| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Aboriginal self-determination | Self-determination is an 'ongoing process of choice' to ensure that Indigenous communities are able to meet their social, cultural and economic needs |
| Activities | Activities are what we deliver, including the programs, services and initiatives we undertake. |
| Adaptation Pathways | Adaptation pathways is a planning approach that provides an approach to planning for climate change. It allows organisations or communities to develop a suite of measures that, taken together, can achieve positive ICM outcomes in the face of a changing climate. The Glenelg Hopkins RCS considers these measures across the priority categories of:
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| Bonney Upwelling | The Bonney Upwelling is a seasonally occurring marine process which brings cold nutrient rich water to the sea surface. This supports a range of species including phytoplankton, krill and small fish, as well as larger animals including lobster, crabs, seabirds, dolphins and whales. |
| Catchment stewardship | Working to maintain or improve the condition of land, water and biodiversity, with consideration of ecological, social, cultural and economic values. |
| Citizen science | Citizen science involves community volunteers contributing to data monitoring and collection programs. |
| Country | “When we talk about traditional ‘Country’…we mean something beyond the dictionary definition of the word. For Aboriginal Australians we might mean homeland, or tribal or clan area and we might mean more than just a place on the map. For us, Country is a word for all the values, places, resources, stories and cultural obligations associated with that area and its features. It describes the entirety of our ancestral domains. While they may all no longer necessarily be the title-holders to land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are still connected to the Country of their ancestors and most consider themselves the custodians or caretakers of their land." (Professor Mick Dodson) |
| Cultural Flows | Water entitlements that are legally and beneficially owned by Indigenous Nations, of a sufficient and adequate quantity and quality to improve the spiritual, cultural, environmental, social and economic conditions of those Indigenous Nations. This is an inherent right. (ref: National Cultural Flows Research Project) |
| Cultural landscape | A place or area valued by an Aboriginal group (or groups) because of their long and complex relationship with that land. It expresses their unity with the natural and spiritual environment. It embodies their traditional knowledge of spirits, places, land uses, and ecology. |
| Drivers of change | Drivers of change are external impacts that shape the structure of rural and regional communities and their economies. Secondary drivers of change are how we as the community respond to the key drivers. Human responses are numerous, less predictable and complex. In addition to drivers of change, there are acute system shocks that are sometimes unpredictable and unanticipated, which have a major impact on communities and catchment management over shorter time periods. COVID-19, flooding events and fires are examples of this. |
| Environmental flows | The managed release of water for the environment to improve the health of rivers, wetlands and floodplains. |
| Floodplain | A floodplain is an area of land adjacent to a waterway that can experience inundation and flooding during high flows. |
| Freshes | A small release of water through summer to help maintain or improve water quality in river systems that have environmental water entitlements. |
| Groundwater dependent ecosystem (GDE) | Are ecosystems that depend on groundwater. When groundwater occurs near the surface, it can support wetlands, springs and streamflow, which in turn can support plant and animal communities. |
| Inputs | Inputs are the resources or investments allocated to deliver activities (funding, staffing, capital infrastructure). |
| Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) | Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) adopts a whole-of-system approach for land, water and biodiversity planning and delivery for multiple outcomes within and across natural ecosystems. It captures the values and priorities of regional communities and brings together partners from across the catchment region to identify and respond to challenges that cannot be solved by one organisation or stakeholder alone. Integrated management of catchments is established under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. |
| Indicator | The output that will be measured to demonstrate the achievement, or progress towards, the achievement of an outcome. |
| Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) | Are important places in the world for species and their habitats which contribute significantly to the persistence of biodiversity. Sites qualify as global KBAs if they meet one or more of 11 criteria which incorporate the categories of threatened biodiversity, geographically restricted biodiversity, ecological integrity, biological processes, and irreplaceability. |
