Glossary of technical terms

10-12 November, FAO HQ, Rome

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Glossary of Technical Terms on Land, Tenure and Water (*) Absolute water scarcity is the insufficiency of supply to satisfy total demand after all feasible options to enhance supply and manage demand have been implemented. This situation leads to widespread restrictions on water use. A threshold of 500 m3/ person/yr is often used as a proxy to indicate absolute water scarcity (Falkenmark, 1989). It is held here to apply in terms of water quantity alone, although in many cases water quality may also impose scarcity if it is not fit for consumption (FAO, 2012).

Aerobic is a condition in which molecular oxygen is freely available. (ISO, 2013)

Agrarian Related to agriculture (FAO, 2009).

Agrarian Reform is a collection of activities and changes designed to alter the agrarian structure and the ways of using the land (FAO, 2003).

Agriculture is the cultivation of crops and animal husbandry as well as forestry, fisheries, and the development of land and water resources (FAO, 2003). Agroforestry is a collective name for land use systems and technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos, etc) are deliberately used on the same land management unit as agricultural crops and/or animals, in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence (FAO, 2003).

Anaerobic is descriptive of a condition in which molecular oxygen is not available. (ISO, 2013)

Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants (FAO, 2003).

Available water is the part of water resources that is available for use. The concept is ambiguous, and depends on whether it refers to water available for immediate use or freshwater resources available for future development. In either case, access to the water would have a cost. (FAO, 2012)

Available water capacity is the soil water content useable by plants, based on the effective root penetration depth. (ISO, 2013)

Bare Soil is a land cover class that includes any geographic area dominated by natural abiotic surfaces (bare soil, sand, rocks, etc.) where the natural vegetation is absent or almost absent (covers less than 2 percent). (Latham et al., 2014).

Beneficial consumption of water (in agriculture) is the part of water that is withdrawn from its source for the purpose of irrigation and which is either consumed by crops through transpiration or captured as biomass. Non-beneficial consumption is the part of water withdrawn from its source which evaporates from the soil without contributing to biomass production (FAO, 2012).

Beneficial use of water is the use of water for purposes that have clear and tangible benefits, such as for household purposes, irrigation, industrial processing and cooling, hydropower generation, recreation and navigation. Depending on context, beneficial use may also include maintaining river levels for environmental purposes, diluting

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wastewater flows and sustaining wetlands, preventing saltwater incursions in estuaries, etc. (FAO, 2012).

Biodegradation is the physical and chemical breakdown of a substance by living organisms, mainly bacteria and/or fungi. (ISO, 2013)

Cadastre is normally a parcel based and up-to-date land information system containing a record of interests in land (FAO, 2009).

Chief (land/lineage) is a descendant of the first occupier of an area who acts as the mediator between man and land and who traditionally holds power over land in customary societies without actually owning it (FAO, 2003).

Chronic water scarcity is the level at which all freshwater resources available for use, are being used. Beyond this level, water supply for use can only be made available through the use of non-conventional water resources such as agricultural drainage water, treated wastewater or desalinated water, or by managing demand. A range between 500 and 1 000 m3/person/yr has often been used as a proxy to indicate chronic water scarcity (Falkenmark, 1989).

Collective ownership of a natural resource is where the holders of rights to a given natural resource are clearly defined as a collective group, and where they have the right to exclude third parties from the enjoyment of those rights (FAO, 2003).

Conflict of interest is a situation where an individual or corporate entity is invited to act on behalf of one party, but has an actual or potential relationship with or interest in the other party or parties (FAO, 2009).

Conservation areas is an area, usually designated under a planning system, where conservation of existing characteristics is given a strong weighting in development decisions (FAO, 2003).

Conservation management is an extension of land management that emphasises the need to protect and safeguard natural resources (FAO, 2003).

