Meeting of the Environment and Integrated Catchments
Committee
Date: Wednesday 5 February 2020
Time: 9.00am
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Venue:
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Council Chamber
Hawke's Bay Regional Council
159 Dalton Street
NAPIER
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Agenda
Item Subject Page
1. Welcome/Notices/Apologies
2. Conflict
of Interest Declarations
3. Confirmation of
Minutes of the Environment and Integrated Catchments Committee held on 4
December 2019
4. Follow-ups from
Previous Environment and Integrated Catchments Committee Meetings 3
5. Call for Minor
Items Not on the Agenda 11
Information or Performance Monitoring
6. Regional Climate
Change Response Programme Development Update 13
7. Summary of
Activity and Investment in the Coastal and Marine Area 39
8. Right Tree Right
Place - Principles to Guide the Business Case 43
9. Heretaunga Plains
Flood Control Scheme Level of Service Review 49
10. Discussion of Minor Matters
Not on the Agenda 57
HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
Environment
and Integrated Catchments Committee
5 February 2020
SUBJECT: Follow-ups from Previous Environment
and Integrated Catchments Committee Meetings
Reason for Report
1. Attachment 1 lists items
raised at previous meetings that require follow-ups. All items indicate who is
responsible for each, when it is expected to be completed and a brief status
comment. Once the items have been completed and reported to the Committee they
will be removed from the list.
Decision Making Process
2. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act
2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for
information only, the decision making provisions do not apply.
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Recommendation
That the Environment and Services Committee
receives and notes the Follow-up Items from Previous Environment &
Services Committee Meetings staff report.
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Authored by:
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Ceri Edmonds
Manager Policy and Planning
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Leeanne
Hooper
Governance Lead
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Anna
Madarasz-Smith
Team Leader/Principal Scientist Marine and
Coast
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Approved by:
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Iain Maxwell
Group Manager Integrated Catchment
Management
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Attachment/s
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⇩1
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Follow-ups
from Previous Meetings
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Follow-ups
from Previous Meetings
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Attachment 1
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Follow-ups
from Previous Meetings
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Attachment 1
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HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL
COUNCIL
Environment
and Integrated Catchments Committee
5 February 2020
Subject: Call for Minor Items
Not on the Agenda
Reason
for Report
1. This item provides the means for committee members to raise minor
matters they wish to bring to the attention of the meeting.
2. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council standing order 9.13
states:
2.1. “A
meeting may discuss an item that is not on the agenda only if it is a minor
matter relating to the general business of the meeting and the Chairperson
explains at the beginning of the public part of the meeting that the item will
be discussed. However, the meeting may not make a resolution, decision or
recommendation about the item, except to refer it to a subsequent meeting for
further discussion.”
Recommendations
3. That the Environment and Integrated Catchments Committee accepts the
following “Minor Items
Not on the Agenda” for discussion as Item 10:
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Leeanne Hooper
GOVERNANCE LEAD
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James Palmer
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
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HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
Environment
and Integrated Catchments Committee
5 February 2020
Subject: Regional Climate Change
Response Programme Development Update
Reason for Report
1. To briefly
recap recent decisions taken by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, and
associated climate change response actions underway, including the decision in
June 2019 to declare a climate emergency and direct staff to develop a
comprehensive programme of work
2. To seek
feedback and ‘test’ preliminary ideas about how the Hawke’s
Bay Regional Council might lead a joined-up collective response in
Hawke’s Bay to climate change.
Focus areas for Councillors’ feedback
3. At this time,
this report is not recommending that the Committee make any specific decision
at the meeting. Instead, this paper
deliberately invites feedback from Councillors as a forerunner to developing
a comprehensive programme of work in response to climate change, including
regional leadership for climate change awareness and action[1]. At the meeting,
feedback is invited on the following.
3.1. Assumption
that Regional Councillors don’t disagree with the June 2019 Climate
Emergency Declaration by the previous Council.
3.2. An approach
during 2020 that is more about ‘getting on with it’ than having a
series of councillor workshops on how we might do it (i.e. less councillor
workshopping on climate change response in favour of greater external liaison
on programme setup).
3.3. The Regional
Council cannot solve the local climate change response alone. We will
need to work with others to make a difference.
3.4. Setup and
working through an agile and relatively small-sized HBRC-led steering group,
rather than fixed meeting schedule of the EIC Committee or formalities
associated with some other joint committee.
3.5. Interim
‘governance’ working party overseeing development of a coordinated
regional response programme then moving to a form of enduring governance
arrangement. Initially, this would be local government and iwi.
