member States.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - Specialized UN agency, promoting education for all, cultural development, protection of the world's natural and cultural heritage, international cooperation in science, press freedom and communication.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - UN agency providing leadership and encouraging partnership in caring for the environment.

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT) - UN agency for human settlements promotes socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) - UN specialized agency helping developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their fight against marginalization.

United Nations University (UNU) - International community of scholars, contributing, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations, its Peoples and Member States.

W

Wastewater - Water that carries wastes from homes, businesses, and industries; a mixture of water and dissolved or suspended solids.

Wastewater treatment plant - A facility containing a series of tanks, screens, filters, and other processes by which pollutants are removed from water.

Watershed - The land area that drains into a stream; the watershed for a major river may encompass a number of smaller watersheds that ultimately combine at a common point.

Water consumption - Consumptive water use. Water abstracted which is no longer available for use because it has evaporated, transpired, been incorporated into products and crops, consumed by man or livestock, ejected directly to the sea or into evaporation areas or otherwise removed from freshwater resources.

Water stress - Water stress occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period or when poor quality restricts its use. Water stress causes deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of quantity (aquifer over-exploitation, dry rivers, etc.) and quality (eutrophication, organic matter pollution, saline intrusion, etc.).

Water supply - Refers to the share of water abstraction which is supplied to users (excluding losses in storage, conveyance and distribution).

Water use - Use of water by agriculture, industry, energy production and households, including in-stream uses such as fishing, recreation, transportation and waste disposal.

Wetlands - Lands where water saturation is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the surrounding environment. Other common names for wetlands are bogs, ponds, estuaries, and marshes.

World Bank Group - UN specialized agency providing loans and technical assistance to developing countries to reduce poverty and advance sustainable economic growth.

World Health Organization (WHO) - UN specialized agency, coordinating programmes aimed at solving health problems and the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) - UN specialized agendy promoting scientific research on the Earth's atmosphere and on climate change, and facilitating the global exchange of meteorological data.

World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) - held in Johannesburg in August-September 2002.

Sources: EEA multilingual environmental glossary, Environment Canada Water Glossary, United Nations, UNDP.