Consumptive use of water describes the part of water withdrawn from its source for use in agriculture, industry or domestic purposes that has evaporated, transpired, or been incorporated into products. The part of water withdrawn that is not consumed is called return flow (FAO, 2011)

Contaminant substance or agent present in the soil as a result of human activity. (ISO, 2013)

Cost of water in a restricted sense, is the cost of water relates to the direct expenses incurred in providing the service of water supply. Full supply cost includes operation and maintenance costs, and capital depreciation and replacement costs. An assessment of the full cost of water to society should include, in addition to supply cost, its opportunity cost (i.e. the benefits foregone when water is not applied to its most beneficial use), and both economic and environmental externalities associated with water supply (indirect consequences that are not directly captured in the accounting system) (FAO, 2004; GWP, 2000). The cost of a water service may need to be distinguished from its ‘price’ as revealed through market transactions, where they exist, and its economic value (see definition of water pricing and water values). (FAO, 2012)

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Cropland is a land cover class that includes all cultivated herbaceous crops, woody crops and multiple and layered crops. (Latham et al., 2014)

Custom/ Customary A custom is an action or practice that has taken place since time immemorial that is not regulated by the state or other authority outside the social group, and which is reinforced by customary usage (FAO, 2003).

Customary land rights are the enjoyment of some use of land that arises through customary, unwritten practice rather than through written or codified law (FAO, 2009).

Customary land use : use rights based on custom, created by ancestral occupation and use of land by traditional societies ( FAO, 2003 ).

Decomposition is the breakdown of complex organic substances into simpler molecules or ions by physical, chemical and/or biological processes. (ISO, 2013)

Demand management is a set of actions consisting in controlling water demand, either by raising the efficiency of its use (see definition below) or re-allocating water between or within sectors. (FAO, 2012)

Desertification is a term which describes the land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. (UNCCD, 2011)

Development Land development is the application of resources to improve land that should enable it to be used more efficiently (FAO, 2003).

Drylands are tropical and temperate areas with an aridity index (annual rainfall/annual potential evaporation) of less than 0.65. (UNEP, 2005)

Environment is the combined external conditions affecting life, development and survival of an organism or an ecosystem (FAO, 2003).

Exploitable water (also called manageable water resources or water development potential), is the volume of water potentially available for consumptive water-use sectors (agriculture, industries or municipalities). An attempt to quantify that part of a country’s total renewable water resources that is effectively available to be withdrawn, depending on factors such as the economic and environmental feasibility of water storage; extracting groundwater; maintaining flow requirements for navigation and environmental services; etc. The level of exploitable water varies with the level of the country’s economic development, infrastructure, water variability and quality, and the trade-offs between rival users (FAO, 2012).

Farmer is the principal decision-maker involved in the management of a farm who is usually but not always the head of the household (FAO, 2003).

Farm holding/ Farm enterprise describes both an area of land, typically a working farm, and the possession of an area of farm land (FAO, 2003).

Fishery rights enable the holder to have access for fishing purposes (FAO, 2003).

Fishing rights are specified rights to fish, whether in fresh water or in marine area (FAO, 2003).

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Forest is land with tree crown cover of more than 10% and area of more than 0.5ha (FAO, 2003).

Forest Policy consists of the overall strategies for production, management and protection of forests (FAO, 2009).

Freshwater is naturally water on the Earth's surface in lakes and rivers, and underground in aquifers. Its key feature is a low concentration of dissolved salts (FAO, 2011).

GIS (Geographical Information System) is a set of computer tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at will, transforming, and displaying spatial data (FAO, 2003).

GPS (Global Positioning System) consists of 24 satellites orbiting the earth in six orbital planes. Locations on the ground can be fixed and their coordinates calculated on the basis of signals picked up from these satellites by receivers (FAO, 2003).

Grassland is a land cover class that includes any geographic area dominated by natural herbaceous plants (grasslands, prairies, steppes and savannahs) with a cover of 10 percent or more, irrespective of different human and/or animal activities e.g. grazing, selective fire management. (Latham et al., 2014)

Habitat ecosystem functions the ability of soil or soil materials to serve as a habitat for micro-organisms, plants, soil-living animals and their interactions. (ISO, 2013)

Humification is the decomposition of organic material followed by a synthesis of humic substances. (ISO, 2013)

Indigenous signifies someone who is intimately connected with the land where he lives, who has not arrived by immigration or is not in passage (FAO, 2003).