3.6. At staff
level, a working group involving members from city and district councils to
shape and steer programme development.
3.7. Noting that
HBRC’s Pieri Munro Te Pou Whakarae has advised the Project Team to
present a briefing paper to the Maori Committee meeting on 4 March. That
paper would seek their input and direction about the roles and responsibilities
for tāngata whenua in developing the regional climate change response
programme for Hawke’s Bay.
3.8. No 2020-21
Annual Plan process for the Regional Council, but alignment with LTP process
spanning remainder of 2020 and early 2021 (refer to the three-phased engagement
approach described in Attachment 1, which Councillors previewed during their
Strategy session in November).
3.9. Scheduling
a conference for mid-late 2020 to feature a variety of presentations and
speakers showcasing climate change response work and potential additional
community mitigation and adaptation initiatives. Attendees to cover a
broad spectrum of organisations, groups and individuals, actively incorporating
youth participation.
3.10. What further information
do we need to base our programme on/around? For example, a regional
climate change risk assessment; a regional-scale inventory of greenhouse gas
emissions (‘GHGs’); a public perceptions survey baseline (and
future repeatable surveys) to monitor trends in community profile, attitude and
actions for climate change response.
3.11. To deliver this work
within existing budgets or secure additional resourcing or de-prioritise other
planned work.
4. The remainder
of this report is background context-setting advice.
Background
“Action
on climate change requires coherent and consistent governance across central
and local government. Action on climate change requires a comprehensive
understanding of the opportunities and risks, innovation, and prioritised
actions to achieve our vision for prosperous communities.” (LGNZ Local Government Position Statement on climate change).
5. Climate change
is a global issue with local effects. Rising greenhouse gas concentrations,
global average sea level and average temperature rise are being felt in our communities
in the form of extreme weather events causing river and coastal flooding,
drought and severe coastal erosion.
6. Past hazard
assessments for the region indicate that over the next century our region can
expect sea levels to continue to rise, more extreme weather, more intense
rainfall, warmer, drier summers, fewer frosts, milder winters and shifting
seasons. In addition, the climate will also vary from year to year and
decade to decade owing to natural processes such as El Niño. Climate
change effects over the next decades are predictable with some certainty, and
will vary from place to place. Many of those projections were documented
in the 2017 NIWA report ‘Hawke’s Bay Climate Change Projections:
prepared for Landcare Research New Zealand Limited.’
7. Councils are at
the forefront of managing the risk to New Zealand’s natural and built
environment through mitigation and adaptation actions. Through its
environmental planning and regulation role, much of the responsibility for
adaptation falls to local government. However, councils cannot address
these issues by themselves. All parts of society, a diverse range of
actions and policy approaches are required to effectively manage the risks
climate change presents.
8. With respect to
mitigation, councils can play an important role by working with communities to
reduce emissions. As a business organisation, the Regional Council can
also take steps to procure goods and services that are
‘climate-friendly’ and reduce its own emissions, waste, energy
consumption, etc. A number of such initiatives are in place, in progress
or planned for the future (Attachment 2). These are just some of the
ingredients that would feature in a comprehensive programme of work in response
to climate change.
9. In the
Council’s Strategic Plan 2017-2021, four of the 23 strategic goals are:
9.1. by 2025,
coastal hazards are being managed to meet foreseeable climate change risks to
coastal communities out to 2100
9.2. by 2030,
flood risk is being managed to meet foreseeable climate change risks out to
2100
9.3. by 2030,
Hawke’s Bay has environmentally sustainable, harvestable water identified
and stored or plans to be stored if required
9.4. by 2040,
Hawke’s Bay is carbon neutral.
10. To achieve those 23
strategic goals, over the past few years the Regional Council has made a series
of decisions and launched a number of significant proposals that lay stronger
foundations. Most notably, the 2018-28 Long Term Plan has been described
as “revolutionary” in that it signals a new era in the way the
Council manages the environment. With a strengthened environmental focus
and emphasis on land, water and biodiversity, the LTP includes upscaling and
accelerated work in land and water management (i.e. science, policy, regulation
and incentives). To enable that, some of the things Council has agreed
include:
10.1. completing a Capital
structure review
10.2. completing shareholding
transactions for Port of Napier Limited
10.3. increasing user charges
10.4. borrowing up to $35
million over ten years to provide incentives to change farming practices in the
region.
Climate Emergency Declaration and
Local Government Leaders’ Climate Change Declaration
11. On 26 June 2019, the
Regional Council declared a climate emergency when it passed the following
resolution (ref RC69/19): “[The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council]
11.1. Declares a climate
emergency, recognising global warming to be an urgent and pervasive threat to
human and ecological wellbeing.
