Ecology is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environments (i.e. habitats and ecosystems). Ecology also provides information about the benefits of ecosystems (i.e. ecosystem services) and how we can use the Earth’s resources in a sustainable manner.

An Ecosystem is a group of plants, animals and other organisms interacting with each other and with non-living components of their environment. Ecosystems can be classified broadly into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Terrestrial ecosystems occur on land where water is a limiting factor, whereas aquatic ecosystems occur within landforms that are permanently or periodically inundated with flowing or standing water.

Wetlands are ecosystems that have shallow water on the surface or within the root zone for extended periods throughout the year such that anaerobic soil conditions develop which favour the growth and persistence of hydrophytes (i.e. plants with special adaptations that enable them to survive in anaerobic soil conditions).

Rivers and Streams are natural channels that are permanent, seasonal or temporary conduits of freshwater. Rivers and streams comprise in-stream aquatic habitat and a riparian zone. Instream habitat is the aquatic habitat (or alluvial in the case of intermittent / ephemeral watercourses) within the active channel that includes the water column, riverbed and the inundated channel margins and associated vegetation. The riparian zone comprises a distinct corridor of vegetation along a channel that is influenced by fluvial processes like flooding, alluvial sediment deposition and increased soil moisture content such that the plant communities are distinct from those of adjacent upland areas.

 Environmental Assessment is the formal and systematic evaluation of the environmental consequences of an existing or proposed policy, plan, programme or project that is conducted prior to making decisions and commitments.

Environmental Management is a broad term encompasses all plans, programmes and actions that aim to maintain and/or improve the state of environmental systems affected by human activities with the aim of achieving environmental sustainability.

Rehabilitation refers to the process of reinstating the natural hydrological, geomorphological and ecological processes of a degraded ecosystem with the aim of recovering system integrity and ecosystem service delivery (Russell, 2009). Rehabilitation also refers to the halting and decline in integrity (stabilisation) of an ecological system that is in the process of degrading with the aim of maintaining system integrity and ecosystem service delivery (Russell, 2009).

Offsets are enduring measurable conservation outcomes resulting from actions designed to compensate for anticipated significant residual negative impacts (SANBI and DWS, 2014).