Institutions the laws and regulations governing the management, development, protection from pollution, and use of water resources; the governmental bodies at all levels, in charge of the administration and enforcement of the laws and regulations; the judiciary; and the formal or informal water users-level organizations (FAO, 2012).

Land in a legal sense is real estate (FAO, 2009).

Land Evaluation is the process of assessment of land performance when used for specified purposes" involving the execution and interpretation of surveys and studies of landforms, soils, vegetation, climate and other aspects of land in order to identify and make a comparison of promising kinds of land use in terms applicable to the objectives of the evaluation.(FAO, 1976)

Land consolidation is a sequence of operations designed to reorganise land parcels in an area, regrouping them into consolidated holdings of more regular form and with improved access (FAO, 2003).

Land dispute is a disagreement over land. A land dispute occurs where specific individual or collective interests relating to land are in conflict (FAO, 2009).

Land law is the body of law dealing with land, its definition, ownership and use whether urban or rural (FAO, 2003

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Land management agricultural land management is the process of managing the use and development of land resources (FAO, 2009).

Land ownership in the English Common Law context is comprised of a set of rights in land held by the owner (FAO, 2003).

Land policy is the set of intentions embodied in various policy instruments that are adopted by the state to organise land tenure and land use (FAO, 2003).

Land reform is the generic term for modifications in the legal and institutional framework governing land policy (FAO, 2003).

Land tenure system is the way and conditions under which land may be used (FAO, 2009).i

Land use planning is the systematic assessment of land and water potential, alternative patterns of land use and other physical, social and economic conditions (FAO, 2003).

Landscape is a product of the interaction of human beings with the natural environment often over a period of many centuries that reflects the impacts of social, economic and political changes on the natural environment (FAO, 2003).

Leaching is the dissolution and movement of dissolved substances by water. (ISO, 2013)

Legal is a term for describing an action or thing that conforms with the law (FAO, 2003).

Legislation is the body of laws which make up the law (FAO, 2003).

Mineralization is the final stage of the biodegradation of organic matter or organic substances into carbon dioxide, water and hydrides, oxides or other mineral salts. (ISO, 2013)

Mitigation (of land degradation) an intervention intended to reduce ongoing degradation at a stage when degradation has already begun. The main aim here is to halt further degradation and to start improving resources and their functions. (FAO Soils Portal, 2015)

Modernization (in irrigation), is defined as a process of technical and managerial upgrading (as opposed to mere rehabilitation) of irrigation schemes, combined with institutional reforms, if required, with the objective to improve resource utilization (labour, water economics, environment) and water delivery service to farms (FAO, 2012).

Nutrient imbalance refers to an excess or a lack of nutrients (mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in the soil as a consequence of bad land use and management. It may result in soil contamination when nutrients are in excess and in loss of inherent fertility when nutrients are mined. (FAO and ITPS, 2015).

Parent material the unconsolidated and more or less chemically weathered mineral or organic matter from which the solum of soils is developed by pedogenic processes (Soil Science Society of America 2008).

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Particle size distribution is the distribution of the soil mineral particles according to predefined classes of size (ISO, 2013).

Pastoral land rights are the rights to use specific pastoral land (FAO, 2009).

Pastoralism is a way of life which is essentially a livestock husbandry activity (FAO, 2003).

Peasant is a countryman, typically one who works on the land as a small farmer or labourer (FAO, 2003).

Pedon is the smallest, three-dimensional unit at the surface of the earth that is considered as a soil. It forms a conceptual foundation for the study of soils as geographic entities (Hole and Campbell, 1985).

pH-value is the negative logarithm (base 10) of the concentration of hydrogen ions, expressed in moles/l in aqueous solution and varying between 0 (extremely acid) to 14 (extremely alkaline). (ISO, 2013)

Reform is a modification of an existing law or institution, either by the revision of an existing law or by the enactment of a new law (FAO, 2003).

