Glossary of terms
This part of the Regional Policy Statement provides the meanings of words used in the Statement. Where a word is followed by an asterisk '*', the meaning that follows is the meaning provided in section 2 [Interpretation] of the Resource Management Act. In the case of any inconsistency, the statutory definition prevails. Where a word is followed by a double asterisk '**' the meaning that follows is the meaning already adopted in one or more of the regional plans for Taranaki. Other sources, where used, are indicated accordingly.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | K |
| L | M | N | 0 | P | R | S | T | V | W |
Accelerated erosion** means intensification of the rate of erosion of the land surface (including soil, regolith and bedrock), induced by human activity.
Access strip* means a strip of land created by the registration of an easement in accordance with section 237B for the purpose of allowing public access to or along any river, or lake, or the coast, or to any esplanade reserve, esplanade strip, other reserve, or land owned by the local authority or by the Crown (but excluding all land held for a public work except land held, administered, or managed under the Conservation Act 1987 and the Acts named in Schedule 1 of the Act).
Act means the Resource Management Act 1991.
Advocate means to suggest, promote or recommend a course of action to implement the objectives and policies of the Regional Policy Statement in order to achieve the purpose of the Act.
Agrichemical means any substance whether inorganic or organic, human-made or naturally occurring, modified or in its original state that is used on production land or within public amenity areas including parks, reserves, pedestrian walkways, beaches and foreshore areas, road and rail verges or on, over or into water, to eradicate, modify or control flora or fauna. For the purposes of this Regional Policy Statement, agrichemicals do not include fertilisers, controlled substances and oral nutrition compounds.
Agricultural compound as defined in the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997 means
(a) any substance, mixture of substances or biological compound used or intended for use in the direct management of plants and animals, or to be applied to the land, place, or water on or in which the plants and animals are managed, for the purposes of -
(i) managing or eradicating pests, including vertebrate pests or
(ii) maintaining, promoting, or regulating plant or animal productivity and performance or reproduction or
(iii) fulfilling nutritional requirements or
(iv) the manipulation, capture or immobilisation of animals or
(v) diagnosing the condition of animals or
(vi) preventing or treating conditions of animals or
(vii) enhancing the effectiveness of an agricultural compound used for the treatment of plants and animals or
(viii) marking animals and
(b) includes -
(i) any veterinary medicine, substance, mixture of substances or biological compound used for post-harvest treatment of raw primary produce and
(ii) anything used or intended to be used as feed for animals and
(iii) any substance, mixture of substances or biological compound declared to be an agricultural compound for the purposes of this Act by Order in Council made under subsection (2).
Air means the mixture of gases enveloping the earth and forming the atmosphere.
Archaeological site means any place in New Zealand that:
a) either
i. was associated with human activity that occurred before 1900; or
ii. is the site of the wreck of any vessel where that wreck occurred before 1900; and
b) is or may be able through investigation by archaeological methods to provide evidence relating to the history of New Zealand.
As appropriate, as may be appropriate, when appropriate, where appropriate, mean that which is or may be appropriate as determined or resolved by the Taranaki Regional Council or relevant territorial authority or their officers acting under delegated authority under Section 34 of the Act.
Atmosphere means the air or mixture of gases which envelops the earth and comprises various layers representing changes in temperature, composition and electrical nature.
Amenity values* means those natural or physical qualities and characteristics of an area that contribute to people's appreciation of its pleasantness, aesthetic coherence, and cultural and recreational attributes.
(a) in relation to any river -
(i) for the purposes of esplanade reserves, esplanade strips, and subdivision, the space of land which the waters of the river cover at its annual fullest flow without overtopping its banks;
(ii) in all other cases, the space of land which the waters of the river cover at its fullest flow without overtopping its banks;
(b) in relation to any lake, except a lake controlled by artificial means -
(i) for the purposes of esplanade reserve, esplanade strips, and subdivision, the space of land which the waters of the lake cover at its annual highest level without exceeding its margin;
(ii) in all other cases, the space of land which the waters of the lake cover at its highest level without exceeding its margin;
(c) in relation to any lake controlled by artificial means, the space of land which the waters of the lake cover at its maximum permitted operating level; and
(d) in relation to the sea, the submarine areas covered by the internal waters and the territorial sea.
Benefits and costs* includes benefits and costs of any kind, whether monetary or non-monetary.
Best practicable option* in relation to a discharge of a contaminant or an emission of noise, means the best method for preventing or minimising the adverse effects on the environment having regard, among other things, to
(a) the nature of the discharge or emission and the sensitivity of the receiving environment to adverse effects; and
(b) the financial implications, and the effects on the environment, of that option when compared with other options; and
(c) the current state of technical knowledge and the likelihood that the option can be successfully applied.
