Abstraction                          Drawing water out of a river or catchment for industrial, domestic or irrigation purposes.

AESD                                     Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Division, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Agenda 21                            A blueprint for sustainable development through local action developed and agreed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

Algae                                      Microscopic plants found in water.

ASSI                                       Area of Special Scientific Interest which needs to be protected and has been formally declared by the Department of Environment under the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (NI) Order 1985.

BASC                                    British Association for Shooting and Conservation.

Buffer Zones                       Areas adjoining designated protected land, which reduce impacts upon the protected area.

Biodiversity                         (Biological Diversity), the variety of life indicated by the number and variety of species in an area.

CAAN                                     Countryside Access and Activities Network.

Catchment                           A geographical area of land within which water collects and drains to the same outlet point.

CMD                                      Countryside Management Division, DARD.

CMS                                       Catchment Management Scheme – a DARD improvement scheme targeted at land managers.

Coarse fish                          Freshwater fish other than trout and salmon.

Conarce                                Letting of land in Ireland for a period of less than 1 year to prevent security of tenure.

Constructed Wetland        Man-made wetland habitat where plants can absorb excess nutrients from ‘polluted’ water.

CU                                         Craft Users.

DARD                                    Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

DCAL                                    Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.

DCALIF                                 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Inland Fisheries.

DED                                       Department of Education.

DEL                                        Department of Employment and Learning.

Diffuse pollution                 Sources of pollution having no clearly definable points of origin.

DOE                                        Department of Environment.

Ecosystem                           A dynamic biological community of interacting organisms and their immediate physical environment.

EHS                                       Environment and Heritage Service, DOE.

EIA                                         Environment Impact Assessment.

EPD                                       Environment Protection Division, DOE.

Eutrophication                   Enrichment of water by nutrients, leading to enhanced algal growth.

FCB                                       Fisheries Conservancy Board.

FHEC                                    Further and Higher Education College.

FLNLBW                              Federation of Lough Neagh and Lough Beg Wildfowlers.

FMD                                      Foot and Mouth Disease (2001 outbreak).

Flotsam                                Material found floating within a water body.

FO                                         Fisheries Owners.

Game fish                           Species of fish of the salmon family caught for sport.

Habitat                                 The place or type of site where an organism naturally occurs.

Honey pot sites                 Specific locations identified as focused interest areas.

HPA                                       Health Promotion Agency.

Hydromorphological         Relating to the character of water flow, energy etc, and the physical character of rivers shaped by the movement of water through the catchment.

IF                                            Individual farmers.

IWAI                                       Inland Waterways Association of Ireland.

LA                                           Local Authorities.

LAC                                        Local Angling Clubs.

LC                                           Local Communities.

LCG                                        Local Community Group.

LFA                                         Less-Favoured Area.

LNAC                                     Lough Neagh Advisory Committee.

LNCC                                     Lough Neagh Co-Ordinating Committee.

LNCo-op                               Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative Society.

LNN                                        Lough Neagh Navigation.

LNMS                                    Lough Neagh Management Strategy.

LNP                                        Lough Neagh Partnership.

LNW                                       Lough Neagh Wetlands consisting of Lough Neagh, Lough Beg, the satellite lakes, associated waterways and low-lying surrounding hinterland.

LWC                                       Local Wildfowling Club.

Macrophytes                       Large plants with roots.

NA                                          Navigation Authority.

NGO's                                    Non Government Organisations.

NIAPA                                    Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers Association.

NITB                                      Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

NNR                                       National Nature Reserve, an area considered to be of national beauty.

NIWC                                     Northern Ireland Water Council.

Phosphate                           A compound containing phosphorus often used as a fertilizer.

Phosphorus                        An element essential to all living organisms.

Physico-chemical              Relating to physical and chemical characteristics.

Point source pollution      Sources of pollution identified to a well-defined outfall.

PPS                                        Planning Policy Statement, a document outlining the general principles the DOE Planning Service observes in formulating planning policies, making development plans and exercising control of development.

PS                                           Planning Service, DOE.

Precautionary principle    To proceed with an action only when sure there is no risk or danger, or to implement safeguards to minimise any possible impact.

PWA                                       Private Water Abstractors.

QPANI                                   Quarry Products Association of Northern Ireland.

Quarry Species                   Species that are hunted.

RA                                          Rivers Agency, DARD.

Rampart                               Raised roads or tracks through fenland.

Ramsar                                 An Iranian town that hosted the 1971 Convention on Wetlands and has subsequently given its name to the Ramsar Convention and waterflow habitat sites of international importance.

RAN                                       Rural Area Networks.

RDC                                       Rural Development Council.

RDD                                       Rural Development Division.

Riparian zone                     The Strip of land bordering a river or stream.

ROI                                         Republic of Ireland

RS                                           Roads Service.

RSPB                                     Royal Society for the protection of Birds.

RTO                                        Regional Tourism Organisation.

SAC                                        Special Area of Conservation; an area having special protection because of the habitat it provides as defined by EU Directive 97/43.

SACS                                     Scottish Association for Country Sports.

Salmonid                              A collective term for salmon, trout and similar species.

SC                                          Sports Council of Northern Ireland.

SE                                           Sand Extractors.

SELN                                      Shaftesbury Estates of Lough Neagh Limited.

SH                                           Stakeholders.

SPA                                        Special Protection Area: an area having special protection because of the importance of bird species within it, as defined by the EU Birds Directive 79/409.

Statutory agency                An agency designated to carry out responsibilities during the implementation or enforcement of legislation.

Sustainability                       A situation in which human activities do not irreversibly damage the environment.

UAF                                        Ulster Angling Federation.

UCFF                                      Ulster Coarse Fishing Federation.

UFU                                        Ulster Farmers Union.

UNI                                         Universities.

UWG                                       Ulster Waterways Group.

Vernacular                            Local or traditional in style.

WFD                                       Water Framework Directive: European legislation on water quality and management (Directive 2000/06).

WI                                           Waterways Ireland.

Wise use of

Wetlands Principle            The wise use of wetlands is their sustainable use for the benefit of people in a way compatible with the maintenance of the physical, chemical and biological properties of the ecosystem.

WMU                                      Water Management Unit, Department of the Environment.

WS                                          Water Service, Department for Regional Development.

WSE                                        Water Sport Enthusiasts.