Registration is the process by which rights and interests are recorded in registers (FAO, 2003).

Rehabilitation is an action to restore soil already degraded to such an extent that the original use is no longer possible and the land has become practically unproductive. Generally, long term and often costly investments are needed to show any impact (FAO, 2015).

Remote sensing is the set of techniques used for gathering information about the environment without being in direct contact with it (FAO, 2003).

Return flow is the part of the water withdrawn from its source which is not consumed and returns to its source or to another body of groundwater or surface water. Return flow can be divided into non-recoverable flow (flow to salt sinks, uneconomic groundwater or flow of insufficient quality), and recoverable flow (flow to rivers or infiltration into groundwater aquifers) (FAO, 2012).

Secure tenure is related to the degree of recognition and guarantee of real estate rights (FAO, 2003).

Shrub-covered area is a land cover class that includes any geographical area dominated by natural shrubs having a cover of 10 percent or more. (Latham et al., 2014).

Soil acidification is defined as the lowering of the soil pH because of the buildup of hydrogen and aluminum ions in the soil and the leach of base cations such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. Soil acidification negatively affects soil fertility and compromises the production capacity of most agricultural soils (FAO and ITPS, 2015)

Soil biodiversity loss is a decline in the diversity of (micro- and macro-) organisms present in a soil. In turns, this prejudices the ability of soil to provide critical ecosystem services (FAO and ITPS, 2015)

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Soil compaction is defined as the increase in density and a decline of macro-porosity in a soil that impairs the functions of both the top- and subsoil, and impedes roots penetration and water and gaseous exchanges (FAO and ITPS, 2015)

Soil contamination refers to the increase of toxic compounds (heavy metals, pesticides, etc.) in a soil that constitute, directly or indirectly (via the food chain), a hazard for human health and/or for the provision of ecosystem services assured by the soil (FAO and ITPS, 2015) Soil degradation refers to the diminishing capacity of the soil to provide ecosystem goods and services as desired by its stakeholders. (refined from FAO, 2015). Soil ecosystem functions description of the significance of soils to humans and the environment. Examples are: (1) control of substance and energy cycles within ecosystems; (2) basis for the life of plants, animals and man; (3) basis for the stability of buildings and roads; (4) basis for agriculture and forestry; (5) carrier of genetic reservoir; (6) document of natural history; and (7) archaeological and paleo-ecological document. (ISO, 2013) Soil erosion is broadly defined as the removal of (top-) soil from the land surface by running water, wind, ice or gravity. It can be accelerated by human activities (tillage) and animals (FAO and ITPS, 2015) Soil health ‘the continued capacity of the soil to function as a vital living system, within ecosystem and land-use boundaries, to sustain biological productivity, promote the quality of air and water environments, and maintain plant, animal, and human health’ (Doran, Stamatiadis and Haberern, et al 2002). Soil organic carbon (SOC) a summarizing parameter including all of the carbon forms for dissolved (DOC: Dissolved Organic Carbon) and total organic compounds (TOC: Total Organic Carbon) in soils. (ISO, 2013) Soil organic carbon loss refers to the decline of organic carbon stock in the soil affecting its fertility status and climate change regulation capacity (FAO and ITPS, 2015). Soil organic matter (SOM) is the matter consisting of plant and/or animal organic materials, and the conversion products of those materials in soils. (ISO, 2013) Soil Processes is the physical or reactive geochemical and biological processes which may attenuate, concentrate, immobilize, liberate, degrade or otherwise transform substances in soil. (ISO, 2013) Soil quality all current positive or negative properties with regard to soil utilization and soil functions. (ISO, 2013). Soil salinization is defined as the increase in water-soluble salts in soil which is responsible for increasing the osmotic pressure of the soil. In turn, this negatively affects plant growth because less water is made available to plants (FAO and ITPs, 2015). Soil sealing refers to the permanent covering of the soil surface with impermeable artificial materials such as asphalt and concrete. This is generally related to urban development and infrastructure construction, which in most cases lead to the absolute loss of the soil resource and of most of its ecosystem services (FAO and ITPS, 2015).

