The first national climate change risk assessment for Aotearoa NZ has been released. It identifies 43 priority risks with the following 10 most significant risks that require urgent action: Natural Environment: Risks to coastal ecosystems, including the intertidal zone, estuaries, dunes, coastal lakes and wetlands, due to ongoing sea-level rise and extreme weather events. Natural… Continue reading Adapting Land Development to a Changing Climate
Tag: Climate Change
Fast-track Consenting (shudder)
The government has announced that it will undertake a law change to fast-track eligible development. The details are still relatively light but the following types of projects have been singled out for priority at this early stage (my satirical comments added): Roading (to help us re-pollute the air); Walking and cycling (which has been revealed… Continue reading Fast-track Consenting (shudder)
Freshwater 2020 Report Released
Four issues have been identified: Our native freshwater species and ecosystems are under threat Water is polluted in urban, farming, and forestry areas Changing water flows affect our freshwater Climate change is affecting freshwater in Aotearoa New Zealand A must read for all land development professionals wanting to improve the quality of our environment.
Coastlines and Shorelines
I’m really impressed with the direction of the Thames-Coromandel Shoreline Management Planning (SMP) Project. I’ll overlook the fact that participants of the summer survey go in the draw to win a petrol voucher… The project appears to be based on the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) approach. The European Union has developed eight principles of… Continue reading Coastlines and Shorelines
Planning for Land Use Technology
The Christchurch City Council is proposing to regulate what they call ‘home share accommodation’ through the District Plan. This approach presumes that the resource management issue is a land use problem, when in reality it’s a technology problem. Defining home share accomodation as something different from ‘normal’ residential accommodation is a seemingly arbitrary activity based… Continue reading Planning for Land Use Technology
Bureaucratic Triage and the Climate Emergency
During 2019 five regional councils (including Auckland) and ten territorial authorities declared a ‘climate emergency’ in NZ. An emergency is a a dangerous situation requiring immediate action. It’s probably fair to say that Council’s don’t have a reputation for acting quickly. Nonetheless, a policy triage of sorts is underway to determine the order of regulation… Continue reading Bureaucratic Triage and the Climate Emergency