Glossary
A guide to acronyms (and abbreviations), words and phrases used throughout the Environment Canterbury website. Look in the 'By Subject' tab to find groups of terms relevant to a specific topic.
Some terms might have definitions in addition to those in this glossary.
Use the online Māori Dictionary to help with translating words between Te Reo Māori/English.
- Ecological health
- refers to the condition of an ecosystem and its ability to function normally supporting the life-forms and processes naturally associated with it.
- Ecology
- the relationship between organisms, and between organisms and their physical surroundings, and the study of them.
- Ecosystem
- the interactions between plants and animals and the places in which they live—streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, drylands, forests and bush and the coastal marine environment.
- Endemic
- taxa that are naturally restricted to within a certain area.
- Engineering lifelines
- transport, energy, communications, water, and wastewater facilities and networks.
- Environmental incidents
- calls to the Pollution Hotline are logged as environmental incidents. Types of incidents reported include pollution in waterways, unauthorised water usage, dumping of hazardous materials and domestic waste, earthworks disturbing waterways, and outdoor fires.
- Enviroschools
- the Enviroschools programme supports children and young people to plan, design and implement sustainability actions that are important to them and their communities. The programme provides pathways from early childhood through primary, secondary school and beyond. Using our collaborative approach of building strong relationships and sharing information, we are growing a collective puna mātauranga or pool of knowledge.
- Enviroschools Canterbury
- in Canterbury, Enviroschools is coordinated by Environment Canterbury in partnership with the Department of Conservation, Waimakariri, Selwyn, Timaru, Hurunui, Mackenzie and Christchurch City Councils.
- Erosion
- the physical, chemical or biological processes that wear the land surface away by detaching and moving particles of soil.
- Erosion and sediment control guidelines
- provide guidance for minimising the adverse effects of erosion and sedimentation while planning, constructing and maintaining a project.
- Ethnicity
- is the ethnic group or groups that people identify with or feel they belong to. Ethnic groups are not mutually exclusive, because people can and do identify with more than one ethnicity. Where people do identify with more than one ethnicity, they may identify more strongly with one ethnicity than another, but this cannot be assumed. People may also change their sole or main ethnic identity over time.
- E
- East
- E. coli
- Escherichia coli bacteria
- ECan
- Environment Canterbury (the Canterbury Regional Council)
- ECan Act
- Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Act 2010
- ECC
- Emergency Coordination Centre
- ECE
- Early Childhood Education
- EDS
- Environmental Defence Society
- EECA
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
- EfS
- Education for Sustainability
- EFTPOS
- Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale
- eg
- exempli gratia = for example
- EMA
- Emergency Mobile Alert
- EMS
- Environmental Management System
- ENSO
- El Niño Southern Oscillation
- EOC
- Emergency Operations Centre
- EPA
- Environmental Protection Agency
- EPT
- Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies) and Trichoptera (cased and free-living caddis flies)
- ERMA
- Environmental Risk Management Authority
- ERP
- Estimated Residential Population
- ESR
- the Institute of Environmental Science and Research
- et al
- et alii = and others
- etc
- et cetera = and the rest
- ETS
- Emissions Trading Scheme
- EVT
- Evapotranspiration
- Expo
- Exposition
- ext
- extension
- extn
- extension
Environment Canterbury © 2023
Retrieved: 7:11am, Thu 28 Sep 2023
https://www.ecan.govt.nz/info/glossary/