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Soil sodification is defined as an increase of the exchangeable sodium content of the soil, often accompanied by a loss of soil structure. In turn, it negatively affects soil suitability for crop growth (FAO and ITPS, 2015). Soil structure the arrangement of soil particles in a variety of recognized shapes and sizes. (ISO, 2013) Soil is the upper layer of the Earth’s crust transformed by weathering and physical/chemical and biological processes. It is composed of mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms organized in genetic soil horizons. (ISO, 2013) Solum comprises the surface layer and subsoil layers that have been altered by soil formation (Soil Survey Staff, 1993).

Sparse vegetation is a land cover class that includes any geographic areas where the cover of natural vegetation is between 2 percent and 10 percent. (Latham et al., 2014)

Supply enhancement (also called supply management or supply augmentation) is a set of actions to increase water supply, either through water resources development (construction of water infrastructure or groundwater development) or augmentation of available water resources through development of non-conventional sources of water, such as desalination of sea water or re-use of treated wastewater (FAO, 2012).

Sustainable land management (SLM) describes the use of land resources, including soils, water, animals and plants for the production of goods to meet changing human needs while ensuring the long term productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their environmental functions (UNCED, 1992).

Sustainable soil management (SSM) sets of activities that maintain or enhance the supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services provided by soils without significantly impairing either the soil functions that enable those services or biodiversity. (World Soil Charter 2015, adapted).

Tenure is the relationship among people as individual or groups with respect to land and associated natural resources (FAO, 2003).

Territory may be viewed as the area where an individual community lives (FAO, 2003).

Topsoil is the upper part of a natural soil that is generally dark coloured and has a higher content of organic matter and nutrients when compared to the (mineral) horizons below. It excludes the litter layer. (ISO, 2013)

Total renewable water resources is the long-term annual average sum of internal and external renewable water resources within a specified domain. It corresponds to the maximum theoretical yearly amount of water actually available for a country without considerations of water quality and environmental requirements. Internal Renewable Water Resources for a country are defined as long-term average annual flow of rivers and recharge of aquifers generated from endogenous precipitation. External Renewable Water Resources are defined as the part of the country's annual renewable water resources that are not generated in the country. It includes inflows from upstream countries and part of the water of border lakes or rivers. It takes into account the quantity of flow reserved by upstream (incoming flow) and/or downstream (outflow)

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countries through formal or informal agreements or treaties, and possible water withdrawals occurring in the upstream countries (FAO, 2012).

Tree-covered area a land cover class that includes any geographic area dominated by natural tree plants with a cover of 10 percent or more. Areas planted with trees for afforestation purposes and forest plantations are included in this class. (Latham et al., 2014)

Water accounting is a systematic method of organizing and presenting information relating to the physical volumes and flows of water in the environment as well as the economic values of water through cost-benefit analysis (FAO, 2011).

Water audit is a systematic study of the current status and future trends in both water supply and demand, with a particular focus on issues relating to accessibility, uncertainty and governance in a given spatial domain (FAO, 2011).

Water charges is a term refers to the payments that a beneficiary makes for a water service (domestic supply, irrigation, etc.). The action of establishing the price, or tariff, on the basis of which water charges are calculated is often referred to as water pricing but is clearly very different from the formal economic ‘pricing’ of water as a natural resource, where the notion of shadow pricing applies (FAO, 2012).

Water conservation is the protection and efficient management of freshwater resources to ensure their long-term sustainability (FAO, 2012).