11.2. Commits to providing
an annual progress report in relation to its existing programme of work and
additional future programmes relating to climate change.
11.3. Includes climate
change as a primary factor for consideration in its decision making processes.
11.4. Commits to developing
a comprehensive programme of work in response to climate change, including
regional leadership for climate change awareness and action.
11.5. Requests staff
develop a programme of community engagement on climate change mitigation and
adaptation.
11.6. Directs the Chief
Executive to further reduce the Council’s greenhouse gas emissions and
report annually on progress within the annual progress report.
11.7. Advocates to the
Ministry for the Environment to include greenhouse gas emissions in the
consenting process under the Resource Management Act.
11.8. Makes further
submissions, as appropriate, to the Zero Carbon Bill.”
12. The Regional Council is a
signatory to the 2015 Local Government
Leaders’ Climate Change Declaration. The Declaration
features seven principles under headings of precaution,
stewardship/kaitiakitanga, equity/justice, anticipation (thinking and acting
long-term), understanding, cooperation and resilience. The local
government sector’s position on climate change is documented by Local
Government New Zealand – the “sector voice” for all 78
councils in Aotearoa. In a 4-page summary, the
statements are:
12.1. Local government will
collaborate
12.2. Local government will
incorporate climate change implications into urban development and land-use
decisions and take a long term approach to waste management and energy use,
including transport infrastructure
12.3. Local government will
take an all hazards approach to managing risks
12.4. Local government will
factor in the impacts of climate change on water security.
12.5. What local government
requires of central government is:
12.5.1. a national campaign to
raise awareness of climate change
12.5.2. policy alignment and a
clear mandate to address climate change
12.5.3. a decision on fiscal
responsibility for adaptation
12.5.4. co-investment with
central government to support low carbon, climate resilient infrastructure.
Surveying residents’ perceptions
13. In the Regional
Council’s two-yearly independent survey of HB residents’
perceptions, the 2019 survey[2] sought residents’ opinions
about climate change. Sixty-five percent of the 800 respondents indicated
they are ‘somewhat to very concerned’ about the impact of climate
change and thirty percent believe the Regional Council should give ‘high
to very high’ priority to addressing the impacts of climate change.
14. Project leaders are
currently considering the merits of designing an additional community survey to
aid in building a ‘before’ snapshot of public perceptions and
knowledge of climate action in the region. This is a one-time-only
opportunity to obtain a richer snapshot before the regional council and its
partners proceed to build a comprehensive programme of climate action, and the
associated targeted communications, community engagement etc. Over time,
repeated surveys would enable us to ‘test’ effectiveness of the programme
on community awareness and action highlighting areas for particular focussed
effort.
Climate change legislation
15. In late 2019, Parliament
passed the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill into
legislation. That amended the Climate Change Response Act 2002 and is a
blueprint for New Zealand to deliver on the Paris Agreement signed in April
2017.[3]
16. The Climate Change
Response Act as amended now sets up a framework of five year emissions budgets
for achieving those targets and establishes a new, politically neutral and
independent Climate Change Commission[4]
to keep us on track and to hold successive governments accountable to
implementing actions to achieve the zero carbon goal by 2050. The Commission is
also responsible for developing a National Climate Adaptation Plan which has
had foundation works laid down by the preparation of a National Climate Change Risk Assessment
Framework and work currently underway on the national risk
assessment itself.
17. Along with these changes,
councils can expect useful direction when Government releases its first
National Climate Change Risk Assessment due in mid-2020 (future six-yearly risk
assessments will be undertaken by the Climate Change Commission).
18. The Government has
previously announced its intention to review the resource management system. In
2019, a six-person panel
was appointed by Government Ministers to lead a comprehensive review of the
Resource Management Act and other significant legislation comprising the
resource management system. In November 2019, the Panel released an issues and options
paper outlining main issues to be addressed in the reform
process and offers possible ways in which they might be addressed. Addressing
climate change and natural hazards was identified as one of 14 key issues to be
addressed in the review. It is very likely that the review will lead to
legislative reform, but any such new legislation will not be in place within
the current term of the Labour-led Government. This poses a degree of
uncertainty if the reform will continue after the outcome of the Government
elections later this year.
