E
Early Warning The provision of timely and effective information, through identified
institutions, that allows individuals exposed to a hazard, to take
action to avoid or reduce the risk and prepare for effective response.
Early warning systems include of three primary elements (i) forecasting
of impending events, (ii) processing and dissemination of warnings to
public authorities and population, and (iii) undertaking appropriate and
timely actions.
Ebb TideThe period of tide between high water and low water. A falling tide.
Eco-development A process of socio-economic development in which the sustainable use of environmental resources has priority.
Ecological risk assessment An ecological risk assessment evaluates the potential adverse effects
that human activities have on the plants and animals that make up
ecosystems. The risk assessment process provides a way to develop,
organize and present scientific information so that it is relevant to
environmental decisions. When conducted for a particular place such as a
watershed, the ecological risk assessment process can be used to
identify vulnerable and valued resources, prioritize data collection
activity, and link human activities with their potential effects.
Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) An area of highly concentrated biological activity of a type that is
especially valuable for maintaining biodiversity and/or resource
productivity; an ecologically sensitive area (ESA).
Economic Shocks see Shocks.
Economic Sustainability It is usually associated with the ability to maintain a given level of
income and expenditure over time. It can be defined in relation to
expenditure by individuals, households, projects, programmes, government
departments, countries etc. Maintaining a given level of expenditure,
necessarily requires that the income/revenue which supports that
expenditure should also be sustainable over time. In the context of the
livelihoods of the poor, economic sustainability’s achieved if a
minimum level of economic welfare can be achieved and sustained.
Economic sustainability is one of a number of dimensions of
sustainability that also include environmental sustainability,
institutional sustainability and social sustainability.
Economy Acquiring human and material resources at the appropriate quality and quantity at the lowest cost.
Ecosystem The complete ecological system operating in a given geographic unit,
including the biological community and the physical environment,
functioning as an ecological unit in nature.
Ecotone The transition or border area lying between two different ecological
communities, as between a marsh system and a forest system.
Ecotourism Tourist activity attracted to environmental resources and based, usually, on a conservation theme.
Effluent the outflow of a sewer, industry pipe, or other waste discharge.
Embankment A bank protecting land from flooding.
Embankment A bank built by
people to keep out the sea. Sometimes called a 'dyke'.
Empowerment Occurs where people take greater control over the decisions, assets and
Policy, Institutions and Processes that affect their livelihoods.
Entry point An Entry Point refers to the area or activity in which
intervention efforts are initially directed. Examples include:
capacity building, support to micro-credit, investment in
infrastructure, a watershed programme, efforts to change policy etc.
Environmental checklists One of a number of tools that can be useful in SL
Analysis. Environmental checklists contain recommended issues and
factors to ask about to gain a better understanding of the relationship
between the livelihoods of the poor and their environment.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Detailed prediction of the impact of a development project on
environment and natural resources with recommendations as to
acceptability of the project, need for minimizing/eliminating/offsetting
adverse effects, and a management plan to accomplish these
countermeasures; a generic term for all types of impact assessment is
Environmental Assessment (EA).
Environmental management plan A plan that describes specific conservation actions
that will be undertaken during project planning, construction,
operation, and maintenance to lessen the effects of the project on the
environment and to ensure that sustainable development is achieved; it
includes real time and retroactive monitoring of project effects.
Environmental Risks Risks to natural ecosystems or to the aesthetics, sustainability or amenity of the natural world.
Environmental sustainability Achieved when the productivity of life-supporting
natural resources is conserved or enhanced for use by future
generations. By productivity we mean its ability to produce a wide
range of environmental services, such as the supply of food and water,
flood protection, waste management etc. Environmental sustainability is
one of a number of dimensions of sustainability that also include,
institutional sustainability, economic sustainability and social
sustainability.
Equity Criterion that may entail modifying a political decision so as to
achieve a particular distribution of incomes in the economy through,
for instance, subsidies to public transport for low income groups or to
achieve regional development objectives.
Erosion Erosion is the wearing away of land by the
action of natural forces. On a
beach, the carrying away of
beach
material by wave
action, tidal currents,
littoral currents, or by
deflation
ErosionThe wearing away of
rocks, e.g. when a wave pushes sand or pebbles against a cliff, slowly wearing
it away.
Escarpment A more or less continuous line of cliffs or steep slopes facing in one
general direction which are caused by erosion or faulting.
Estuary A semi-enclosed littoral basin (embayment) of the
coast in which fresh river water entering at its head mixes with saline
water entering from the ocean. Estuaries are of particular ecological
value and significance because they provide important natural values
concerning, for example, fish and wildlife habitat, flood protection,
and maintenance of water quality.
Eutrophication The process of enrichment of water which leads to excessive growth of
algae and other aquatic plants from the introduction of an over supply
of nutrients such as nitrates or phosphates.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) The maritime zone adjacent to and extending 200 nautical miles beyond
the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured-internationally
authorized by the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the
Sea; the coastal state has sovereign rights to explore, exploit,
conserve and manage the natural resources in this zone.
Exposure The contact or co-occurrence of a stressor with a receptor.
Exposure profile The product of characterization of exposure in the analysis phase of
ecological risk assessment. The exposure profile summarizes the
magnitude and spatial and temporal patterns of exposure for the
scenarios described in the conceptual model.
Exposure scenario A set of assumptions concerning how an exposure may take place,
including assumptions about the exposure setting, stressor
characteristics, and activities that may lead to exposure.
External support Support provided from outside, e.g. government support for a village
community, or donor support for a government department etc.
Extreme Event Event, which has a very low annual exceedance probability (AEP).
Sometimes defined as an event beyond the credible limit of
extrapolation and therefore dependent on the length of record and the
quality of the data available.