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Glossary

  • Maataa waka
    literally an ancestral canoe, or kinsfolk from an ancestral canoe. In terms of the Long Term Community Council Plan, maataa waka means non-Ngai Tahu iwi in the Canterbury region.
  • Machinery
    includes any mechanical plant used for construction, mining, processing, agricultural or other purposes.
  • Mahinga kai
    food and other resources, the gathering of those resources and the areas they are sourced from.
  • Manawhenua
    implies both a “mandate” to look after a piece of land but also a responsibility to do so. Relates to individuals rather than political structures such as rūnanga It involves elements of both occupation (ahi kaa) and political authority. Manawhenua are judged by the quality of their resources and the capacity of those resources to produce food and other resources necessary for life.
  • Maori
    ordinary people. Since 1820 used to distinguish the native, indigenous, people of this country, the Tangata Whenua. (Tau, Goodall, Palmer, and Tau (1990) Te Whakatau Kaupapa).
  • Mutagenic
    in relation to hazardous substances, means the capability of causing genetic mutation which may result in defects being passed on to subsequent generations. More about hazardous substances.
  • Mosaicked
    images pieced together side by side, to create a larger image (ERDAS Field Guide 2005).
  • Mode share
    the portion that a category of a transport method (eg bus, motor vehicle, single occupant vehicles, walking, cycling, rail, aeroplane, boat or ferry) contributes to the total number of transport methods.
  • Mode
    a categorisation of transport methods, eg bus, motor vehicle, single occupant vehicle, walking, cycling, rail, aeroplane, boat or ferry.
  • Mobility
    the ability to move or be moved freely and easily. Mobility is not the same as accessibility, which is about the ability to reach a specific location.
  • Mitigate
    in relation to an effect, means to lessen or eliminate the severity or incidence of an effect, and includes compensation both before and after the effect.
  • Minimum flow
    a minimum flow of a river is the flow level at which all abstraction (removal of water) must stop. The minimum level is determined by Environment Canterbury and is set out in either council-approved plans or conditions to individual water permits. Minimum flow is designed to protect a wide range of values (including the environmental, recreational, aesthetic, and amenity values of a river). These values are detailed in the council’s Natural Resources Regional Plan. Setting a minimum flow level does not mean that the river flow won’t drop below this level due to “natural” causes (for instance, during a drought). Read more information on river flows.
  • Metro
    was launched in 2003 as a brand to be used across the passenger transport network in Christchurch. The Metro brand was extended to the Timaru passenger transport network in January 2007. Environment Canterbury is responsible for planning and tendering out the bus and ferry services, marketing and providing information such as timetables, telephone services and websites. The City/District Councils are responsible for infrastructure such as bus stops and shelters. The transport operators (such as the bus companies) are responsible for providing the vehicles and drivers. See more about Metro.
  • Metering data
    if a consent has actual metered use data, this can be taken into consideration to determine the effective allocation.
  • Measures
    are used to report on progress towards achieving community outcomes. They are also used to show progress towards meeting levels of service.
  • Mean wave period
    the average time (measured from a number of waves over a time period) it takes for a wave to pass a particular point – such as a wave buoy. It is a measure of how far apart the waves are and is also known as the zero-crossing period. Wave period is measured in seconds. Waves that have travelled from a long distance away generally have longer periods (they are further apart) while waves that are formed close by will have shorter periods (they are closer together). Find out more about wave timing.
  • Mean flow
    the average value of the instantaneous continuous record of flows in a water body. More information on river flows.
  • Mean annual low flow
    the 7-day mean annual low flow. In any year, the 7-day low flow is the lowest average flow over 7 consecutive days for every 7 consecutive day period in the year. The 7-day mean annual low flow can be determined by adding the lowest 7-day low flow for every year of record and dividing by the number of years of record. More information on river flows.
  • Mauri
    life force. (Tau, Goodall, Palmer, and Tau (1990) Te Whakatau Kaupapa).
  • Mashup
    combines one or more sources of information to create a single application. For instance, Environment Canterbury has combined its water quality data with Google Maps to produce a swimming water quality information mashup.
  • Margin
    land immediately adjacent to the bed of a river, wetland, lake or estuary which is likely to be affected by a high water table, flooding, fluvial erosion, or sediment deposition, and often contains distinctive vegetation. The size of the margin will vary according to local site factors but may extend to the limits demarcated by natural river terraces and constructed stopbanks.
  • Managed for (land use)
    The site has been investigated. Investigations demonstrate that there are hazardous substances present at the site in concentrations that have the potential to cause adverse effects or risks to people and/or the environment. However those risks are considered managed because –
    1. the nature of the use of the site prevents human and/ or ecological exposure to the risks; and/or
    2.  the land has been altered in some way and/or restrictions have been placed on the way it is used which prevent human and/or ecological exposure to the risks. 

    Read more about contaminated site categories.
  • Mainland island
    a piece of land where pests such as possums, mice, rats and even wasps are managed intensively to keep their numbers very low as a form of protecting native plants and animals.
  • Mana
    good standing/ status.
  • Manu
    birds.
  • Matauranga Māori
    Māori traditional knowledge held about many things, including waterways. Matauranga or knowledge is acquired through everyday observations, trial and error, experiment and from being passed down from the similar learning of earlier generations.
  • Mōkihi
    rafts.