1 Introduction
1.1 The New Zealand Hazard Scape
1.2 Signatory to International Agreements
1.3 Aligning Sustainable Development, Climate Change Adaptation, and Disaster Risk Reduction
2 Legislative Tools and Definitions of Sustainability, Resilience, Well-being, and Vulnerability in Aotearoa New Zealand
Statute | Purpose |
---|---|
Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) | To promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources. Sustainable management means managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being and for their health and safety while […] avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment |
Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (CDEM Act) | To improve and promote the sustainable management of hazards in a way that contributes to the social, economic, cultural, and environmental well-being and safety of the public and also to the protection of property |
Local Government Act 2002 | To provide for local authorities to play a broad role in promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of their communities, taking a sustainable development approach |
Building Act 2004 | That people who use buildings can do so safely and without endangering their health; buildings have attributes that contribute appropriately to the health, physical independence, and well-being of the people who use them; and to ensure that buildings are designed, constructed, and able to be used in ways that promote sustainable development |
Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019 | Provide a framework by which New Zealand can develop and implement clear and stable climate change policies that contribute to the global effort under the Paris Agreement to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels; and allow New Zealand to prepare for, and adapt to, the effects of climate change |
3 Terminology and Inclusion in National Strategies
Term | Definition | Source |
---|---|---|
Risk | Likelihood and consequence of a hazard | Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (CDEM Act) |
Impact of uncertainty on objectives | Treasury (Frieling and Warren 2018) | |
Resilience | The ability to anticipate and resist the effects of a disruptive event, minimize adverse impacts, respond effectively post-event, maintain or recover functionality, and adapt in a way that allows for learning and thriving | MCDEM (2019) National Disaster Resilience Strategy (p. 7) |
Sustainability | Managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being and for their health and safety while (a) sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; (b) safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil, and ecosystems; and (c) avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment | Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) |
Vulnerability | The conditions determined by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors or processes that increase the susceptibility of an individual, a community, assets, or systems to the impacts of hazards | MCDEM (2019) National Disaster Resilience Strategy (p. 7) |
Well-being | Our quality of life, including: civic and human rights, culture and identity, housing, knowledge and skills, leisure and recreation, material standard of living, employment status and job satisfaction, the physical and natural environment, safety and security, health and social connectedness | MCDEM (2019) National Disaster Resilience Strategy (p. 7) |
The human, social, natural, and financial/physical aspects of those things that affect our living standards | The Treasury (2018) |
3.1 Resilience and Sustainability
3.2 The Living Standards Framework
- An absorption capacity dimension, which comprises resistance and buffers that can reduce the depth of impact; and
- An adaptability dimension, which focuses on elements of adaptability and innovation that maximize the speed of recovery.
3.3 Vulnerability Under the RMA, CDEM Act, and Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act
3.4 Opportunities for Improvement
3.4.1 National Policy Statements Under the Resource Management Act (RMA)
3.4.2 The Opportunity to Include Vulnerability
3.4.3 Living Standards Framework
3.5 Examples of Non-regulatory “Disruptive and Proactive” Actions at the District and Community Levels
3.5.1 Declaration of Climate Emergencies
- Reference to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC 2018), that limiting global warming to the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius requires rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy, land, urban, infrastructure (including transport and buildings), and industrial systems (Environment Canterbury 2019);
- Acknowledgment of the potential for local impacts due to climate change exacerbating natural hazards; and
- The importance of local and regional councils supporting the solution (Kāpiti Coast District Council 2019).