Water demand (in economic terms), is the ability and willingness of users to pay for water and the services it provides. In this sense, water demand differs from water as a basic human need, requiring a minimum amount of safe supply. In the context of water scarcity, water demand is an expression of water requirement or need with a fair cost for a given water supply service level (FAO, 2012).

Water logging refers to an excess of water on top and/or within the soil, leading to reduced air availability in the soil for long periods (FAO and ITPS, 2015).

Water pricing is the action of establishing a price for a water service. The price can be calculated to cover all or part of the costs of the water service (see definition of cost of water), or to induce a change of behaviour in water use through less wasteful water use. In irrigation, it can be calculated per area of land, per type of crop, or on a volumetric basis. The price assigned to a water service is often called water tariff and may, or may not, reflect the economic value of the water resource itself. Even when market prices are revealed in local water transactions or regulated water markets (California, Chile, Australia) such prices may not reflect full economic values. Therefore in water resource planning, cost-benefit analysis needs to adjust observed prices or estimate prices altogether. These adjusted or estimated prices are commonly referred to as shadow prices (FAO, 2012).

Water productivity is the amount or value of output (including services) provided by water, in relation to the volume of water used. Crop water productivity refers to the ratio between crop yield and water supply. Economic water productivity is expressed as the ratio between added value of a product and water supply (FAO, 2011)

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Water resources assessment focuses on the supply side of water accounting and provides a systematic assessment of water resources, including their variability and trends (FAO, 2011).

Water scarcity is the imbalance between supply and demand of freshwater in a specified domain (country, region, catchment, river basin, etc.) as a result of a high rate of demand compared with available supply, under prevailing institutional arrangements (including price) and infrastructural conditions. Its symptoms are: unsatisfied demand, tensions between users, competition for water, over-extraction of groundwater and insufficient flows to the natural environment. Artificial or constructed water scarcity refers to the situation resulting from over-development of hydraulic infrastructure relative to available supply, leading to a situation of increasing water shortage (FAO, 2012).

Water shortage is a term that describes the shortage of water supply of an acceptable quality; low levels of water supply, at a given place and a given time, relative to design supply levels. The shortage may arise from climatic factors, or other causes of insufficient water resources, a lack of, or poorly maintained, infrastructure; or a range of other hydrological or hydro-geological factors (FAO, 2012).

Water stress refers to the symptoms of water scarcity or shortage, e.g. widespread, frequent and serious restrictions on use, growing conflict between users and competition for water, declining standards of reliability and service, harvest failures and food insecurity (FAO, 2012).

Water supply is the amount of water which is available or made available for use (FAO, 2012).

Water tariff (See water pricing). Water tariffs vary widely in their structure and level between user categories, service providers and between countries and regions. The mechanisms to adjust tariffs also vary widely (FAO, 2012).

Water use is any deliberate application or utilization of water for a specific purpose. There is an important distinction between consumptive use (see earlier definition) and non-consumptive use. Important non-consumptive uses include navigation, recreation, waste assimilation and dispersion. Although hydropower and power station cooling are not a major net consumptive user of water, they do have a major impact on the hydrological cycle, and release water at times and temperatures that impose costs on other water users. Reservoirs also cause evaporation losses (FAO, 2012).

Water use efficiency is the ratio of the amount of water actually used for a specific purpose to the amount of water withdrawn or diverted from its resource to serve that use (FAO, 2011)

Water use (in its legal sense), is a legal right to abstract or divert and use water from a given natural source; to impound or store a specified quantity of water in a natural source behind a dam or other hydraulic structure; or, to use or maintain water in a natural state (ecological flow in a river; and water for recreation; religious or spiritual practices; drinking, washing and bathing; or animal watering) (FAO, 2011).

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Water values are the benefit(s) of water from its use in specific purposes, locations and times. Many of these benefits can be quantified and valued in economic terms (e.g. for irrigation, industrial processing and, in many cases, household use), while others have to be expressed in a qualitative manner (e.g. amenity values). Direct water valuation techniques rely on questionnaires to elicit preferences on willingness to pay for a good or service (e.g. contingent valuation). Indirect water valuation techniques rely on observed market behaviour to deduce values (e.g. hedonic pricing, travel cost method) (FAO, 2012).