ETS and the farming sector
19. Over the next 5 years,
farm-based greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and synthetic fertilisers
will be addressed through a novel approach, apart from the Emissions Trading
Scheme. Farming sector leaders and the Government are partnering to reduce
primary sector emissions through an action plan which includes:
19.1. improved tools for
estimating and benchmarking emissions on farms
19.2. integrated farm plans
that include a climate module
19.3. investment in research,
development and commercialisation
19.4. increased farm advisory
capacity and capability
19.5. incentives for early
adopters
19.6. recognition of on-farm
mitigation such as small plantings, riparian areas and natural cover.
20. Mandatory reporting of
livestock emissions will be required from the beginning of 2024. From
2025, the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Reform) Amendment Bill
(2019) prices agricultural livestock emissions at the farm level and fertiliser
at the processor level.
Council actions across Hawke’s Bay
21. All Hawke’s Bay
councils are factoring climate change into policy, regulatory, operational and
corporate support areas. Activities can be grouped into broad focus areas
of leadership, planning and regulation, infrastructure and asset management,
emissions reduction, information to increase community resilience, procurement
and investment. Nonetheless, this ‘business as usual’ for
councils’ activities is constantly growing and evolving. For
example, the Regional Council currently has two e-bikes, six electric vehicles
and four hybrid vehicles in its fleet compared to just a few years ago when it
had only a single small hybrid.
22. The Regional
Council’s Annual Reports, plus interim quarterly activity reporting
document the organisation’s energy use, staff travel etc. Staff intend
further detailed metrics will feature in those future reports. In this way, the
Regional Council’s own actions will be far more transparent and show how
the Regional Council is indeed leading and ‘walking the talk’ (i.e.
Attachment 2 Row C.1).
23. Attachment 2 presents an
indicative summary of HBRC’s current actions. This builds on staff
briefings presented to the HBRC Environment and Services Committee in June
and August last year. The layout of actions referenced
in Attachment 2 builds on a three-pillar approach (refer Attachment 1) which
was presented in November 2019 to the incoming 2019-22 Regional Councillors as
part of an induction session. The three pillars suggested for a strategic
response in Hawke’s Bay to climate change are:
23.1. Framework –
best practice information, assessment and reporting framework that is compliant
with both national and international obligations and standards
23.2. Engagement
– HBRC leading an informed and engaged community in partnership with iwi
and other local authorities
23.3. Action –
both mitigation and adaptation pathways. Priorities are understood
and resourced appropriately, and the community has confidence that progress is
happening and real.
24. There have been
preliminary exchanges amongst the Chief Executives of the Regional Council and
four main Hawke’s Bay territorial authorities. Some of the key
points arising from those preliminary exchanges are:
24.1. many of the territorial
authorities’ activities already factor in climate change and nowadays
this is the norm rather than an exception
24.2. much of the new
2019-2021 councillors’ work in past few months has been focussed on
induction and setting up representation on committees. None have yet had
a focussed conversation on their respective council’s priorities for
climate change response action
24.3. territorial authorities
look to the regional council for technical expertise on climate projections,
research and application. They typically do not have that kind of expertise
in-house
24.4. territorial authority
chief executives anticipate their respective councillors would support a regionally
coordinated response on climate change led by the Regional Council that
involves the TLAs
24.5. forming an interim
working group is preferable for agility and less rigidity of meeting schedules
etc. A cross-council and iwi working party could provide regular reports
to the HB Leaders Group (Mayors and Regional Chair) until a more permanent
governance arrangement is established.
24.6. the interim working
group would be supported by a small group of staff from the regional council
and TLAs
24.7. it would be useful to
build a complete picture of collective council action across the region
augmenting those activities by HBRC noted in Attachment 2.
Resourcing
25. There are limited
resources allocated within HBRC’s budgets for the 2019-20 and 2020-21
financial years. To put this in context, budgets for Project 194
(‘Response to Climate Change’) are as follows:
25.1. 2019-20 TOTAL =
$24,800 (incl $16,300 external costs)
25.2. DRAFT 2020-21 TOTAL =
$25,700
26. To progress development of
a coordinated action programme, a well-targeted programme ought to be informed
by a risk assessment and also an inventory of emissions at whole-of-region
scales[5].
By way of example, an emissions inventory for the Waikato region in 2016 cost
almost $60,000 and its first three-yearly refresh is estimated to cost over
$75,000. To be clear, records and monitoring of the Regional
Council’s own carbon footprint has been completed and is ongoing.
27. Beyond 2021, the
Council’s long term plan development process presents an opportunity to
boost resources for climate action in Hawke’s Bay, if that is the
Council’s desire. The public engagement dimensions of the LTP process
also present an opportunity for pairing community engagement on a programme of
climate change response actions.
