Glossary

V

The worth of environmental assets. Categories of environmental values include: 

  • direct-use values – goods and services directly consumed by users (e.g. food or medicinal products) 
  • indirect-use values – indirect benefits arising from ecological systems (e.g. climate regulation) 
  • non-use values (e.g. benevolence) 
  • intrinsic value (i.e. environmental assets have a worth of their own regardless of usefulness to humans). 

Primary pollutant that reacts with oxides of nitrogen in a photochemical process to generate secondary pollutants (notably ozone). 

At high risk of extinction in the wild; likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Criteria are established by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).