Definitions on Reducing forest emissions starting with B

Definitions

Below is a directory of terms used in the debate about reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Most of the terms have been reproduced from the UN University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and the Meridian Institute.

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B

Bali Action Plan

One part of the Bali Roadmap, the Bali Action Plan is the name given to a decision taken by the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC that specifically concerns negotiations on future amendments of the convention itself. The decision establishes an Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action to consider specific issues, also set out in the Action Plan, with a view to reaching agreement at the UNFCCC negotiations to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Bali roadmap

The collection of decisions and conclusions adopted by the parties to the UNFCCC and to the Kyoto Protocol at the 2007 UNFCCC conference in Bali, Indonesia. The roadmap provides a process for agreeing future revisions and additions to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. It sets the aim of finalising all post-2012 discussions by the UNFCCC negotiations to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Baseline

Also called 'reference line', a baseline can refer to three concepts: (i) the historical baseline, that is, the rate of deforestation and forest degradation (DD) and the resulting CO2 emissions over the past x years; (ii) the projected DD under a business-as-usual scenario; and (iii) a benchmark for rewarding the country (or project).

Biodiversity

The number of living organisms, and the variability among them and their environments.

Biological Diversity

Biological Diversity — more commonly known as biodiversity — is a collective term used to describe the totality and variety of living organisms on Earth. Biodiversity is usually classified at three levels — genes, species and ecosystems.

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