NCEA Level 2 Education for Sustainability key terms

Meeting people's present needs in a way that does not stop future generations from meeting theirs. It balances environmental limits with social fairness and economic activity over the long term.

Development that improves people's wellbeing while protecting the natural systems it depends on. It aims to raise living standards without using up resources or causing damage that future generations inherit.

The idea that people living now should not use resources or cause harm in ways that leave later generations worse off. It asks whether today's choices keep options open for the future.

The maximum number of people or level of activity an environment can support without being degraded over time. Exceeding it leads to resource depletion, pollution, or ecosystem decline.

A measure of the land and water area needed to supply a person's or group's resources and absorb their waste. It is compared with available area to show whether demand exceeds what the planet can regenerate.

A way of judging success by three results at once: environmental health, social wellbeing, and economic viability. A decision is only truly sustainable when all three are acceptable, not just profit.

The way parts of a system rely on each other, so a change in one part affects the others. Environmental, social, cultural, and economic factors constantly influence one another.

Looking at a problem as a set of connected parts rather than isolated pieces. It traces how causes, effects, and delays ripple through a whole system, including unexpected side effects.

A cycle where a change produces an effect that feeds back to increase or reduce the original change. Reinforcing loops amplify change; balancing loops resist it and push a system toward stability.

Accepting a disadvantage in one area to gain an advantage in another. Sustainability decisions often involve trade-offs between economic gain, environmental protection, and social fairness.

Costs or benefits of an activity that fall on people or environments not involved in the transaction. Pollution from a factory is a negative externality because others bear the harm.

The benefits nature provides to people, such as clean water, pollination, flood control, and food. Their loss is often invisible in markets but costly to society and the economy.

The stock of natural resources and living systems that produce value, such as forests, soil, water, and minerals. Using it faster than it regenerates reduces the capital available for the future.

The using up of a natural resource faster than it can be replaced or renewed. It can be local, such as overfished waters, or global, such as declining fossil fuel reserves.

The variety of living things in a place, from genes to species to whole ecosystems. High biodiversity helps systems stay resilient to change and supports human food and medicine.

The ability of a system, community, or ecosystem to absorb shocks and recover without collapsing. Diverse, flexible systems usually cope better with disturbance than narrow, rigid ones.

The threshold where a small extra change pushes a system into a very different state that is hard to reverse. Examples include a fishery collapsing or a reef bleaching permanently.

The idea that endless increases in population and consumption cannot continue on a finite planet. Growth eventually meets resource limits, pollution limits, or both.

The body of knowledge held and developed by Māori, passed down through generations and grounded in relationships between people and the environment. It includes science, values, and practice specific to place.

The Māori responsibility to guard and care for the environment and people on behalf of past and future generations. It is an active duty of stewardship, not simply protection or non-use.

A Māori concept describing the life force or vital essence present in people, places, water, and living things. Actions that damage mauri are seen as harming the wellbeing of the whole system.

A Māori framework of connections and genealogy that links people to ancestors, land, and other living things. It frames humans as part of nature rather than separate from or above it.

Māori who hold ancestral and customary authority over a particular area of land or water. Their role as local guardians shapes how sustainability decisions are made in that place.

The Māori worldview, which sees people, land, water, and spiritual forces as interconnected. It emphasises collective relationships and long-term responsibilities rather than individual gain.

The set of beliefs and assumptions a person or culture uses to understand how the world works. Different worldviews lead to different views on what counts as a sustainability problem.

The principles and priorities people consider important, which guide what they see as right or desirable. Sustainability conflicts often arise because groups hold different values, not just different facts.

The principle that no group should carry an unfair share of environmental harm, such as pollution or lost access to resources. It links environmental issues to fairness and power.

Fairness in how benefits and burdens are shared across a community, including income, health, and access to resources. Sustainability requires that improvements do not deepen inequality.

A specific problem where current human activity threatens environmental, social, cultural, or economic wellbeing. It usually has multiple causes and affects several groups in different ways.

The link between what creates a problem and the results that follow. Mapping direct and underlying causes helps explain why a sustainability issue persists and where to intervene.

The underlying reason a problem exists, rather than its visible symptom. Addressing a root cause usually changes a system more durably than treating symptoms.

Any person or group affected by, or able to influence, a decision or issue. Identifying stakeholders and their interests reveals whose views are included or left out.

Seeking and considering the views of affected people before making a decision. Good consultation is genuine, timely, and shapes the outcome rather than confirming a plan already fixed.

A place in a system where a small, well-targeted action produces a large and lasting change. Finding leverage points is more effective than pushing harder on symptoms.

A written outline of what will be done, by whom, by when, and how success will be measured. It turns a sustainability goal into concrete, checkable steps.

A measurable sign used to judge whether a condition or action is improving, worsening, or unchanged. Good indicators are specific, relevant, and possible to collect reliably.

Repeatedly checking chosen indicators over time to see whether an action is working. It allows adjustments when results differ from what was expected.

Judging the value and outcomes of an action against its aims, using evidence. It considers what worked, what did not, and what should change next time.

Exploring possible, probable, and preferred futures to make better decisions now. It uses scenarios and long timeframes to reveal risks and opportunities that short-term thinking hides.

A plausible story of how the future could unfold, built from different assumptions and trends. Comparing scenarios helps people see trade-offs and choose actions that are robust across them.

The idea that where serious harm is possible but not yet certain, action to prevent it is justified. It shifts the burden of proof toward showing that an activity is safe.

Adjusting practices, infrastructure, or behaviour to cope with changing conditions and reduce harm. It differs from mitigation, which tackles the cause of the change itself.

Acting to reduce the causes or severity of a problem, such as cutting emissions or restoring habitat. It contrasts with adaptation, which responds to effects already occurring.

Choosing between options by weighing environmental, social, cultural, and economic effects over short and long terms. It includes uncertainty, affected groups, and future generations in the reasoning.