Biological diversity (or biodiversity)* means the variability among living organisms, and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; including diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.
Coastal environment means an environment in which the coast is a significant part or element and includes all the coastal marine area. (Definition based on a discussion in the Report and recommendations of the board of Inquiry into the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, Department of Conservation (1994), Wellington.)
Coastal marine area* means the foreshore, seabed, and coastal water and the air space above the water -
(a) of which the seaward boundary is the outer limits of the territorial sea;
(b) of which the landward boundary is the line of mean high water springs, except that where that line crosses a river, the landward boundary at that point shall be whichever is the lesser of
(i) one kilometre upstream from the mouth of the river; or
(ii) the point upstream that is calculated by multiplying the width of the river mouth by five.
Coastal water* means seawater within the outer limits of the territorial sea and includes -
(a) seawater with a substantial freshwater component and
(b) seawater in estuaries, fiords, inlets, harbours or embayments.
Co-disposal means the landfill disposal of appropriate hazardous waste substances by mixing them, in an informed and predetermined manner, with municipal refuse, so as to use the attenuation and biochemical processes operating within the landfill to reduce the environmental effects of those hazardous substances to an insignificant level.
Community means a social group of any size, in a particular locality, who share common interests. A community includes a number of different groups around the region, including for example schools and other institutions.
Contaminant* includes any substance (including gases, odorous compounds, liquids, solids, and micro-organisms) or energy (excluding noise) or heat, that either by itself or in combination with the same, similar, or other substances, energy, or heat -
(a) when discharged into water, changes or is likely to change the physical, chemical or biological condition of water; or
(b) when discharged onto or into air, changes or is likely to change the physical, chemical, or biological condition of the land or air onto or into which it is discharged.
Controlled substances means substances that require a controlled substances licence to use under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act and includes vertebrate toxic agents or vertebrate pest control products and some fumigants.
Cultural values are those values that relate to the culture of a society.
Dam means an artificial barrier and its appurtenant structures that is constructed to hold back water and is used for the storage, control, taking, diversion or use of water.
Discharge* includes emit, deposit and allow to escape.
District plan* means an operative plan approved by a territorial authority under Schedule 1, and includes all operative changes to such a plan (whether arising from a review or otherwise).
District rule* means a rule made as part of a district plan or proposed district plan in accordance with section 76 and 77A (of the Act).
Ecosystem means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit. (United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992)
Effect* ... unless the context (of the Act) otherwise requires, the term 'effect' includes -
(a) any positive or adverse effect; and
(b) any temporary or permanent effect; and
(c) any past, present, or future effect; and
(d) any cumulative effect which arises over time or in combination with other effects - regardless of the scale, intensity, duration, or frequency of the effect, and also includes -
(e) any potential effect of high probability; and
(f) any potential effect of low probability which has a high potential impact.
Energy is the capacity of a body or a system to do work.
Energy efficiency means the process of seeking to maximise the level of output from the input of energy into an energy conversion process and may include decreasing the level of energy services used.
Environment* includes -
(a) ecosystems and their constituent parts, including people and communities; and
(b) all natural and physical resources; and
(c) amenity values; and
(d) the social, economic, aesthetic, and cultural conditions which affect the matters stated in (a) to (c) of this definition or which are affected by those matters.
Environmental results anticipated means the expected or foreseen result or outcome on the environment as a consequence of implementing the policy or policies and methods of implementation. The environmental results anticipated provide a means of assessing the success of the objectives, policies and methods but may not always be measurable or achievable within the operative life of the Regional Policy Statement.
Erosion** means the natural (geological) processes of the wearing away of the land surface (including soil, regolith or bedrock) by natural agents and the transport of the derived material. Erosion includes sheet, wind, creep, slump, flow, rill, gully, tunnel gully and stream erosion.
Esplanade reserve* means a reserve within the meaning of the Reserves Act 1977 -
(a) which is either -
(i) a local purpose reserve within the meaning of Section 23 of that Act, if vested in the territorial authority under Section 239; or
(ii) a reserve vested in the Crown or a regional council under Section 237D; and
(b) which is vested in the territorial authority, regional council, or the Crown for a purpose or purposes set out in Section 229.
Esplanade strip* means a strip of land created by the registration of an instrument in accordance with Section 232 for a purpose or purposes set out in Section 229.
Foreshore* means any land covered and uncovered by the flow and ebb of the tide at mean spring tides and, in relation to any such land that forms part of the bed of a river, does not include any area that is not part of the coastal marine area.
