Please upgrade your web browser now. Internet Explorer 6 is no longer supported.

Glossary

  • Immuno-suppressant
    the suppression or potential to suppress the body’s immune system; this reduces the body’s ability to fight back against infections, disease and foreign compounds such as dust or toxins. Read more about hazardous substances.
  • Indigenous
    plants and animals which occur naturally in New Zealand and have established without the aid of human intervention. The term indigenous also sometimes includes flora and fauna introduced by Maori prior to European settlement.
  • Induced soil erosion
    the part of the process of soil erosion that is a result of the actions of people.
  • Industrial waste discharge
    the direct discharge of waste from an industrial process, usually from manufacturing or processing activities to water (can also be to air or land).
  • Infrastructure
    in relation to transport, infrastructure refers to all fixed components of a transportation system including roadways and bridges, park-and-ride sites, bus-stop shelters and other elements.
  • Infringement notice
    a written notice of an alleged offence requiring the payment of a fine. Suitable for responding quickly to relatively minor offences that do not warrant prosecution. When an alleged offence is classified as an infringement, it requires the payment of a fine but without the record of a conviction. The fines, which are set by regulation, range from $300 to $1000. A panel consisting of the Regional Enforcement Officer, the RMA Compliance and Enforcement Manager and an Environment Canterbury Solicitor, review recommendations from enforcement officers. For more information, see the Enforcement Tools page.
  • Instream values
    non-consumptive values associated with a water-body - includes aquatic ecosystem values, natural character and landscape values, Ngai Tahu values and amenity and recreational values.
  • Integrated Ticketing System
    ticket system that can be used across a number of different operators providing transport services. For example, Metrocard. More information about Metrocards can be found on the Metroinfo website.
  • Intensive Pasture
    Intensive pasture is land-use relying on perennial pasture production, where yield and quality must be kept high over the major growing period from mid-October to mid-March.  In Canterbury, the predominant agricultural activity under this system is dairying, but may include some intensive meat-producing systems that rely on a similarly high level of pasture production such as lamb and beef fattening operations.
  • Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation
    a climate cycle that causes natural variability in air pressure, wind, sea-surface temperature and rainfall over several decades.
  • Interested Parties
    individuals or a broad group of persons or organisations who will have an interest in a resource consent proposal.
  • Intrinsic values
    in relation to ecosystems, intrinsic values 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.
  • Introduced flora and fauna
    this only includes plants and animals introduced to New Zealand since the arrival of Europeans
  • Inversion
    in air quality science, an inversion refers to the reverse of the usual daytime situation whereby the ground, warmed by the sun, creates a decrease in air temperature with increasing height. The presence of an inversion indicates that near surface air temperature increases with height. Inversions are common occurrences at night and their presence inhibits mixing of the air.
  • Investigating Officer
    an Environment Canterbury staff member with the appropriate skills and knowledge to process an application and make a recommendation.
  • Irrigation returned water
    additional recharge resulting from unused irrigation water that descends to the underlying groundwater system, or as a consequence of keeping the soil wet under irrigation.
  • Issue
    a matter of concern to the region’s community in relation to some aspect of natural and physical resources and the environment of the region.
  • Iwi
    tribe or people.
  • Iwi Plan
    a management plan recognised by an iwi authority.
  • Ika
    fish.
  • Inanga
    the most common species found in whitebait - common galaxias.