Some definations

Baor - An abandoned meander isolated from the main stream channel by deposition, and filled with water.

Beel - Low lying depression on a floodplain, sometimes drying up in the dry season and small compared to Haor.

Bog - A wetland characterized by peat deposits, acidic water, and extensive surface mats of sphagnum moss. Bogs receive their water from precipitation rather than from runoff, groundwater, or streams, with decreases the availability of nutrients needed for plant growth.

Climate - The average weather conditions in a region over long periods of time.                             

Cropping pattern - The yearly sequence of growing crops followed in a given locality is called the cropping pattern of that locality.

Deforestation- The removal of a forest stand where the land is put to a non-forest use.

Ecosystem - An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant, animal, and microorganism communities and the nonliving environment interacting as a functional unit.

Ecosystem services - Outputs (goods and services) derived from ecosystems that benefit people. These include provisioning services, regulating services, supporting services, and cultural services.

Endangered species - Endangered species means that the species has a very small population and is at a great or greater risk of becoming extinct.

Fallow land - Cropland that is not seeded for a season; it may or may not be plowed. The land may be cultivated or chemically treated for control of weeds and other pests or may be left unaltered.

Farm - An area of land and its buildings used for growing crops and rearing animals, typically under the control of one owner or manager.

Fen - A wetland characterized by slow internal drainage from groundwater movement and seepage from upslope sources. Fens are characterized by peat accumulation, but due to the seepage of nutrient-rich water, fens are typically less acidic and more nutrient-rich than bogs.

Flash flood - A flood, which is caused by heavy or excessive rainfall in a short period of time over a relatively small area, is referred to as flash flood. In flash flood, water level rises and falls quite rapidly with little or no advance weather forecast / warning.

Handicrafts - Handicrafts are mostly defined as "items made by hand, often with the use of simple tools and are generally artistic and/or traditional in nature. They are also objects of utility and objects of decoration.

Haor - Saucers shaped, seasonally flooded, inter fluvial areas are called hoar. The haor basin is a low lying bowl-shaped depressions between the natural levees of a river subject to monsoon flooding every year.

Homestead -The dwelling house and its adjoining land where a family resides.

Livelihood - A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources) and activities required for a means of living.

Marsh - A water body covered by water for at least part of the year and characterized by aquatic and grasslike vegetation, especially without peat-like accumulation.

Natural resources - The resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by humanity, in a naturalform. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversityand geodiversityexistent in various ecosystems.

Provisioning Services - The products obtained from ecosystems, including, for example, genetic resources, food and fiber, and fresh water.

RAMSER Convention - The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat, or Ramsar Convention, is an international treatydesigned to address global concerns regarding wetland loss and degradation. The primary purposes of the treaty are to list wetlands of international importance and to promote their wise use, with the ultimate goal of preserving the world's wetlands.

Regulating Services - The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, including, for example, the regulation of climate, water, and some human diseases.

Relative prevalence - Relative prevalence of homestead tree species is the population of the species per homestead x Percent homesteads with the species.

Siltation/sedimentation - Siltation is the pollution of water by fine particulate terrestrial elasticmaterial, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments, and to the increased accumulation (temporary or permanent) of fine sediments on bottoms where they are undesirable. Siltation is most often caused by soil erosion or sediment spill.

Species - A group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.

Species richness - Species Richness is a relative term that refers to the number of species in a community and is directly associated with measuring the diversity of species in a given area.

Supporting Services - Ecosystem services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services. Some examples include biomass production, production of atmospheric oxygen, soil formation and retention, nutrient cycling, water cycling, and provisioning of habitat.

Sustainable livelihood - A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base.

Threshing - To separate the grain or seeds from a cereal plant by some mechanical means, as by beating with a flail or by the action of a threshing machine.

Trade-offs - Management choices that intentionally or otherwise change the type, magnitude, and relative mix of services provided by ecosystems.

Variety - A variety is a strain released for commercial cultivation by a variety release committee of National Seed Board (NSB).

Wetland - Wetlands are �areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters�. Thus the term wetland groups together a wide range of inland, coastal and marine habitats which share a number of common features.