Glossary
Biodiversity is short for biological
diversity and means the variety of life forms on earth.
Catchment (watershed)
A catchment is an area of land that collects water. The water flows
to the lowest point through water systems, like rivers, creeks,
lakes and dams. Catchments also include groundwater, waste water
and water related infrastructure. We all live in a catchment and
caring for our waterways is everyone's responsibility.
Degradation
When we degrade something, we reduce its value. We often talk of
degradation to the environment in relation to human actions or other
processes that have a negative impact on the value of the environment.
For example, animals introduced with hard hooves can degrade the
land by trampling the soil.
Estuary
An estuary is an area of water where the river meets the sea, and
fresh and salt water mix together.
Groundwater is water that occurs
naturally below ground level and is accessed by pumping from bores
and wells.
Habitat is the place in which a particular
species lives; the home of a species.
Non-renewable resource sources
are not replaceable within human timeframes. This includes coal,
gas, oil and many mineral resources, like copper.
Renewable resource sources are those
replaced within a reasonable time frame by natural processes. These
sources of energy do not create as much pollution and use resources
that we are able to keep using - like the sun and wind! Energy created
from renewable resources is sometimes called green power.
Resource is a material that is found
naturally in the environment and is used for food or energy, or
to produce other goods, like timber or coal.
Surface water is any water that
occurs on the land surface including run-off, creeks, rivers, streams,
dams and reservoirs.
Sustainability is the ability
of the earth, with all its resources, to keep going into the future,
and keep providing a healthy home for humans and all other species
of plants and animals.
Sustainability is a very important part of environmental management
and monitoring.
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