28. In addition to community
engagement alongside the LTP, engagement with tāngata whenua is
crucial. Mr Pieri Munro (Te Pou Whakarae) has advised the Project team
that a briefing paper should be presented to the Maori Committee meeting on 4
March to seek their input and direction about the roles and responsibilities
for tāngata whenua in developing the regional climate change response
programme for Hawke’s Bay.
Community engagement
opportunities
29. Recent surveys indicate
New Zealanders are becoming increasingly concerned about climate change.
In Hawke’s Bay, the Regional Council’s 2019 Residents Perception
Survey results painted a similar picture.
30. In June 2019, the Regional
Council’s declaration of a climate emergency was accompanied with a
direction that council officers “develop a programme of community
engagement on climate change mitigation and adaptation.”
31. During development of a
comprehensive climate change response programme, it will be important to engage
and communicate with multiple stakeholders throughout the process. Forms
of engagement will vary by audience. A communications plan is currently
under preparation with the intent that communications and community engagement:
31.1. would work within
existing project budgets
31.2. builds on existing local
initiatives and projects (for example, the adaptation planning and
communications as part of the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy
project)
31.3. aligns with preparation
and drafting of the council’s 2021-31 Long Term Plan (e.g. regional
roadshows and hui) and
31.4. works with initiatives
of other regions, businesses and central government.
Conference in 2020
32. The idea of a conference
later in 2020 has been suggested. The scale, content and timing of such a
conference will be dependent on the resourcing that can be secured for such an
event. Assuming a small council/iwi working party is to be assembled,
that working party can be assigned the task of scoping out the purpose, timing
and calibre of the conference. Subject to appropriate resourcing being
secured, event planning can be handed over to a dedicated project team
thereafter.
33. In terms of timing, the
Prime Minister’s announcement of the General Election date
(19 September 2020) will be a relevant consideration, at least in terms of
content for central government workstreams, political speaker availability and
national profile.
Community Engagement - Youth
34. Under the banner of
‘HB Youth Climate Action 2020 and beyond,’ planning has commenced
for a two day youth camp in June 2020. With Council’s support,
secondary school students and teachers will be invited to participate in an
action collaboration to discuss the impacts and risks of the climate crisis and
the unique challenges and opportunities it presents to Hawke’s Bay.
35. The outcome will be to
inform, collaborate and empower rangatahi to have a voice and work as a partner
with Council. These types of initiatives would complement a fuller
calendar of community engagement activities through mid-late 2020 (for example,
a conference as mentioned above).
Decision Making Process
36. Staff have assessed the
requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have
concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision making
provisions do not apply.
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Recommendations
1. That the Environment and Integrated Catchments Committee:
1.1. Receives and considers the “Regional Climate Change
Response Programme Development Update” staff report.
1.2. Provides staff with feedback on the matters outlined in paragraphs
3.1 to 3.11 of the staff report.
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Authored by:
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Dale Meredith
Senior Policy Planner
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Gavin Ide
Principal Advisor Strategic Planning
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Approved by:
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Tom Skerman
Group Manager Strategic Planning
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Attachment/s
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⇩1
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21 November
2019 Strategy Workshop Climate Change Paper
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⇩2
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Draft Climate
Change Action Plan
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21
November 2019 Strategy Workshop Climate Change Paper
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Attachment 1
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HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
Council
STRATEGY Workshop
Thursday 21 November 2019
Subject: Climate Change
Reason
for Report
1. This item
presents recent examples of engagement with the community on climate change,
proposes an all-of-region strategic response to the declared climate emergency,
and seeks guidance on the breadth and scale of the engagement, including:
1.1. Is the
expectation that the regional council will coordinate a truly
regional response across both iwi and local government?
1.2. expectations
of the scale and resourcing of the community engagement approach?
2. Notwithstanding the limited resources allocated within the 2019-20
financial year, staff preference is not to focus solely on developing the
framework, but to mobilise activity across all three pillars in order to retain
the confidence of the community and to demonstrate momentum following
Council’s declaring in June 2019.
Executive Summary
3. Staff recommend a path of action for the development and delivery of an
all-of-region strategic response to climate change, with the proposal
identifying three key pillars for a strategic response.
3.1. Framework
- best practice information, assessment and reporting
framework that is compliant with both national and international obligations and
standards.
3.2. Engagement
- HBRC leading an informed and engaged community in
partnership with Iwi and other local authorities.
3.3. Action -
Both mitigation and adaptation pathways – priorities are understood and
resourced appropriately – and the community has confidence that progress
is happening and real.
4. This brief
research paper identifies how communities are being engaged at a local,
regional, national and international level in relation to climate crisis.
