IB Environmental systems and societies Topic 1: Foundation Key Definitions

Albedo refers to how much solar energy is reflected by the Earth's surface.

Anthropocentrism places human needs at the centre of decision-making but supports managing natural systems for long-term sustainability.

Biocapacity is the capacity of a biologically productive area to continuously provide renewable resources and assimilate the waste generated by human activities.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in an ecosystem, encompassing different levels of biological organization.

Biomass is the total mass of living organisms in a given area or volume.

Biosphere integrity refers to the capacity of ecosystems to maintain biodiversity (genes, species, functions) and continue providing essential ecological services.

The circular economy is an economic model that decouples economic growth from resource consumption by keeping materials, products, and resources in use for as long as possible.

Citizen science is the involvement of the general public in scientific research, particularly in collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on environmental systems.

Closed systems are systems that exchange energy but not matter with their surroundings.

The Doughnut Economics model, proposed by economist Kate Raworth, offers a framework to address these challenges by balancing human needs with planetary boundaries.

Ecocentrism is a philosophy that prioritizes the intrinsic value of nature and advocates for minimal human impact on the environment.

An ecological footprint is the measure of the amount of land and water area required to provide all resources a population consumes and absorb waste and emissions (e.g., CO₂ absorption by forests)

Economic sustainability refers to the development of economic structures and systems that allow for the long-term production and consumption of goods and services in a way that meets human needs without depleting natural resources or causing irreversible environmental damage.

A long-lasting loss of structure, biodiversity, and ecosystem function, where the system shifts to a new, less complex state.

Emergent properties are characteristics or behaviors that arise when individual components interact but are not present in the components themselves.

Environmental justice is the principle that all people, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or nationality, have the right to live in a clean, healthy environment and have fair access to natural resources.

Environmental sustainability refers to the use and management of natural resources in a way that ensures they can be replenished, and ecosystems can recover and regenerate over time.

An environmental value system (EVS) is a framework that shapes how individuals or groups perceive and respond to environmental issues.

Equilibrium refers to a state of balance within a system.

Flows are the processes that move energy, matter, or information within a system.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a common indicator of economic development that measures the monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country over a specific period.

Green GDP is a measure of economic development that adjusts traditional GDP by subtracting environmental costs, such as deforestation and air pollution.

Intrinsic value refers to the worth of something independent of its usefulness to humans.

An isolated system exchanges neither energy nor matter with its surroundings.