• Air Quality: The measure of the healthiness and safety of the air within our surroundings. The condition of the air in a specific area, with a focus on the presence of pollutants, particulate matter, and gases that may impact human health.
• Biodegradation: The decomposition of organic material by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi.
• Biomedical Waste: Any kind of waste containing infectious materials or potentially infectious substances.
• Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases emitted directly or indirectly by activities from an individual, organization, event, or product.
• Climate Change: Climate change, as per the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, (UNFCCC), refers to a change in the state of climate that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. These changes may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle, or caused by human activities, particularly through the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Community Health and Environmental Justice: Addressing disparities in environmental risks and the impact of these risks on vulnerable communities, and advocating for fair and just environmental policies.
• Degradation: The process by which a natural area is degraded through agricultural, industrial, or commercial activities.
• Disease Vector: Any agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism; mosquitoes are a significant vector in Mauritius.
• Eco-friendly Living: Sustainable practices that promote a healthier lifestyle and reduce the environmental footprint, such as energy-efficient living and waste reduction.
• Ecosystem Services: The benefits humans derive from ecosystems, including clean air and water, and crop pollination.
• Environmental Disparities: Inequalities in environmental risks and access to clean and safe environments, often affecting marginalized and underserved populations.
• Environmental Health Policy and Regulations: Laws, regulations, and policies established by governments to protect public health and the environment.
• Environmental Health Research: The scientific study of environmental factors and their impact on human health, often conducted by researchers and institutions.
• Environmental Health: The branch of public health that focuses on how our environment, including air, water, soil, and the places we live, work, and play, can affect our health.
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): The evaluation of the possible positive or negative impacts that a proposed project may have on the environment.
• Environmental Justice: Advocating for fair and equitable treatment of all people, regardless of race, class, or income, in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
• Exposure Assessment: The process of estimating or measuring the magnitude, frequency, and duration of exposure to an agent, along with the number and characteristics of the population exposed.
• Fecal Coliforms: Types of bacteria found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, their presence in water indicates possible contamination by fecal matter.
• Flood Risk Management: The process of planning and implementing measures to manage flood risk and flood incidents.
• Green Building: A building that, in its design, construction, or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on the climate and natural environment.
• Green Space: Areas of vegetation in urban environments, which can improve air quality and provide recreational opportunities.
• Habitat Destruction: The process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species.
• Hazardous Chemicals: Substances that pose a risk to human health and the environment due to their chemical properties and potential for harm.
• Health Impact Assessment (HIA): A process that assesses the potential health effects of a policy, project, or development on a community or population.
• Hydrology: The branch of science concerned with the properties of the earth's water, especially its movement in relation to land.
• Invasive Species: Non-native species that cause harm to the environment, human economy, or health in new environments where they do not naturally occur.
• Juglone: A chemical released by the roots of walnut trees which can be toxic to other plants, an example of allelopathy.
• Keystone Species: A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.
• Landfill: Sites for the disposal of waste materials by burial, which is the oldest form of waste treatment.
• Lead Contamination: The presence of lead, a toxic substance, in the natural environment, often due to human activities such as the use of leaded gasoline and lead-based paints.
• Microplastics: Extremely small pieces of plastic debris in the environment resulting from the disposal and breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste.
• Mitigation: The action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something, such as environmental impacts.
• Noise Pollution: Harmful or annoying levels of noise, as from airplanes, industry, etc.
• Nonpoint Source Pollution: Pollution that does not arise from a single direct source, such as runoff pollution.
• Occupational Health and Safety: The field that focuses on promoting and maintaining the health and well-being of workers, addressing workplace hazards, and ensuring safe working conditions.
• Organic Pollutants: Chemical substances that enter the environment naturally or through human activity, which are harmful to health and persist in the environment.
• Ozone Layer: A layer in the earth's stratosphere at an altitude of about 6.2 miles (10 km) containing a high concentration of ozone, which absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth from the sun.
• Particulate Matter (PM): Tiny particles of solid or liquid matter associated with the Earth's atmosphere, which can affect human health.
• Pesticides: Substances used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals.
• Quarantine: Restricting the movement of people, animals, or goods to prevent the spread of disease or pests.
• Rainwater Harvesting: The accumulation and deposition of rainwater for reuse on-site, rather than allowing it to run off.
• Recycling: The process of converting waste into reusable material.
• Safe practices for recreational water use: Guidelines and measures to ensure the safety of individuals engaging in water-based recreational activities.
• Sewage Treatment: The process of removing contaminants from municipal wastewater, containing mainly household sewage plus some industrial wastewater.
• Sustainable Agriculture: Farming practices that prioritize environmental conservation, resource efficiency, and the production of healthy food.
• Sustainable Development: Economic development conducted without depletion of natural resources.
• Thermal Pollution: Harmful rise in the temperature of a river or lake that is generally due to the disposal of overly warm water from industrial processes.
• Toxicology: The study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the environment.
• Ultraviolet Radiation: A form of energy traveling through space, coming from the sun, and harmful to living tissue.
• Urbanization: The process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas.
• Vector Control: Methods to control or eradicate disease-carrying organisms such as mosquitoes, ticks, and rats.
• Vector-Borne Diseases: Illnesses transmitted to humans through the bite of infected arthropods (such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas) that act as disease carriers.
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): Organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary room temperature.
• Waste Management: The activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
• Water Quality and Health: The relationship between the quality of water and its impact on human health.
• Water Quality: The measure of the purity and safety of water for various uses, including drinking, recreational activities, and ecological health.
• Waterborne Diseases: Illnesses caused by the ingestion of water contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms or chemical pollutants.
• Wetlands: Land areas that are saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally.
• Xeriscaping: Landscaping designed specifically for areas that are susceptible to drought, or for properties where water conservation is practiced.
• Yellow Fever: A viral disease of typically short duration. In severe cases, the liver is damaged and jaundice occurs.
• Yield: The full amount of an agricultural or industrial product.
• Zero Waste: A philosophy that encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused, with no trash sent to landfills or incinerators.
• Zoonotic Diseases: Diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans under natural conditions.
