Coastal Adaptation Framework

While the Council, on behalf of the community, is responsible with Environment Canterbury for managing risks posed by coastal hazards and is responsible for managing the risk to Council owned assets and income, the Council does not have an explicit legal obligation to protect privately owned assets from coastal hazards.

Private asset owners (individuals, organisations, businesses, and iwi who own built structures on private land) are responsible for managing risks to their assets and incomes.  The private asset owner’s role is to:

• Be aware of the risks and their responsibility for managing them.
• Comply with regulations that apply to their assets and activities.
• Take steps to understand the magnitude and nature of the specific risks to their assets and activities.
• Develop and implement strategies and actions to manage these risks.

The Council’s role is to:

• Prepare and implement civil defence and emergency management plans.
• Develop and implement plans, policies and regulations for the identification and management of coastal hazards.
• Facilitate the building of resilience and adaptive capacity within communities including providing information about known risks posed by coastal hazard.
• Where appropriate, work in partnership with communities to identify and manage the risks posed by coastal hazards, and their impacts.

Adaptation planning will take place in different Adaptation Areas at different times.  To encourage an equitable approach across all communities, we want to establish some clear principles now, to help guide our adaptation planning programme.

We have come up with the following draft principles with input from our partners Papatipu Rūnanga and Environment Canterbury:

Uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi

We will uphold the principles of the Treaty, including the principles of partnership and the active protection of Ngāi Tahu interests in land and water.  This commitment includes recognising rangatiratanga and the duty to actively engage with mana whenua.

Develop local plans for local communities and environments

Adaptation planning will respond to the scale of the risks and vulnerabilities of each Adaptation Area and its assets.  It will reflect local values, and other considerations that may exacerbate community vulnerabilities.  Adaptation planning may produce different results in each place – there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution or timeline for addressing coastal hazards.

Focus on public assets that contribute to the health, safety and wellbeing of communities

While the adaptation planning process will consider communities as a whole and will identify private assets at risk of coastal hazards, Council’s resources (including public funds) will primarily be used to manage risks to public assets that contribute to the health, safety and wellbeing of communities.  Public assets may include infrastructure systems such as water pipes and roads, facilities such as libraries, pools and parks, and services such as waste collection.

Privately owned assets that directly contribute to the health, safety and wellbeing of communities may also be a focus for adaptation planning (but not necessarily public funding) if they provide critical community infrastructure.  These assets may for example include: marae, urupa, churches, surf lifesaving services, and buildings and/or land used for civil defence and emergency services.  This does not include privately owned recreation facilities or entertainment and hospitality venues.

Private asset owners are responsible for managing risks to their assets and incomes.  Any private benefits from Council funded adaptation should be indirect or incidental.

Be flexible and responsive

Adaptation planning acknowledges that, while the sea is rising, there is uncertainty around when and how different areas will be impacted.  This means we need to consider and accommodate a wide range of scenarios and potential options.  We need to be responsive to future opportunities, technologies, funding sources and changes resulting from the Government’s reform of the resource management system.

Recognise inter-generational equity issues

We will take a long-term view to ensure adaptation planning is sustainable, provides benefits to current and future generations, and is not driven by short-term decisions on cost savings or avoiding loss.  We will prioritise options and pathways that minimise the burden on future generations and maximise inter-generational equity.  Where appropriate, this may mean action is needed now, to avoid shifting the financial burden of implementing adaptation pathways on to future generations.  

Prioritise natural and nature-based options

We will identify and prioritise natural and nature-based options wherever feasible, in preference to any hard protection options.  This is in line with the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010 which recognises that natural options provide additional benefits including protecting and enhancing the natural environment and taonga, and maintaining and creating recreational assets.  Examples of natural and nature-based adaptation options can be found in the Catalogue of Coastal Hazard Adaptation Options.

Keep managed retreat on the table

We will consider all options for managing the risks posed by coastal hazards for communities, including managed retreat.  This is in in line with the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010.  While managed retreat is a challenging adaptation option in terms of implementation, and social and economic impacts, it offers a long-term sustainable option that can remove the risk of coastal hazards, allowing natural coastal processes to unfold.  It can also be used to create natural protection buffers for other at-risk assets.

Different managed retreat techniques can be found in the Catalogue of Coastal Hazard Adaptation Options.

To encourage an equitable process that results in adaptation plans that are supported, where possible, by both residents and the Council, we are initially proposing to follow an approach that will include engagement with mana whenua and communities, technical work by the Specialist and Technical Advisory Group (the STAG), and a recommendation from the Coastal Panel for Council decision on adaptation pathways. 

We estimate that to get through this process, it will take approximately 12 to 18 months.  Once we have completed planning in one Adaptation Area, we will move onto the next Adaptation Area. 

The Coastal Panel is a diverse group of community and rūnanga representatives from each Adaptation Area.  Some city-wide representation will also be included as well as youth voices. There is one Coastal Panel per Adaptation Area. The role of the Coastal Panel is to provide informed recommendations to Council for adaptation plans that allow communities within the Adaptation Area that are impacted by coastal hazards, to respond to changes over time.

The Specialist and Technical Advisory Group (STAG) is a specialist and technical forum that assists the Council and Coastal Panel with the creation of adaptation pathways. Members are experts in their fields from across a number of agencies, and are able to provide information, advice and guidance to support Coastal Panel decision-making.

Read more detail about the engagement and decision-making process in the Coastal Adaptation Framework [PDF, 1.7 MB].