Glossary

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Glossary

Environmental Justice

Aarhus Convention

Signed in Aarhus (Aarhus Convention), the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, usually known as the Aarhus Convention, was signed in 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. It grants the public rights regarding access to information, public participation and access to justice, in governmental decision-making processes on matters concerning the local, national and transboundary environment. It focuses on interactions between the public and public authorities.

Keyword(s):

Aarhus Convention

Accretion

Gradual process in which the Earth has been formed over time.

Keyword(s):

Accretion

Adjustment of supply and demand

The process by which a market surplus leads to a cut-back in the quantity supplied or a market shortage causes an increase in supplied quantity. Quantity adjustment is the result of the price variation of the traded products: up if the demand exceeds the supply; down if the contrary occurs.

Keyword(s):

Adjustment of supply and demand

Agro-toxins

Pesticides used in farming, livestock breeding and domestic environments. Examples are pesticides (e.g. insecticides) and herbicides. They may also be the toxic solvents, paints, lubricants and products for cleaning and disinfection. They cause a lot of damage, both to the environment and the health of animals and human beings. Apart from the rarer and more visible acute effects, there are a variety of less perceptible, and therefore more dangerous, chronic consequences of the use of agro-toxins: retarded neurotoxic effects, chromosomal alterations, liver and kidney damage, peripheral neuropathies, heart dysfunction, contact dermatitis, bronchial asthma, Parkinson's disease, various types of cancer, pulmonary fibrosis and hypersensitivity, not to mention other less common or less studied consequences.

Keyword(s):

Agro-toxins

Alien species

Species from one part of the world that is transported beyond its natural range and becomes established in a new area.

Keyword(s):

Alien species

Biological invasion

Process by which species (or genetically distinct populations), expand to new areas, can be both human-assisted introduction and natural range expansion.

Keyword(s):

Biological invasion

Carrying capacity

Maximum number of individuals (e.g. People) that an area's resources can sustain without significant degradation.

Keyword(s):

Carrying capacity

Co-generation

The use of a heat engine or a power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration may also refer to trigeneration or combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP), that refers to the simultaneous generation of electricity and useful heating and cooling from the combustion of a fuel or a solar heat collector.

Keyword(s):

Co-generation

Community Supported Agriculture

An alternative, locally based economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA also refers to a particular network or association of individuals who have pledged to support one or more local farms, with growers and consumers sharing the risks and benefits of food production.

Keyword(s):

Community Supported Agriculture

Consumer sovereignty

The power of consumers to determine what goods and services are produced. The theory suggests that consumers, not producers, are the best judges of what products benefit them the most. Because consumer markets depend so heavily on demand, producers must monitor the needs of consumers if they want their products to have any chance at success.

Keyword(s):

Consumer sovereignty

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2015European yearfor development

Glossary

Environmental Justice

Aarhus Convention

Accretion

Adjustment of supply and demand

Agro-toxins

Alien species

Biological invasion

Carrying capacity

Co-generation

Community Supported Agriculture

Consumer sovereignty

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