5. Appendices identify examples of work HBRC is currently involved with
that contribute towards mitigation and adaptation, and some website and report
links are provided, including to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Background
6. The Regional Council is Hawke’s Bay’s key environmental
agency responsible for working with our community to protect and manage the
region’s precious taonga of rivers, lakes, soils, air, coast and
biodiversity for health, wellbeing, and connectivity.
7. The Council declared a climate change emergency on 26 June 2019. The
move came after numerous councils overseas and throughout New Zealand also
declared a climate emergency.
8. It is assumed that councillors aware of the climate crisis (Paris
Agreement, sea level rise, etc) and of the Regional Council’s intent to
develop a structured work plan to adapt to and mitigate the effects of rapid
climate change.
Overall findings
9. Most of the
work being done by local government is, by and large, voluntary, and in the
adaptation space (65%), supported by mitigation (30%). Governments around the
world have yet to set policy frameworks that enforce meeting targets. The only
countries with climate legislation to date are Australia, Mexico, Peru and the
United Kingdom. Italy has developed strategies to mitigate and adapt to the
climate crisis, through its National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change,
but there is no legal requirement for regional or local councils to meet the
targets.
10. Issues being encountered
with legislation and strategies include a disconnect with local and regional
planning systems, exclusion of potential implications, risks of being
impossible to implement because of lack of technical tools or resources, lack
of legal obligation to meet or implement targets, and disconnect with community.
11. A review of research
highlights the importance of:
11.1 locally
relevant goals and visions established in collaboration with stakeholders
11.2 clearly
defined procedures for the implementation of ‘adaptation’ (joint
term for adaptation and mitigation) into ‘business as usual’ work
11.3 the
creation of mitigation and adaptation structures supported by appropriate human
resources, both within and outside city administrations[6]
11.4 Community
engagement and buy-in to change behaviour and support policy implementation
will drive the change needed to face the climate crisis[7].
Community engagement
12 Research
has shown that local government and organisations are best placed to tackle the
challenge of the climate crisis in cities because:
12.1 They
can engage communities at a local level to develop mitigation and adaptation
actions that are appropriate and affective responses, and are personally
relevant and motivating [8]
12.2 They
are places of high energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions [9]
12.3 The
complexity of infrastructure and urban economic assets make them vulnerable to
climate change [10]
Behaviour change
13 The
climate crisis is an issue that cannot be solved in silos or just by
organisations or groups of communities, or even one generation. It requires a
whole of community, country, and generational response and behaviour change. A
sustained, strategic public engagement and dialogue to create behaviour change
is required to see substantive behavioural transformations.
14 The
engagement needs to be built from values up rather than numbers down –
it’s crucial to put a human face on the conversation. This way policy
change will be shaped and informed from a bottom up perspective. Peer to peer
communication is shown to be the best way to create behaviour change rather
than a top-down strategy, by talking to people about the issues they love and
connecting them to the climate crisis.
15 We
need to tell stories that make it real for people, and show them real solutions
and actions they and their family can do to be part of the change. We need to
actually show what ‘2 degrees warmer’ would mean for Hawke’s
Bay locals in terms of beaches, rivers, floods, droughts, etc.
16 By
telling new stories we can shift the climate crisis from being scientific and
far away to a social reality part of everyone’s life. Sustained and
substantive behavioural transformations come not from gradually reprogramming
our behaviour, but from internalising the reasons for doing so.
17 Social
marketing can play a role in altering and shifting particular behaviours but
must be anchored in notions of identify, values, and citizenship if they can
meaningfully create a response to the climate crisis – involving not just
the widespread adoption of behaviour change but also acceptance for policy
interventions[11].
Social marketing can create acceptance, adoption, and buy-in if done well.
18 In
engaging, language
choices must be conscious and framed for a
strategic outcome. Language should reflect the urgency of action that must be
taken. This should be balanced with language and messages that focus on
specific actions to minimise impact.
19 European
research found that policy implementation on climate change was most successful
when it had support from sector groups and communities. In order to boost the
chances of successful policy implementation, 96% of the engagement plans in the
study aimed to increase citizens' awareness on the climate emergency through
activities such as information campaigns, and community meetings.
20 Auckland
City Council is currently engaging on a Climate Action Framework following the
declaration of a climate emergency on 11 June 2019. The consultation lasts
seven weeks and involves online
submissions, email and post feedback, and in-person
feedback at 18 community events. There is a website
hub with information about the consultation, why it’s happening, and how
the community can get involved.
