Glossary of Terms

Benthic primary producer habitat

The natural home of organisms living upon or in the sediment of the sea.

Biodiversity, biological diversity

The variety of life forms: the different plants, animals and microorganisms, the genes they contain, and the ecosystems they form.

Bioregion

(IBRA or IMCRA)

A Bioregion is a geographically distinct region that groups together similar patterns of biodiversity and ecosystems, and may be based on attributes that include common climate, geology, landform, native vegetation and species information. Classified by Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA), or as classified in Integrated and Marine and Coastal Regionalisation of Australia (IMCRA).

Buffer

An area surrounding significant environmental values designed to protect the values and limit impacts by maintaining ecological processes and functions in the habitat.

Bush Forever sites

Bush Forever is a plan designed to identify, protect and manage regionally significant bushland in metropolitan Perth.

Clearing*

means –

(a)   the killing or destruction of;

(b)   the removal of;

(c)   the severing or ringbarking of trunks or stems of; or

(d)   the doing of any other substantial damage to,

some or all of the native vegetation in an area, and includes the draining or flooding of land, the burning of vegetation, the grazing of stock, or any other act or activity, that causes –

(e)   the killing or destruction of;

(f)    the severing of trunks or stems of; or

(g)   any other substantial damage to,

some or all of the native vegetation in an area

Conservation area*

means a conservation park, national park, nature reserve, marine nature reserve, marine park or marine management area within the meaning of the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 or any other land or waters reserved, protected or managed for the purpose of, or purposes including, nature conservation.

Conservation significant fauna

The EPA has identified these as including species protected by international agreements or treaties (for example, JAMBA and CAMBA migratory bird agreements), Specially Protected Fauna, Priority Fauna, short range endemic species, species with declining populations or declining distributions, species at the extremes of their range, isolated outlying populations and undescribed species.

Conservation significant flora

The EPA has identified these as flora with any of the following characteristics:

a. Declared Rare Flora or Priority Flora

b. keystone role in a particular habitat for threatened species, or supporting large populations representing a significant proportion of the local regional population of a species

c. relic status

d. anomalous features that indicate a potential new discovery

e. representative of the range of a species including the extremes of the range, recently discovered range extensions, or isolated outliers of the main range

f. a restricted subspecies, variety or naturally occurring hybrid

g. local endemism or a restricted distribution.

Significance may apply at any level (for example, local, regional, national and international).

Critical assets

These are the most important environmental assets in the State that the EPA considers should be protected and conserved. Types of critical assets are listed in EPA Position Statement No. 9

Declared Rare Flora

Flora that is likely to become extinct or is rare or is otherwise in need of special protection, as defined in the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950.

Direct offset/s

Actions designed to provide for on-ground improvement, rehabilitation and conservation of habitat. Direct offsets vary, depending on the specific circumstances of environmental impacts, and include acquisition, restoration, revegetation and rehabilitation of natural areas outside the project area.

Environmental guidelines

Numerical values or narrative statements, issued by the OEPA, which if met indicate there is a high probability that the associated environmental objective has been achieved.

Environmental management plan, environmental management program

A document to describe management actions, schedules, resources and responsibilities for achieving environmental objectives and targets with respect to a particular site or environmental factor. Some projects require the preparation and implementation of a plan to address offsets.

Environmental offset

An environmental offset is an offsite action or actions to address significant residual environmental impacts of a development or activity.

High value assets

Those environmental assets identified by the EPA that are in good to excellent condition, are considered valuable by the community and/or government, but are not identified as critical environmental assets.

IBRA sub-region

IBRA sub-regions are a subset of the IBRA regions (or bioregions). IBRA sub-regions are a finer scale breakup of the landscape being more localised and homogenous geomorphological units in each bioregion.

Indirect impact

A consequential impact of a project to the surrounding environment as a result of a development or action.

Indirect offsets

Actions aimed at improving scientific or community understanding and awareness of environmental values that are affected by a development or activity. These actions are designed to result in positive conservation outcomes and may include research to improve the management and protection of existing conservation estate or contributions to State Government initiatives, policies or strategic funds.

Land acquisition

This is a type of offset. It involves the purchase of land for transfer to the conservation estate (such as nature reserve, conservation park, national park) or protection through a legally binding agreement such as a conservation covenant.

Mitigation

A sequence of actions designed to manage adverse environmental impacts.

1. avoidance

2. minimisation

3. rehabilitation

Planning instrument*

means –

(a)     a scheme or a strategy, policy or plan made or adopted under a scheme;

(b)     a State planning policy approved under section 29 of the Planning and Development Act 2005 and published in the Gazette; or

(c)     a local planning strategy made under the Planning and Development Act 2005.

Priority Ecological Community/ies

An ecological community that does not meet survey criteria for ‘threatened’ status or that are not adequately defined, and are considered by the Department of Parks and Wildlife to require further survey or ongoing monitoring to ensure their security does not decline. They are listed under one of five categories ranked in order of priority.

Priority Fauna

Animal species that are either under consideration by the Department of Parks and Wildlife as threatened fauna but are in need of further survey to adequately determine their status, are adequately known but require ongoing monitoring to ensure their security does not decline, or are conservation dependent and require active management to maintain their status. They are listed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife under one of five categories ranked in order of priority.

Priority Flora

Plant species that are either under consideration by the Department of Parks and Wildlife as rare flora but are in need of further survey to adequately determine their status, are adequately known but require ongoing monitoring to ensure their security does not decline, or are conservation dependent and require active management to maintain their status. They are listed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife under one of five categories ranked in order of priority.

Ramsar Convention

Is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Ramsar wetlands are a matter of national environmental significance under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Regenerate/ed/ion

Is the re-establishment of vegetation from material contained either within the topsoil or seed-bearing mulch.

Rehabilitate/ed/ion

Is the repair of ecosystem processes and includes the management of weeds, disease or feral animals.

Restoration

Is the recovery of ecosystem health, integrity and sustainability and attempts to return an ecosystem to its historic condition.  It may involve landscape reformation or the establishment of buffers.  Restoration, which may also include rehabilitation and revegetation, is designed to result in a more fully functioning ecosystem.

Revegetation

Is the re-establishment of native vegetation in degraded areas. It may be used to create or improve ecological linkages, or improve the resilience of adjacent intact ecosystems.

Riparian vegetation

Means the distinctive vegetation associated with a wetland or watercourse.

Short-range endemic

A species with a naturally small or restricted distribution.

Significant habitat

Habitat that provides resources (breeding, resting and feeding), connectivity or habitat area for a species or community that is important for its survival.

Significant residual environmental impact

Adverse environmental impacts likely to result from the implementation of a new development or activity, which cannot be avoided, minimised or rehabilitated on-site such that they are no longer significant.

Specially Protected Fauna

A threatened species that is specially protected pursuant to the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950

Stygofauna

Fauna living in groundwater.

Threatened ecological community

An ecological community listed, designated or declared under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 as threatened, endangered or vulnerable, or declared by the Minister under section 51B of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 as an environmentally sensitive area.

Troglofauna

Fauna living permanently underground and generally beyond the daylight zone of a cave.

Vegetation condition

Condition is a rating given to vegetation to categorise disturbance related to human activities. This rating refers to the degree of change in the structure, density and species present in vegetation in relation to undisturbed vegetation of the same type.

Wetland*

An area of seasonally, intermittently or permanently waterlogged or inundated land, whether natural or otherwise, and includes a lake, swamp, marsh, spring, dampland, tidal flat or estuary.