Fresh water* means all water except coastal water and geothermal water.
Greenhouse gas* has the meaning given to it in section 4(1) of the Climate Change Response Act 2002.
Habitat means the place or type of site where an organism or population naturally occurs. (United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992)
Hapu** means sub-tribe, usually a number of whanau (families) with a common ancestor. (Consultation with tangata whenua. Ministry for the Environment, Wellington, 1991.)
Hazardous substance* includes but is not limited to any substance defined in section 2 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 as a hazardous substance.
Historic heritage*
(a) means those natural and physical resources that contribute to an understanding and appreciation of New Zealand's history and cultures, deriving from any of the following qualities:
(i) archaeological;
(ii) architectural;
(iii) cultural;
(iv) historic;
(v) scientific;
(vi) technological; and
(b) includes-
(i) historic sites, structures, places, and areas;
(ii) archaeological sites;
(iii) sites of significance to Māori , including wāhi tapu; and
(iv) surroundings associated with the natural and physical resources.
Indigenous** means native to New Zealand.
Industry means the organised action of making goods and services for sale and/or groups or concerns primarily engaged in the same kind of economic activity and shall include, but is not limited to manufacturing industry, processing industry and energy generation industry.
In-stream values are those uses or values of rivers and streams that are derived from within the river system itself and include amenity values, cultural and spiritual values of tangata whenua, and values associated with freshwater ecology and recreational, scenic, aesthetic and educational uses.
Integrated management means managing (i.e. identifying, prioritising and acting on) the use, development and protection of natural and physical resources as a whole. Integrated management involves three inter-related parts:
(a) a recognition by management agencies that natural and physical resources exist as parts of complex and inter-connected social and biophysical systems, where effects on one part of a system may affect other parts of the system and that these effects may occur immediately, may be delayed or may be cumulative; and
(b) the integration of management systems between agencies so that the various roles and responsibilities of those agencies are clearly identified and combined or co-ordinated to achieve consistency of purpose; and
(c) the integration of management systems within agencies to ensure that other legislative or administrative actions are consistent with promoting sustainable management of natural and physical resources.
Intrinsic values* in relation to ecosystems, means those aspects of ecosystems and their constituent parts which have value in their own right, including -
(a) their biological and genetic diversity; and
(b) the essential characteristics that determine an ecosystem's integrity, form, functioning, and resilience.
Issue means a matter of concern to the region's community regarding activities affecting some aspect of natural and physical resources and the environment of the region or their management. These matters are addressed in the Regional Policy Statement as either:
(a) significant resource management issues of the region; or
(b) resource management issues of significance to iwi; or
(c) issues which cross local authority boundaries; or
(d) matters where jurisdiction and delineation of responsibilities need to be made clear.
Iwi means tribe or grouping of Māori people descended from a common ancestor(s).
Iwi authority* means the authority which represents an iwi and which is recognised by that iwi as having authority to do so.
Iwi o Taranaki refers to iwi whose rohe fall either wholly or partially within the Taranaki region.
Kaitiakitanga* means the exercise of guardianship by the tangata whenua of an area in accordance with tikanga Māori in relation to natural and physical resources; and includes the ethic of stewardship.
Kaimoana means seafood.
Kaumātua housing refers to housing for Māori elders.
Kawanatanga means governorship, government. (Proposed Guidelines for local authority consultation with tangata whenua. Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Wellington, 1992.)
Lake* means a body of fresh water which is entirely or nearly surrounded by land.
Land* includes land covered by water and the air space above land.
Land drainage means the act of taking off or diverting excess water from the land by artificial channels, pipes or other means.
Large-scale urban land use change means a proposed land use with an area of 5 hectares or more requiring the subject land to be rezoned to urban or an equivalent zoning classification.
Lifeline utilities means an entity named or described in Part A of Schedule 1, or that carries on a business described in Part B of Schedule 1 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002.
Local authority* means a regional council or territorial authority.
Mātaitai* means food resources from the sea and Mahinga mātaitai means the areas from which these resources are gathered.
Mahinga kai means areas from which food resources are gathered and/or propagated.
Mana taiao means customary authority and title exercised by iwi or hapu over the general environment within tribal rohe.
Mana whenua means customary authority and title exercised by an iwi or hapu in an identified area.
Mauri/Mouri means essential life force or principle, a metaphysical quality inherent in all things, both animate and inanimate.
Method of implementation means a specific action, procedure, programme or technique adopted to carry out a policy.
Mineral means naturally occurring inorganic substance beneath or at the surface of the earth, whether or not under water; and includes all metallic minerals, non-metallic minerals, fuel minerals, precious stones, industrial rocks and building stones and a prescribed substance within the meaning of the Atomic Energy Act 1945. (See Section 2(1) of the Crown Minerals Act.)
