Agenda 21
Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment. (UNDESA)

Assimilative capacity
Assimilative capacity can be defined as 'the ability of a natural system to accept and process anthropogenic inputs or perturbations, without deleterious effect'. (OEF Forum)

Biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part. This includes within species (genetic diversity), between species and of ecosystems (UNEP-GEO3, 2002).

Capacity Building
The ability of a country to follow sustainable development paths is determined to a large extent by the capacity of its people and its institutions as well as by its ecological and geographical conditions. Specifically, capacity building encompasses the country's human, scientific, technological, organizational, institutional and resource capabilities. Chapter 37, Agenda 21.

Carbon Sequestration
The process of removing additional carbon from the atmosphere and depositing it in other "reservoirs," principally through changes in land use. In practical terms, carbon sequestration occurs mostly through the expansion of forests. (UNFCCC)

Decommissioning
When offshore production installations reach the end of their useful life, the industry is often faced with the major engineering challenge of removing massive structures from site and disposing of them in a safe and environmentally acceptable way. As evidenced by the Brent Spar 'controversy', opinions may differ as to exactly what constitutes "environmentally acceptable".
[From: Environmental Management in Oil and Gas Exploration: An overview of issues and management approaches. (E&P Forum /UNEP, 1997)]

Desertification
Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. (UNCCD)

Environment
There are many definitions of the term "environment" - this one highlights both the biophysical and human dimensions, and the importance of considering interactions between the various components. The environment is:
· Ecosystems and their constituent parts, including people and communities;
· All natural and physical resources;
· Intrinsic and amenity values;
· Social, economic, aesthetic and cultural conditions which affect the above, or which are affected by the above (i.e. interactions).
(OEF Forum)

Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines an Environmental Management System (EMS) as "a systematic approach to dealing with the environmental aspects of an organization. It is a 'tool' that enables an organization of any size or type to control the impact of its activities, products or services on the natural environment (OEF Forum)

Flaring
The practice of burning off waste gas or oil during testing or production processes (OEF Forum)

Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines greenhouse gases as those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the earth's surface, the atmosphere and clouds. This property causes the greenhouse effect. Water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and ozone (O3) are the primary greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere. Moreover, there are a number of entirely human made greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as the halocarbons, and other chlorine- and bromine-containing substances. (OEF Forum)

Kyoto Protocol
An international agreement standing on its own, and requiring separate ratification by governments, but linked to the UNFCCC. The Kyoto Protocol, among other things, sets binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions by industrialized countries. The Protocol has yet to enter into force. (UNFCCC)

Life Cycle Management (LCM)
Is an integrated concept for managing the total life cycle of goods and services towards more sustainable production and consumption. (Life-Cycle Initiative, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Renewable Energy
Sources of renewable energy exist in the form of direct and indirect solar radiation, the heat of the earth (geothermal energy), and the gravitational effects of the moon that creates the tides. Renewable energy can be converted to many other energy forms. Electricity can be generated from solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower and ocean resources. Heat can be generated from solar, thermal and geothermal sources, while biofuels such as ethanol and methane can be obtained from combinations of renewable sources. (Natural selection: Evolving Choices for Renewable Energy Technology and Policy, United Nations Environment Program, UNEP)

Sustainable Development
Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs - Our Common Future (The Bruntland Report), World Commission on Environment and Development (1987).

Upstream/Downstream Oil and Gas Industry

Downstream Industry
Relates to oil and gas refining, marketing and distribution activities.
Upstream Industry
Oil and gas exploration, production and transportation activities up to refining. (Glossary of selected oil & gas industry terms) http://www.eandp.demon.nl/glossary/