Adaptation is the action or process of adjusting to actual or expected change and its effects. Adaptation can either be incremental or in large shifts, transformational.

Amenity – see waterway amenity

Aquifers are bodies of rock, sand or gravel that hold groundwater. Groundwater enters an aquifer as precipitation seeps through the soil. It can move through the aquifer and resurface through springs and wells or be accessed through bores.

Biodiversity Response Planning DELWP’s 2019/2020 Biodiversity Response Planning – a long-term area-based planning approach to biodiversity conservation in Victoria (DELWP, 2021). Biodiversity Response Planning identifies the most cost-effective threat control actions for significant biodiversity improvement in the region.

Bioregion refers to a region defined by characteristics of the natural environment rather than by man-made divisions and in which limits are naturally defined by topographic and biological features.

Capacity building is a conceptual approach to development that focuses on understanding the obstacles that inhibit people, governments, international organisations, and non-governmental organisations from realising their developmental goals while enhancing the abilities that will allow them to achieve measurable and sustainable results.

Carbon sequestration  is the process of removal and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in carbon sinks (such as forests, woody plants, mangroves or soils).

Catchment is an area where water is collected by the natural landscape due to the topography of that landscape. 

Central and Gippsland Sustainable Water Strategy is a 50 year plan to secure a sustainable supply of water in the area south of the Great Dividing Range from Mallacoota in the east to Warnambool in the west. The Central and Gippsland Sustainable Water Strategy is currently being developed and will identify threats to water availability and water quality and propose policies and actions to help water users, water corporations and CMAs manage and respond to those threats.

Community refers to all people engaged with the Corangamite region, including (but not limited to) people volunteering, working, visiting and living all or part of the time in the region.

Comprehensive Adequate and Representative (CAR) system is defined as:

1. Comprehensive: the inclusion in the National Reserve System of examples of regional-scale ecosystems in each bioregion
2. Adequate: the inclusion of sufficient levels of each ecosystem within the protected area network to provide ecological viability and to maintain the integrity of populations, species and communities
3. Representative: the inclusion of areas at a finer scale, to encompass the variability of habitat within ecosystems

Demographic refers to a particular segment of the population based on factors such as age, race, and sex. Demographic data refers to socioeconomic information expressed statistically including employment, education, income, marriage rates, birth and death rates, and more.

Ecosystem services are the benefits of ecosystem processes. These include provisioning services, such as food and water, regulating services, such as air purification and flood control, and cultural services, such as spiritual values in nature and opportunities for recreation.

Focal species are species targeted for the management of key threatening processes and habitat restoration. These are the species considered to be most sensitive to processes such as habitat loss, modification and fragmentation, predation, salinity, resource depletion, and inappropriate fire regimes.

Groundwater is water beneath the surface held in or moving through saturated layers of soil, sediment or rock.

Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs) are natural ecosystems that require access to groundwater to meet all or some of their water requirements to maintain their ecological processes.

Indicator species are species that define a trait or characteristic of the environment such as climate change or a changed land use.

Integrated Water Management  is a collaborative planning approach that brings together all elements of the water cycle including sewage management, town water supply, stormwater management, groundwater management and water treatment to maximise environmental, economic and social outcomes.

Integrated Water Management Forums have been established across Victoria to bring together organisations with an interest in the water cycle to plan and co-ordinate integrated water management projects and activities. The Corangamite region is covered by three forums: Barwon, Great South Coast and Central Highlands Integrated Water Management Forums.

Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) is the coordinated involvement of agencies, stakeholders and the general public in policy making, planning, and management to promote sustainable use of natural resources.

Landcare refers to relevant Landcare groups or networks when one or more are involved as a collective.

Land capability assessment of uses that the land is capable of being used for based on soil, slope and aspect.

Landscape System(s) are sub-regional geographic areas based on the physical features of the land, how that land is used, and the way in which a people live in that area.

Land suitability assessment of what the land is suitable to be used for based on capability, location, climate, market access and value.

Local Government refers to relevant municipalities including cities, towns and boroughs.

Long Term Water Resource Assessment is undertaken every 15 years as a requirement of the Water Act 1989 to determine if there has been a long-term reduction in the availability of water for consumers or the environment and if waterway health has declined. The Long Term Water Resource Assessment for Southern Victoria was completed in 2020.

Natural Capital is the world’s stocks of natural assets which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things. It is from this natural capital that humans derive a wide range of services, often called ecosystem services, which make human life possible.

Net Gain refers to an improvement in the overall extent and condition of native habitats across terrestrial, waterway and marine environments. Not all habitats or vegetation types will need to be improved or increased in order to achieve this goal, but overall gains will need to outweigh losses (DELWP, 2017).

Priority Waterways refers to priority waterways as stated in the Corangamite Waterway Strategy (2014-2022).

Property management planning is the use of appropriate planning processes to enable a property to be managed to its potential.  Such planning processes can include conducting land use capability assessments, nutrient management, soil-based assessments, water access and use, identification of management units and identification of appropriate rotations.

Ramsar refers to wetlands that are representative, rare or unique wetlands, or are important for conserving biological diversity. These are included on the List of Wetlands of International Importance developed under the Ramsar convention. 

Regenerative farming is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.

Stakeholder refers to a person with an interest or concern in something, within the context of this strategy it refers to the natural environment.

Stewardship is defined as the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care, within this strategy it refers to the stewardship of natural resources.

Suitable Habitat is a purpose-built, scientific measure developed in 2016 by the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), to assess the most effective options for improving the future of native species across the state under climate change. Change in Suitable Habitat considers the type, extent and configuration of habitat for a species, and the factors that influence how much a species can make use of this habitat. Change in Suitable Habitat is the increase in likelihood that a species will still exist at a location at a future time (e.g. 50 years) in response to sustained management of relevant threats. It is expressed as the percentage increase in likelihood when comparing sustained management to no management

Sustainable Agriculture is farming in a way to meet society’s present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. 

Tourism Authorities refers to relevant authorities when one or more are involved as a collective.

Waterway Amenity is the quality of the sensory experience of the waterway, riparian zone and immediate floodplain defined by the area’s natural features and supporting infrastructure.

Water Authorities refers to relevant authorities when one or more are involved as a collective.

Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD)  is an approach to planning and designing urban areas to make use of stormwater and reduce the harm it causes to our rivers and creeks.