| Local Areas | The RCS describes a geographically defined set of local areas that cover the whole region and reflect the local communities' priorities and interests. Local areas highlight integration and partnerships and the interconnectedness of the themes that occur in each local area. |
| Marine benthic | Consists of marine organisms that live on or attached to the ocean floor. This includes organisms that burrow into the sediment of the sea floor. |
| Marine protected area (MPA) | Is an area of the marine environment that is dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biodiversity and the associated natural and cultural values. Can include marine parks, nature reserves and locally managed marine areas. |
| National Landcare Program | Is a key part of the Australian Government's long-standing commitment to natural resource management. |
| Natural resource management | Activities relating to the management, use, development or conservation of natural resources. |
| Outcomes | Outcomes articulate what success looks like. They are clear, unambiguous statements about the things that matter for people and communities. The RCS sets long-term outcomes proposed to be achieved in 20+ years and medium-term 'stepping stone' outcomes proposed to be achieved in six years. |
| Outcome indicators | Specify what needs to change to achieve a desired outcome and set the direction of change. Outcome indicators reflect the key drivers and influences on progress towards an outcome. |
| Outcome measures | Provide the more granular, specific detail about what will change and how you will know if you are making progress. Outcome measures are the specific way we know or count the size, amount or degree of change achieved. |
| Outputs | Outputs are how we count what we deliver. It is the measurable result (good or service) of activity over a period of time. |
| Priority management directions | These are the actions or initiatives that can support the achievement of RCS outcomes. Using an Adaptation Pathways planning approach, they have been categorised against the priority categories of 'resilience', 'transition' and 'transformation'. |
| Program logic | A conceptual model that shows the rationale behind a program, project or strategy. It demonstrates what are understood to be the cause-and-effect relationships between activities, outputs, management outcomes and resource condition change. |
| Regional Growth Plans | Regional growth plans provide broad direction for land use and development across regional Victoria. They have been developed in partnership between local government and state agencies and authorities through consultation with the community and key stakeholders. |
| Regional Land Partnerships (RLP) | RLP is a component of the Australian Government's National Landcare Program and is delivering national priorities at a regional and local level. The aim of RLP is "to protect, conserve and provide for the productive use of Australia's water, soil, plants and animals and the ecosystems in which they live and interact, in partnership with governments, industry and communities". |
| Soil health | Described as the condition of the soil in relation to its inherent or potential capability, to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health. |
| Target | A numerical representation of what is sought to be achieved. |
| Themes | The RCS has been developed around the major themes of Water (rivers, wetlands, estuaries and groundwater), Land (land use, soil health, and sustainable primary production), Biodiversity (habitat and native vegetation and threatened native species), Community (Traditional Owners, and communities in ICM), and Marine and Coasts. These broad themes are inter-connected, but they align with the way governments and other investors often plan and roll out their investment programs. |
| Traditional knowledge | Includes ecological knowledge, medicinal knowledge, environmental management knowledge and cultural and spiritual knowledge. It includes technical knowledge and know-how, agricultural knowledge, and astronomy. Traditional knowledge continues to be a living cultural practice. Traditional knowledge systems are inextricably linked to people and Country. Although much traditional knowledge is passed on through walking Country, talking with Elders, sharing songs, stories and dance, it is also closely linked to cultural objects. |
| Traditional Owner | An Aboriginal person who has ongoing traditional and cultural connections, and rights and responsabilites, to look after an identified area of Country. |
| Traditional Owner group | Traditional Owner groups are defined to include any native title holders and any persons who are recognised by the Attorney-General as the traditional owners of the land, based on Aboriginal traditional and cultural associations with the land. There are three ways in which Traditional Ownership of ancestral Country is formally recognised in Victoria:
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| Vision | A succinct statement of the long-term vision of the region at 2050. The vision is the big picture, aspirational statement that describes what the community wants to achieve for the catchment. |
| Victorian Catchment Management Council (VCMC) | The Victorian Catchment Management Council (VCMC) is the State Government's key advisory body on catchment management. The VCMC is appointed under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (CaLP Act). |