3.5.2 Iwi Management Plans
TE KAITIAKITANGA ME TE TĀHUHU (Organizational development and governance) | Te Rūnanga [administrative group of Ngāi Tahu] will take appropriate action to adapt all areas of tribal interests and activity to withstand the compounding effects of our changing climate, to ensure Ngāi Tahu activities are aligned to the best projected climate change outcomes, and to make the most of opportunities, so that Ngāi Tahu Whānui [people] have every chance to thrive even in the most extreme scenarios |
TŌ TĀTOU NGĀI TAHUTANGA (Culture and identity) | We will face the challenges of a changing climate in our takiwā [area] with the courage, resilience, and wisdom of our tupuna [ancestors], strengthened by all that makes us Ngāi Tahu, as we create a cultural legacy for those to come who must live in a changed world |
TE AO TŪROA (Environment) | We will manage tribal resources wisely, continuing to protect wāhi tapu [sacred place], mahinga kai [gathering place for food], and other taonga tuku iho [treasures handed down] where possible, focusing on strategic restoration activities, while actively investing in places and species of likely future abundance |
KO NGĀ WHAKAPĀPĀTANGA (Tribal communications) | Ngāi Tahu Whānui are well informed about all aspects of climate change relevant to their interests and well-being. They know how the tribe as a whole is responding to the risks, challenges, and opportunities, and can act with confidence within their whānau and hapū |
TE WHAKAARIKI (Influence) | Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Papatipu Rūnanga are embedded within key climate change response structures and programs, working with central and local governments and others. These programs support desired outcomes for Ngāi Tahu Whānui as a result of tribal influence and leadership |
TE WHAKATIPU (Growing the future) | Papatipu Rūnanga has the resources and information necessary to generate and implement marae [meeting house] and community-centered climate change response strategies that are designed to meet the needs of whānau and hapū, aligned with tribal direction |
WHĀNAU (Family) | Whānau needs and aspirations are central to tribal climate change response, with tribal resources targeted towards addressing fundamental challenges to kāinga [settlements] within the takiwā, maximizing opportunities for whānau, and assisting whānau facing climate change impacts in other parts of the country and the world |
MĀTAURANGA (Knowledge) | Tribal investment in the future, focused on education and training supports Ngāi Tahu Whānui to generate and take up opportunities related to climate change response |
TE PŪTEA (Investment planning) | The economic base of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is built on leading, climate responsible, innovative, and adaptive businesses and partnerships, meeting the needs and aspirations of Ngāi Tahu Whānui while applying Ngāi Tahu values to address the business risks, challenges, and opportunities associated with climate change |
KO TE PAPA – KO TĀWHIRIMĀTEA – KO TANGAROA | ||
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Resource | Issues | |
Natural hazards—tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption—Ngā rū whenua, parawhenua | Natural hazards pose a risk to people, property, and the environment | |
Objectives | Policies | Methodsa |
To avoid, remedy, or mitigate the adverse effects of natural hazards on human life, property, and the environment, while minimizing the adverse effects of measures implemented to reduce the risks of natural hazards | Natural hazard management is an important role of Councils, civil defence, and other agencies Before provision is made enabling significant development or redevelopment of land that will result in intensification of land use, any flood hazards and measures to avoid or mitigate their adverse effects shall be identified Development shall not be permitted if it is likely to accelerate, worsen, or result in inundation of other property, unless it can be demonstrated that the adverse effects can be avoided or mitigated Construction of mitigation works shall be encouraged only where people, property, and the environment are subject to unacceptable risk from flood hazards In the coastal environment, new subdivision, use, or development should be located and designed, so that the need for hazard protection measures is avoided Where existing subdivision, use, or development is adversely affected by a coastal hazard, coastal protection works should be permitted only where they are the best practicable option for the future The abandonment or relocation of existing structures and the use of nonstructural solutions should be considered among the options A precautionary approach shall be used in avoiding, remedying, or mitigating the adverse effects on development, of earthquake, volcanic activity, sea level rise, and global climatic change | [The Regional Council] will coordinate the management of natural hazards throughout the Region by setting standards and ensuring consistency among [local councils] The [Regional Council] and [local councils] will jointly advocate methods to avoid, remedy, or mitigate the adverse effects of natural hazards on the environment Ngāti Rangitihi will promote a comprehensive catchment-wide approach to flood management [Local councils] will ensure that any required hazard mitigation works are undertaken, and that they are adequately maintained [The Regional Council] will implement objectives, policies, and rules with respect to coastal hazards in the coastal environment, through the provisions in the Regional Plan—Coastal, which will encourage subdivision, use, and development in the coastal environment to locate in appropriate areas [Local councils] will ensure that current information about known hazards is available to all persons |