N |
| National Poverty Alleviation Plans | Many less developed countries have established strategic plans to coordinate public and private efforts to combat poverty. These plans normally aim to develop income-generating activities that broaden and strengthen self-employment, small enterprises, and/or community enterprises producing sustainable products and services. |
| National water law | A country´s legislation which regulates all the different aspects revolving around water resources. |
| Natural capital | The stock of all natural resources, including water, soil, air, minerals, flora, and fauna. |
| Natural resource | Any matter or energy obtained from the environment that is used and valued by humans. Forests, water, soils, and air are examples of natural resources. |
| Nematode | Worms with an unsegmented body; abundant in marine and freshwater habitats, soil, and as parasites of plants and animals. |
| Net production | The rate of gross accumulation of organic matter minus the losses of organic matter to respiration and other processes. |
| NGO | Non-Government Agency |
| Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) | Formally launched in 1999, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) provides an agreed basin-wide framework to fight poverty and promote socio-economic development in the region. |
| Nitrate | Form of nitrogen commonly found in the soil and used by plants for building amino acids, DNA and proteins. It is commonly produced by the chemical modification of nitrite by specialized bacteria. Chemical formula for nitrate is NO3-. |
| Nutrient | Any food, chemical element or compound an organism requires to live, grow, or reproduce. |
| Nutrient Cycling | The pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both the biotic and abiotic compartments of the earth. |
