GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS
of terms related to the biodiversity

target species (opp.: bycatch)

The intended catch of a fishery.

taxon (pl. taxa)

The named classification unit (e.g. Panthera tigris, Panthera, Felidae, Carnivora or Mammalia) to which individuals, or sets of species, are assigned. Lower taxa are those at subspecies and species level (e.g. Panthera tigris sumatrae). Higher taxa are those above the species level (at genus, family, order, class, etc. level; e.g. Panthera, Felidae, Carnivora, Mammalia).

taxonomy

- The naming and assignment of organisms to taxa. - The classification of animals and plants based upon natural relationships.

terminator technology (see also: traitor technology)

The genetic engineering of plants to produce sterile seeds. It is considered the most morally offensive application of agricultural biotechnology, because over 1.4 billion people depend on farm-saved seeds.

theory of local existence

Suggests that the number of species increases or decreases depending on how the environment influences species production, exchange and extinction at any particular time.

threatened species

- Species that are often genetically impoverished of low fecundity, dependent on patchy or unpredictable resources (resource), extremely variable in population density, persecuted or otherwise prone to extinction in human-dominated landscapes. - A U.S. technical classification referring to a species that is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future, throughout all or a significant portion of its range. These species are defined as vulnerable taxa outside the United States by the IUCN.

tissue culture (also: in vitro culture)

- A technique in which portions of a plant or animal are grown on an artificial culture medium; - In vitro methods of propagating cells from animal or plant tissue.

total economic value

The sum of use and non-use values with due consideration of any trade-offs or mutually exclusive uses or functions of the resource / habitat in question.

total extracts

Contain the whole spectrum of ingredients present in the original herb, plus any new active compounds formed during processing.

traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

The primary healthcare for 20% of the world's population, the system of medicine developed over thousands of years in China which treats the patient holistically, and includes herbal preparations - usually combinations of between five and ten species.

traditional knowledge

The knowledge, innovations and practices of local and indigenous communities. As used in the CBD, those elements of traditional knowledge that are relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

traditional resource rights

The term TRR encompasses intellectual property rights, but denotes broader 'bundles of rights' including for example, human rights, land rights, religious rights, and cultural property.

traitor technology

Also known as genetic use restriction technology (GURT), refers to the use of an external chemical to switch on or off a plant's genetic traits.

transformation

Uptake of naked DNA by a competent recipient strain.

transgenic

Organisms into which DNA from another genotype is introduced by, for example, micro-injection or retroviral infection.

translocation

Switching of a segment of a chromosome to another chromosome.

tribal peoples (also: native peoples or indigenous peoples)

People whose ancestors inhabited a place or country when persons from another culture or ethnic background arrived on the scene and dominated them through conquest, settlement or other means and who today live more in conformity with their own social, economic, and cultural customs and traditions than with those of the country of which they now form a part.

trophic

Referring to the food or nutrients available to and used within a population, community, or ecosystem.

trophic level

Position in the food chain or pyramid, determined by the number of energy-transfer steps to that level; for example, herbivores (organisms that eat plants) constitute one trophic level.