G |
| Gastroenteritis | An infection or irrigation of the gastro-intestinal tract (stomach and small intestines). Usually caused by a virus, bacteria, toxins, parasites or allergy. |
| Gastropods | Univalve or class of mollusks typically having a one-piece coiled shell and flattened muscular foot with a head bearing stalked eyes. |
| GCM (General Circulation Model) | Models that simulate complex processes in the atmosphere, including the impacts of climate change from future increases in green house gas emissions. GCMs provide a global overview and need to be downscalled for use at regional or local levels. |
| GDP (Gross Domestic Product) | The total market value of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year. GDP is measured by: total consumer, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports minus the value of imports . |
| Gender | The socially and culturally constructed roles, privileges, responsibilities, power and influence, social relations, expectations and value of men and women, girls and boys. There are significant differences in what women and men can or cannot do in one society when compared to another. In all cultures, the roles of women and men are distinct, as are their access to productive resources and their authority to make decisions. Typically, in most cases, men are held responsible for the productive activities outside the home, while the domain of women is the reproductive and productive activities within the home. In most societies, women have limited access to income, land, credit, education, limited ownership and control over these resources. |
| Gender mainstreaming | Defined by the United Nations as the: process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies and programmes, in any area and at different levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes, in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equality, and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality. |
| General Circulation Model (GCM) | Models that simulate complex processes in the atmosphere, including the impacts of climate change from future increases in green house gas emissions. GCMs provide a global overview and need to be downscalled for use at regional or local levels. |
| Genetic diversity | Refers to variety in genes or gene pools that exists within a species. |
| Genetic resource ownership | The debated issue of the ownership of any plant, animal, or microbial material that contains functioning genes that could be of actual or potential value. |
| Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) | Organisms whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. |
| Geographic Information System (GIS) | Computer-based system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, analysing and displaying geographic data. |
| Geography | The study of natural and human constructed phenomena relative to the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, etc. |
| Geohydrology | That branch of hydrology which deals with groundwater, taking into account the geological conditions. |
| Geology | The field of knowledge that studies the origin, structure, chemical composition, and history of the Earth and other planets. |
| Geomorphology | The field of knowledge that investigates the origin of landforms on the Earth and other planets. |
| GGP (Gross Geographic Product) | A particular area amounts to the total income or payment received by the production factors – (land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship) – for their participation in the production within that area. |
| GHG (greenhouse gases) | Gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The main greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. |
| Giardia | A genus of flagellated protozoan parasites of the phylum Metamonada that colonise and reproduce in the small intestines of vertebrates. |
| GIEWS (Global Information and Early Warning System) | The Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) was established in 1975. The System has been assigned the mandate of constantly monitoring the global food supply and demand situation and alerting the international community to countries or regions threatened by serious food shortages or which have exceptional localised or exportable surpluses of food available for donor purchases and distribution to deficit areas. |
| Gini coefficient | A measure of inequality of income distribution measured in a ration with values between 0 and 1. A low Gini coefficient corresponds to a more equal distribution of wealth. The Gini Index is the Gini coefficient expressed as a percentage. |
| GIS (Geographic Information System) | Computer-based system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, analysing and displaying geographic data. |
| GLCN (Global Land Cover Network) | The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have launched the Global Land Cover Network (GLCN) with the objective to improve the availability of global information on land cover and its dynamics, harmonizing land cover mapping and monitoring at national, regional and global levels. |
| Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) | The Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) was established in 1975. The System has been assigned the mandate of constantly monitoring the global food supply and demand situation and alerting the international community to countries or regions threatened by serious food shortages or which have exceptional localised or exportable surpluses of food available for donor purchases and distribution to deficit areas. |
| Global Land Cover Network (GLCN) | The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have launched the Global Land Cover Network (GLCN) with the objective to improve the availability of global information on land cover and its dynamics, harmonizing land cover mapping and monitoring at national, regional and global levels. |
| GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) | Organisms whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. |
| Go thunya | A term used for both bloom and explode in the Setswana language. |
| Gofethla pula | Rainmaking Rites in Botswana. |
| Governance | The way that decisions are made in towns, cities, provinces, and countries. For those in government, it is the exercise of authority to manage the affairs of a constituency. While the government normally has the final say when it comes to public policies, programs, laws, and regulations, it is not the only player. Citizens, civil society organizations, and the private sector also have a role to play . |
| Governance indicators | A set of indicators used to measure the performance of a country or organization with respect to its adherence to the principles of good governance – Voice and Accountability; Political Stability and the Absence of Violence; Government Effectiveness; Regulatory Quality; Rule of Law; and Control of Corruption. |
| Government | The system of governing (democratic, socialist, etc.) and the structure and arrangement of the government office. The government of a nation usually consists of three sets of power, namely the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. |
| Grain | Cereal grasses. |
| Grasslands | Ecosystem whose dominant species are various types of grass. Found in regions where average precipitation is not great enough to support the growth of shrublands or forest. |
| Grazer-scraper | Animals that graze the organic layer of algae, microorganisms and associated organic matter on stone and other substrates in streams; includes species which pierce plant cells and suck out the fluids. |
| Green water | The water supply for all non-irrigated vegetation, including forests and woodlands, grasslands and rain-fed crops. A somewhat wider interpretation of green water may also be used, referring also to the water that is available in the root zone. |
| Greenhouse gases (GHG) | Gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The main greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. |
| Grey water | Any household wastewater with the exception of wastewater from toilets, which is known as blackwater. |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | The total market value of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year. GDP is measured by: total consumer, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports minus the value of imports . |
| Gross Geographic Product (GGP) | A particular area amounts to the total income or payment received by the production factors – (land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship) – for their participation in the production within that area. |
| Gross production | Total production of organic matter in a given area per unit time. |
| Groundwater | The water that fills the pore spaces in soil, sand, gravel and in fractures and openings in the rocks (referred together as ‘formation���) below the surface. The portion of the formation that is filled with groundwater is known as the ‘Aquifer’. |
| Groundwater discharge | The volumetric flow rate of groundwater through an aquifer. |
| Groundwater services | Systems that include underground water reservoirs in order to provide groundwater for supply. |
| Group | Term used to describe two or more continguous or associated geological formations. |