21 The
framework sets out a range of actions that individuals and communities can be
involved in delivering from how to get around Auckland, what foods you have
access to, how your community adapts to the changing climate, to the green spaces
Aucklanders have access to. The style of language on the website and in key
documents is notably in plain English and is free of jargon.
22 The
Chair of the council’s Environment and Community Committee, Councillor
Penny Hulse, put out a video explaining why Auckland Council declared an emergency and what it
means for Aucklanders. The framework out for consultation focuses on eleven key
moves that need to be made to get to a carbon neutral Auckland by 2050.
23 To
get people engaged in creating solutions, a technique used in several countries
is ‘visualisation’ to make the climate crisis understandable to
communities, allow them to see possible solutions, and accelerate local capacity
building and policy implementation
24 This
is to bring the information about the climate crisis down to a local level,
develop scenarios where the community can see impacts of the climate crisis
with a range of drivers, impacts, responses, and adaptation and mitigation
strategies, and use visual tools to get as much buy-in and interest on action
plans and solutions, and achieve rapid learning. The tool uses four scenarios,
ranging from do nothing, adapt to risk, efficient development, to deep sustainability.
The actions and impacts relevant to each scenario are explained and make
it real for the community.
Governance
25. Local Government New
Zealand Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is encouraging councils across the
country to take leadership on the climate crisis adaptation and mitigation.
LGNZ has developed a position
statement, and presented research
for councils to use as a guide to create change.
26. Looking at what actions
the councils around the country have taken in this space, LGNZ summarised these
themes for councils to consider when developing a framework.
26.1 Realise
co-benefits: reduced congestion, improved health outcomes, waste minimisation
26.2 Long
term-agenda: all actions or strategies should take a long-term view for
long-lasting change
26.3 Holistic
and systems approach: strategies encompassing councils’ systems,
functions, and operations
26.4 Resilience:
consider whether strategies enhance community resilience
26.5 Community
buy-in is essential: for change to be long-lasting and effective the community
need to support it
26.6 Councils
can lead behavioural change: Leading the charge can inspire communities to do
the same.
27 An
example close to home is the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board who
developed a sustainability
strategy to lower their carbon footprint, establish
emissions reduction targets and set up a sustainability working group.
28 To
develop their strategy HBDHB employed an external project manager with
experience in transport behaviour change and managed a thorough consultation
process with staff, patients and the community. To set their targets, they
conducted an investigation into what their carbon footprint was and broke it
into the areas of staff and patient travel, energy, and waste, and then set up
measurable goals for reducing their carbon footprint.
29 One
result of their strategy is their GoWell travel scheme which rewards staff for
carpooling. Cycling was encouraged along with new cycle storage and more staff
showers. Bus travel was subsidised for staff and patients. The up-take of the
GoWell scheme has been significant.
30 Nelson
District Council has allocated $254,500 dedicated to a climate change work
programme including staff resources, participating in the Certified Emissions
Measurement and Reduction Scheme (CEMARS) programme, establishing a Climate
Forum and Taskforce and ongoing work with the community. The Council also
created a reserve fund of $500,000 (from the Port Nelson special dividend) for
possible climate change initiatives.
31 The
European Commission launched the Covenant of Mayors in 2008 to endorse and support the efforts of local authorities in
the implementation of sustainable energy policies addressing climate mitigation
by means of a reduction in fossil fuels consumption. The signatories of the new
Covenant committed to prepare and implement a Sustainable Energy and Climate
Action Plan (SECAP) before 2030.
32 The
plan should cut emissions by 40% by 2030, include a risk and vulnerability
assessment of land areas, assess the threat posed to people, property, and the
environment of which they depend, and prioritise actions based on these.
Particular focus is paid to energy consumption in the sectors the local
authority can influence (municipal and tertiary buildings, equipment, and
facilities; residential buildings; and transport).
33 The
plans have to be approved and adopted by the Covenant signatories’ city
councils and then submitted to the Covenant of Mayors Office (CoMO) for a
review process which ends with the acceptance of the plan. The plan is then
monitored every two years. Rotorua Lakes, Auckland City, Greater Wellington
Regional and Christchurch City Councils have committed to the Global Covenant
of Mayors for Climate and Energy.
34 Chile
has developed a country wide climate change adaptation and mitigation plan
following engagement at all levels of government, industry leaders, technical
experts, communities and business. Projects that have come out of this include
information-sharing between government and academia on climate emissions and
projections, and measures of emissions. Chile is now set to introduce a
proposed Climate Change Law.
35 Further
planned activities include developing a climate
change financial strategy in line with Chile’s Intended
Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), and
strengthening climate governance in municipalities, for example by creating
deeper links with the Regional Climate Change Committees.
