Getting ready for coastal change

Changes are already happening in New Zealand as a result of climate change and further changes will occur in the 21st century and beyond.

According to Todd Krieble, General Manager of Reporting and Communications at the Ministry for the Environment: “One of the most talked about changes is sea-level rise. But climate change will also exacerbate existing coastal hazards by changing some of the hazard drivers such as sea level, tides, storms, waves and sediment supply. It will also exacerbate coastal erosion and inundation in many parts of the New Zealand coast. This further increases the risks for coastal developments.”

In March this year, the Ministry released a publication called Preparing for Coastal Change – A guide for local government in New Zealand. The publication is a 30-page summary of the technical manual Coastal Hazards and Climate Change – A Guidance Manual for Local Government in New Zealand (2nd ed) released last year.

Preparing for Coastal Change aims to help local government and others across New Zealand strengthen the integration of coastal hazards and climate change considerations into policy, planning, asset management and decision-making. It highlights the climate change impacts that are expected not only through sea level rise but also changes in storms, storm surge, wind and waves.

To maintain or develop resilient coastal communities, it is important to manage the effects of coastal hazards and the gradual changes to these hazards as a result of climate change. Climate change should be a considered factor in all coastal planning and decision-making and the publication recommends a risk management framework is used to consider the consequences of these hazards.

The publication highlights how a combination of risk-avoidance and risk-reduction activities can be used to manage present-day and future risk from coastal hazards through policy development, planning and resource consenting.

Increased sea level, increases in the intensity of severe storms, the frequency and magnitude of storm surges and storm tides, and in swell and wave conditions, as well as higher storm surge flooding are just some of the coastal hazards that will result from climate change. More extensive coastal inundation and the increased likelihood of high tides causing flooding of coastal land are likely to have a big effect on those living in coastal areas.

“By responding to climate change impacts now, councils can help their communities to be better placed to cope with risks from coastal hazards at present and into the future,” says Krieble.

“Taking a precautionary approach to planning new development, infrastructure and services to avoid coastal hazards over their intended lifetime is the most effective and sustainable approach in the long term. In the end the best solutions will consider the needs of future generations and not lock communities into a future of increasing risks from coastal hazards.”

For an electronic copy of the publication and the full technical manual see www.climatechange.govt.nz/physical-impacts-and-adaptation/publications.html

Preparing for Coastal Change is also available in print by emailing orders@mfe.govt.nz and requesting publication number ME 907.

For more information contact Julie King email julie.king@mfe.govt.nz or phone 04 439 7410, or Warren Gray email warren.gray@mfe.govt.nz or phone 04 439 7731.

LEFT: The standard of protection provided by coastal defences will decrease due to the effects of sea-level rise and other climate change impacts on coastal hazard drivers.
RIGHT: Predicting the impacts of sea-level rise and the extent of storm surges and flooding will inform planning guidelines for local councils to assist with risk-reduction measures in coastal areas.

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