glossary

A measure of annualized future losses over the long term, derived from probabilistic risk models (UNISDR, 2013).

Infrastructure that provides services considered fundamental for human development, growth, safety, and security.

Adjustments in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli and their effects. It refers to changes in processes, practices and structures to moderate potential damages or to benefit from opportunities associated with climate change (UNFCCC, n.d. a).

A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods (UNFCCC, 1992).

Local, national or transnational financing, drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing, that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change (UNFCCC, n.d. b).

Potential liability that may occur in the future depending on the disaster-related outcome of a hazard impact. In disaster risk evaluations, contingent liability refers to future projected damage and loss that must be paid for by the government, individuals, private sector, or others.

The physical structures, facilities, networks, and other assets, which provide services that are indispensable to the social and economic functioning of society, and which are necessary for managing disaster risk.

The potential loss of life, injury, and/or destroyed and damaged assets, which could occur in a system, society, or community in a specific period, determined probabilistically as a function of hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity.
Extensive risk, the risk of low-severity, high-frequency hazardous events and disasters, mainly but not exclusively associated with highly localized hazards.
Intensive risk, the risk of high-severity, mid- to low-frequency disasters, mainly associated with major hazards.

The services provided by infrastructure, such as water and wastewater, power and energy, transport, telecommunications, health, and education that are essential for social and economic development. (Definition adopted in this Report)

Engineered physical structures that underpin energy, transport, communications (including wireless and digital), built form, water and sanitation, and solid-waste management systems and that protect human lives and livelihood.

Individual assets, networks and systems that provide specific services to support the functioning of a community or society.

The series of stages during the lifetime of an infrastructure asset, starting from planning, prioritization and funding to the design, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning.

The capacity to plan, finance, design, implement, manage, operate, and maintain infrastructure systems (Hertie School of Governance, 2016).

Maintenance is a cycle of activities designed and undertaken to preserve the optimal functioning of infrastructure, including in adverse conditions. It is a necessary precondition for the preservation of its operational capability, and to guarantee service continuity.

Arrangements of infrastructure components and linkages that provide a service or services.

Facilities at the local level, including water, drainage and sanitation networks, road, river and rail networks, bridges, health, and education facilities, as well as other local facilities services to individuals, households, communities, and businesses in their current locations.

Actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use, and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services, and resilience and biodiversity benefits (UNEP, 2023). NbIS is used in this report to refer to the application of nature-based solutions to address infrastructure requirements, in other words, directly connecting the natural environment with the built environment.

A set of infrastructure projects and assets (accounting for the existing stock of assets), and future assets in early development and construction stages prior to project commissioning, typically presented as a sequence of proposed investment opportunities over time that align with and are supportive of long term climate and development objectives (OECD, 2018).

Alternative or back-up means created within an infrastructure system to accommodate disruption, extreme pressures, or surges in demand. It includes diversity, i.e., the presence of multiple ways to achieve a given need or fulfil a particular function.

Ability of an infrastructure asset or system to perform the desired function based on specified requirements over time without interruption or degradation.

The ability of individuals, households, communities, cities, institutions, systems, and society to prevent, resist, absorb, adapt, respond, and recover positively, efficiently and effectively when faced with a wide range of risks, while maintaining an acceptable level of functioning and without compromising long term prospects for sustainable development, peace and security, human rights and well-being for all. (UN, 2020).

The value of reduced future asset loss and damage avoided service disruption, wider social, economic, and environmental co-benefits, and reduced systemic risk, that accrue over the lifecycle of an infrastructure system. (Definition adopted in this Report)

Infrastructure systems and networks, the components, and assets thereof, and the services they provide, that can resist and absorb disaster impacts, maintain adequate levels of service continuity during crises, and swiftly recover in such a manner that future risks are reduced or prevented.

The resilience of social, economic, territorial, and environmental systems at all scales, that conditions the ability of infrastructure assets and the services they provide to resist and absorb disaster impacts. (Definition adopted in this Report)

In the context of infrastructure, systemic risk is a cumulative risk to a system as an outcome of physical, biological, social, environmental, or technological shocks and stresses. These may be internal or external to the system. Impact on individual components of the system (assets, networks, and subsystems) becomes systemic due to interdependence and interactions between them.