Mouth* for the purpose of defining the landward boundary of the coastal marine area, means the mouth of a river either:
(a) as agreed and set between the Minister of Conservation, the regional council, and the appropriate territorial authority in the period between consultation on, and notification of, the proposed regional coastal plan; or
(b) as declared by the Environment Court under section 310 upon application made by the Minister of Conservation, the regional council, or the territorial authority prior to the plan becoming operative, -
and once so agreed and set or declared shall not be changed in accordance with Schedule 1 or otherwise varied, altered, questioned, or reviewed in any way until the next review of the regional coastal plan, unless the Minister of Conservation, the regional council, and the appropriate territorial authority agree.
National policy statement* means a statement issued under Section 52 of the Act.
Natural and physical resources* includes land, water, air, soil, minerals, and energy, all forms of plants and animals (whether native to New Zealand or introduced), and all structures.
Natural hazard* means any atmospheric or earth or water related occurrence (including earthquake, tsunami, erosion, volcanic and geothermal activity, landslip, subsidence, sedimentation, wind, drought, fire or flooding) the action of which adversely affects or may adversely affect human life, property or other aspects of the environment.
Network utility means any activity that a network utility operator would be authorised to carry out under section 166 of the Resource Management Act 1991.
New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement* means a statement issued under section 57 of the Act.
Noa means free from tapu, profane or ordinary.
Objective means a statement of desired outcome intended to achieve sustainable management of the environment. An objective should be achievable and when possible or appropriate measurable and time specific.
Papakainga is a general term for Māori housing complexes on Māori land and marae.
Pastoral lands means those lands where livestock grazing is the principal activity and where pasture is the predominant vegetation cover (where trees or other vegetation may also be present but as a minor component) and also includes those pastoral lands at various stages of reverting to their original indigenous forest cover but which cannot be classed as indigenous forest land. In the latter case, vegetation may include recent regrowth in the form of fern, bracken or weed plants. In the context of this Regional Policy Statement, 'pastoral lands' are also taken to include land use for horticulture and cropping.
Plan* means a regional plan or district plan.
Policy means a specific statement that guides or directs decision-making. A policy indicates a commitment to a general course of action in working towards an objective.
Primary production means the use and development of land for the production of primary products including agricultural, horticultural, pastoral and forestry products, and intensive pig and poultry farming.
Reasonable means that which is reasonable as determined or resolved by the Taranaki Regional Council or its officers acting under delegated authority under Section 34 of the Act.
Recognised means that which is recognised by the Taranaki Regional Council or its officers under delegated authority under Section 34 of the Act.
Region* means relation to a regional council, the region of the regional council as determined in accordance with the Local Government Act 2002.
Regional coastal plan* means an operative plan approved by the Minister of Conservation under the First Schedule of the Act, and includes all operative changes to such a plan (whether arising from a review or otherwise).
Regional council* has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 2002.
Regional plan* means an operative plan (including a regional coastal plan) approved by a regional council or the Minister of Conservation under the Schedule 1; and includes all operative changes to such a plan (whether arising from a review or otherwise).
Regional policy statement* means an operative regional policy statement approved by a regional council under Schedule 1 and includes all operative changes to such a policy statement (whether arising from a review or otherwise).
Regional rule* means a rule made as part of a regional plan or proposed regional plan in accordance with section 68 and section 77A of the Act.
Regional significance means one or more of the following:
(a) matters which are of widespread public concern or interest throughout the region regarding actual or potential effects on the environment;
(b) values associated with natural and physical resources or any structure, place, feature or area which are greater than local significance, or which are rare or unique within the region;
(c) the existence of significant cross boundary issues where resources or effects cross administrative boundaries and where coordination or integration of policies, actions or decision-making is required;
(d) matters or effects considered by tangata whenua to be of greater than local significance;
(e) any significant use or development of the region's stock of natural and physical resources;
(f) cumulative effects of regional significance.
Riparian management means the collection of activities and practices that can be applied to the riparian margin in order to improve the natural characteristics and functioning of the whole riparian zone (which includes the waterway itself as well as the riparian margins).
Riparian margin means a strip of land of varying width adjacent to a waterway and which contributes or may contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of the natural functioning, quality and character of the waterway and its margins.
River* means a continually or intermittently flowing body of fresh water, and includes a stream and modified watercourse; but does not include any artificial watercourse (including an irrigation canal, water supply race, canal for the supply of water for electricity power generation, and farm drainage canal).
