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Glossary

  • Narrow braided gravel-bed rivers
    examples: Pareora, Selwyn and Waipara. These rivers have their headwaters in the foothills and provide a stable habitat for native and introduced fish. Read more about Canterbury rivers.
  • National Environmental Standard (NES)
    a NES is a regulation issued under sections 43 and 44 of the Resource Management Act and applies nationally. This means that each regional, city or district council must enforce the same standard. In some circumstances, councils can impose stricter standards.  National environmental standards not only protect people, they also secure a consistent approach and decision making process throughout the whole country. There is currently no national environmental standard for contaminated land.
  • National Environmental Standards for Air Quality
    2004 legislation defining the threshold values for ambient air concentrations of certain pollutants. Read more about air quality.
  • Natural features
    natural features and landscapes are categories that sometimes overlap. As a general rule features tend to be smaller in extent and are experienced from the outside, while landscapes cover large areas and are experienced from within. Natural means a predomination of elements that are natural rather than made by people.
  • Natural hazard events
    natural events, such as rainfall, wind, earthquakes, tsunamis and erosion, that affect people and property.
  • Natural hazard risk
    natural hazard events measured in terms of consequences multiplied by likelihood.
  • Natural hazards
    the potential interaction of natural events with people and property.
  • Network utility infrastructure
    those built structures necessary for operating and supplying network utility services to the community, including (but not limited to) land, air and marine transport systems/facilities, water and power supply, telecommunication/radio communication facilities, waste disposal/drainage and natural or manufactured fuel.
  • Nga Upoko
    council of chiefs in the Canterbury Region.
  • Ngai Tahu
    the tribal group holding mana whenua in Te Waipounamu, the area from Kahuraki Point on the West Coast and Te Parinui-o-Whiti (Vernon Bluffs) on the east, and all places south “until the land turns white”. (Tau, Goodall, Palmer, and Tau (1990) Te Whakatau Kaupapa). More about Ngai Tahu.
  • Ngai Tahu Whanui
    the entire Ngai Tahu Tribe, including Ngati Waitaha, Ngati Mamoe and Ngai Tahu, and all their hapu. (Tau, Goodall, Palmer, and Tau (1990) Te Whakatau Kaupapa).
  • Nitrate
    a compound that is formed when nitrogen combines with oxygen. Nitrate is an essential plant nutrient and a natural constituent of any soil. It is an important source of nitrogen for plant growth. However, if the soil contains more nitrate than plants can use, then the excess nitrate can be leached from the soil and contaminate groundwater.
  • Non-arable land
    wetlands, river beds, sand dunes, and land more than 20 degrees in slope or greater than 600 metres above mean sea level.
  • Non-point source discharge
    run-off or leachate from land, onto or into land, air, a water body or the sea. Read about non-point water pollution.
  • Non-structural measures
    in relation to flood management: land use planning, raised floor levels, warning systems, education.
  • Notice of an alleged offence
    is a non-statutory written notice that an offence has occurred which is generally issued on site. The notice may instruct the recipient to take or desist from immediate action. For more information, see the Enforcement Tools page.
  • Not investigated
    A site whose past or present use has been reported and verified as one that appears on the Hazardous Activities and Industries List (HAIL); and,
    The site has not been subjected to investigation including, but not limited to, sampling and analysis of site related soil, water and/or ambient air, and assessment of the associated analytical data. 
    This category is for sites for which it is known that an activity or use as defined in the HAIL has taken place on the site, but there is insufficient information to characterise any risks to human health or the environment from those activities undertaken on the site. Contamination may have occurred, but should not be assumed to have occurred.
    Read more about contaminated site categories.
  • Native plants/animals
    plants or animals naturally found in an area and not there as a result of human intervention (similar to indigenous).
  • Natural character
    The qualities of an area that taken together give it a particular, recognisable character. These qualities may be ecological, physical, spiritual or aesthetic in nature.
  • Nohoanga
    a temporary camping area or place where food is gathered or processed and knowledge is transferred through social interaction and activity. Nohoanga sites are listed in Schedule 95 of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998.