IB Geography 3 Global Resource Consumption and Security Key Definitions

Absolute poverty is a lack of income or consumption needed to meet a fixed minimum standard of basic needs.

Biocapacity is the ability of biologically productive land and water to regenerate renewable resources and absorb wastes, especially carbon dioxide.

A Boserupian perspective argues that population pressure can drive technological and agricultural innovation, increasing output.

A circular economy is a systems approach that keeps products and materials in use through repair, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling while reducing waste and new extraction.

E-waste is discarded electrical and electronic equipment and its components.

An ecological footprint measures the environmental impact of human activities, expressed as the amount of land and water needed to produce resources and absorb waste.

The ecological footprint is a theoretical measurement of the amount of land and water a population (or an individual) requires to fulfil all resource needs and to sequester the carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, under prevailing technology. It is measured in global hectares (gha).

Economic water scarcity occurs when water is available but people cannot access it because infrastructure, investment or institutions are inadequate.

Embedded water, also called virtual water, is the freshwater used to produce a good or service and transferred indirectly when it is traded.

An energy pathway is the route that an energy source follows from production through transport and distribution to the final user.

Energy security is reliable access to energy supplies at an affordable price in both the short and long term.

Evapotranspiration is the total output of water from the drainage basin directly back into the atmosphere.

Extended producer responsibility makes producers financially or physically responsible for products after consumers discard them.

Food security exists when people have reliable physical and economic access to enough safe and nutritious food for an active, healthy life.

A global hectare is a standardized hectare with world-average biological productivity, used to compare ecological footprints and biocapacity.

A multifaceted process, involving economic, political, social, and cultural integration leading to increasing interdependence of places.

Governance refers to how decisions are made and implemented by governments and institutions.

International waste trade is the cross-border movement of waste for reuse, recycling, recovery or disposal.

1. The artificial application of water to the soil to assist in the growth of crops.
2. A lifeline for agriculture in arid regions, enabling crop cultivation where rainfall is insufficient.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is a measure developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) to assess poverty beyond income-based measures.

Municipal solid waste is everyday solid waste collected or managed by local authorities from households and similar commercial or institutional sources.

A neo-Malthusian perspective argues that population and consumption can grow faster than finite resources and environmental systems can support.

The new global middle class is the growing group, especially in emerging economies, whose income is above poverty levels and supports discretionary consumption.

Physical water scarcity occurs when available water is insufficient to meet demand.