Rohe means the territory or boundary, which defines the area within which a tangata whenua group claims traditional association and mana whenua. (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 1992)
Rule* means a district rule or regional rule.
Soil means the earth or ground but specifically the loose material of the earth's surface in which terrestrial plants grow, usually formed from weathered rock or regolith changed by chemical, physical and biological processes and ... may be considered as an entity quite apart from the rocks below it. (Clarke, A N (1990) Dictionary of Geography. Penguin Group. London.)
Soil conservation* means avoiding, remedying, or mitigating soil erosion and maintaining the physical, chemical, and biological qualities of soil.
Soil disturbance refers to the disturbance of soil by human induced activities, including earthworks associated with roading and tracking, formation of skid or landing sites, subdivision, pipeline trenching and land contouring, but does not include land disturbed for cultivation, cropping, and harvesting (including logging).
Soil erosion means the removal of soil by erosion. (Clarke, A N (1990) Dictionary of Geography. Penguin Group. London.)
Solid waste means primarily solid contaminants for which disposal by discharge into the environment is intended, or for which disposal by discharge into the environment would be necessary if other processes such as re-use or recovery cannot be applied.
Structure* means any building, equipment, device, or other facility made by people and which is fixed to land and includes any raft.
Structure/concept plan means a framework to guide the development or redevelopment of a particular area by defining the future development and land use patterns, the layout and nature of network and community infrastructure and open space, and other key features for managing the effects of development. Features that may be represented in, and managed through, a structure/concept plan, include:
- the type and location of land uses that will be provided for, including development type, density/intensity, structure, and staging development to support and coordinate with the provision and funding of infrastructure,
- multi-modal transport links and connectivity
- the location, type, scale, staging, and funding of network and community infrastructure and open space required to service an area
- landscape character and amenity
- urban design
- natural hazards
- the protection of sites, features or values (cultural, ecological, historical or amenity related)
- areas of contamination and the rehabilitation standards required.
Sufficient means that which is sufficient as determined by the Taranaki Regional Council or relevant territorial authority or their officers acting under delegated authority.
Surface water means water in a river, lake, stream, pond or wetland.
Sustainable management* means managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural well-being and for their health and safety while:
(a) sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations;
(b) safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil, and ecosystems; and
(c) avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment.
Sustainable yield refers to the quantity and quality aspects of groundwater and is the quantity of groundwater that can be abstracted from an aquifer for a prolonged period without depleting the resource or causing other adverse effects on groundwater quality or groundwater users.
Taiao means the natural world or environment.
Tangata whenua* in relation to a particular area, means the iwi, or hapu, that holds mana whenua over that area.
Taonga means treasure, property: taonga are prized and protected as sacred possessions of the tribe. The term carries a deep spiritual meaning and taonga may be things that cannot be seen or touched. Included for example are te reo Māori (the Māori language), wāhi tapu, waterways, fishing grounds and mountains. (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 1991)
Taonga raranga* means plants which produce material highly prized for use in weaving.
Tapu means under spiritual protection or restriction.
Taranaki tangata refers to the tangata whenua of the Taranaki region.
Tangata waka* means canoe landing or launching sites.
Territorial authority means a city council or a district council.
Territorial sea* means the territorial sea of New Zealand defined by Section 3 of the Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1977.
Tikanga Māori * means Māori customary values and practices.
Tino rangatiratanga means chiefly authority, chieftainship, full tribal authority and refers to tribal self-management - to manage and control in accordance with the preferences of the owner. (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 1991)
Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi)* has the same meaning and the word 'treaty' as defined in Section 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 (refer to Appendix III of this Regional Policy Statement for both English and Māori versions of the Treaty as contained in the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975).
Tūrangawaewae means domicile, home or home turf.
Vegetation disturbance, for the purposes of this Regional Policy Statement, means the cutting, burning, clearing or destruction (including chemical destruction) of vegetation but excluding grazing, agricultural and horticultural cropping, the cutting of grass, the destruction of pest plants, and forest pruning, tinning and layering
Wāhi tapu means places or things, which are sacred or spiritually endowed.
Wairua means attitude, mood, spirit or soul.
Water*
(a) means water in all its physical forms whether flowing or not and whether over or under the ground;
(b) includes fresh water, coastal water, and geothermal water; and
(c) does not include water in any form while in any pipe, tank, or cistern.
Water body* means fresh water or geothermal water in a river, lake, stream, pond, or aquifer, or any part thereof, that is not located within the coastal marine area.
Wetland* includes permanently or intermittently wet areas, shallow water, and land water margins that support a natural ecosystem of plants and animals that are adapted to wet conditions.
Whare wānanga means university or school of higher learning.