Water withdrawal is the water abstracted from streams, aquifers or lakes for any purpose (e.g. irrigation, industrial, domestic, commercial) (FAO, 2011).

(*)

Doran, J.W., Stamatiadis, S. & Haberern, J. 2002. Soil health as an indicator for sustainable management. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 88(2002): 107–110.

FAO. 1976. A framework for land evaluation. FAO, Rome, 1976.

FAO. 2003. Multilingual thesaurus on land tenure. FAO, Rome, 2003. http://www.fao.org/3/a-x2038e.pdf

FAO. 2009. Multilingual thesaurus on land tenure. An interactive CD in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Chinese. FAO, Rome, 2009.

FAO. 2011. The state of the world’s land and water resources for food and agriculture (SOLAW) - managing systems at risk, FAO, Rome and Earthscan, London, 2011. http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/i1688e/i1688e.pdf

FAO. 2012. Coping with water scarcity an action framework for agriculture and food security. FAO, Rome, 2012. http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3015e/i3015e.pdf

FAO. 2015. FAO soils portal. Available at http://www.fao.org/soils-portal/it/

FAO & ITPS. 2015. Status of the World’s Soil Resources (SWSR). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, Rome, Italy. In press. GSP. 2015. Revised World Soil Charter. Available at http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/GSP/docs/ITPS_Pillars/annexVII_WSC.pdf

ISO. 2013. Draft international standard ISO/DIS 11074. 9 pp.

Latham, J., Cumani, R., Rosati, I. & Bloise, M. 2014. Global Land Cover SHARE (GLC-SHARE) database Beta-Release Version 1.0 - FAO, Rome.

Soil Science Society of America. 2008. Glossary of soil science terms. Available at https://www.soils.org/publications/soils-glossary Hole, F.D. & Campbell, J.B. 1985. Soil Landscape Analysis. Rowman and Allanheld, Totowa, NJ. 196 pp.

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Soil Survey Staff. 1993. "Soil Survey Manual". Soil Conservation Service. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 18.

UNCCD. 2011. Desertification: a visual synthesis. UN Convention to Combat Dersertification (UNCCD) Secretariat. 50 pp.

UNCED. 1992. United Nations Conference on Environment & Development Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3 to 14 June 1992. 351 pp.

UNEP. 2005. Chapter 22. Drylands Systems. In R., Hassan, R., Scholes & N. Ash, eds. Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing: Current State and Trends, Volume 1. pp. 623-662. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Island Press.

i  Land  tenure  systems  -­‐  Land  tenure  systems  refers  to  the  rules,  authorities,  institutions,  rights  and  norms  that  govern  access  to  and  control  over  land  and  related  resources  such  as  water.  It  defines  the  rules  and  rights  that  govern  the  appropriation,  cultivation  and  use  of  natural  resources  in  a  given  space  or  piece  of  land.  It  governs  who  can  use  what  resources,  for  how  long  and  under  what  conditions.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  not  land  and  water  itself  that  is  owned,  but  rights  and  duties  over  it.  A  land  tenure  system  is  made  up  of  rules,    authorities,  institutions  and  rights.  Land  tenure  systems  are  highly  complex.  National  and  local  situations  are  made  up  of  a  multiplicity  of  overlapping  (and  at  times  contradictory)  rules,  laws,  customs,  traditions,  perceptions  and  regulations  that  determine  how  people  use,  control  and  transfer  land  and  access  to  other  resources.  This  has  significant  implications  for  the  analysis  of  tenure  issues  and  their  significance  for  poverty  reduction.  In  many  cases,  for  example,  different  people  would  describe  the  land  tenure  situation  pertaining  to  a  specific  parcel  of  land  and  related  resources  in  very  different  terms.  (IFAD  Improving  access  to  land  and  tenure  security  Policy)