Adaptation and
mitigation
36 Christchurch
City Council has developed the Sustainable Energy Strategy and the Energy
Action Plan which sits under the Christchurch Energy Action Plan and focuses on
energy efficiency, renewable energy, and encouraging uptake of battery electric
vehicles and charging infrastructure. CCC has also created a Target
Sustainability Service, provides the sustainable homes and Build Back Smarter
programmes, supports community gardens, and operates the Yougo
electric vehicle car sharing scheme.
37 Rotorua
Lakes Council developed a comprehensive Sustainable
Living Strategy in 2016 with strong community
engagement. The strategy is holistic and takes into account the
community’s sustainability, such as being able to healthily house and
feed tamariki, and environmental sustainability. The six objectives of the plan
focus on community resilience, access to nutritious food and a healthy
lifestyle, land and water management, waste minimisation, and reduction in
Greenhouse Gas emissions and energy efficiency.
38 One
aspect of Palmerston North City Council’s response to the climate crisis
is the collaborative Eco Design Service, responsible for building awareness and
knowledge across the district of sustainable building practices and available
grants. The service is offered to homeowners, renters, community groups,
designers, architects, and tradespeople, and seeks to encourage sustainable
design ideas, and upgrading of existing homes to improve heat, health outcomes
and reduce energy costs. While the focus of this initiative is on
sustainability more generally, it is designed to encourage residents to think
about ways in which energy consumption, and therefore emissions, can be reduced
at home.
39 In
an Italian study on local authority climate planning of adaptation and
mitigation found the majority of promoted actions aimed at increasing energy
performances in old municipal buildings, upgrading the municipal fleet and
promoting local public transport, smart mobility system, cycling, walking, car
sharing/pooling, and electric cars, and an increase of energy production from
renewable sources, mainly through the implementation of PV, solar thermal and
biomass[12].
Corporate adaptation
and mitigation
40 The
Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) are a group of 122 businesses and organisations
who are focused on reducing emissions in New Zealand. Local business member 3R
is facilitating the Hawke’s Bay Climate Change Forum on 25 November.
41 The
Aotearoa Circle is a partnership of public and private sector leaders who are
committed to the pursuit of sustainable prosperity.
42 Christchurch
City Council has internal council programme of work including the Resource
Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emission Policy which guides management of energy
use, Greenhouse Gas emission generation, solid waste generation and water use.
The Council’s strategic priorities include climate change leadership and
an informed/ proactive approach to natural hazards risks.
43 Environment
Canterbury has created a Resource Efficiency Group which assesses ECan’s
carbon footprint and feasibility of obtaining ‘Zero Carbon’ and
reducing emissions. ECan is developing a process to ensure that the climate
crisis is robustly and consistently factored into relevant Council decisions
across portfolios. In the future, it will develop the case to transition its transport
fleet to EV and/or mobility as a service model.
44 Greater
Wellington Regional Council has developed a Climate Change Strategy designed to
align and coordinate actions across GWRC’s responsibilities and
operations. It has established a Corporate Sustainability Programme -
committing resource to measuring GWRC’s own emissions and implementing
measures to reduce them.
45 In
2016, GWRC amended its vehicle purchase policy to prioritise the purchase of
EVs - internal combustion engine vehicles are now only purchased when no
suitable EV option exists. The fleet now has eight EVs with a network of EV
chargers across all GWRC offices and depots across the region, for staff and
visitors, with a view to expand this network over time. There is also a focus on
waste minimisation, energy efficiency, provision of facilities and services
that encourage active and public transport use amongst staff, encouraging
car-pooling, etc.
46 Rotorua
Lakes Council: As part of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy
RLC has developed a Community Carbon Footprint and an organisation footprint. A
vulnerability assessment, and an adaptation and mitigation plan are expected to
follow. This includes reduced Council air and vehicle travel, and increased use
of digital communication technology for meetings.
47 Councils
across the country are part of regional working groups, i.e. GWRC has worked
with all councils in the region to establish a Regional Climate Change Working
Group, comprised of one main and one alternate elected member from each
council. The purpose of the group is to provide a forum through which councils
can network, discuss issues, share information and, where appropriate, achieve
a consistent approach across all jurisdictions on climate crisis mitigation and
adaptation. Similar groups are also in Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Auckland, and
Northland.
48 Hawke’s
Bay Regional Council currently collects data on energy and fuel use,
electricity and gas emissions from its head office, and air travel kilometres.
Its 2019-20 Annual Report will include more comprehensive reporting of
corporate Greenhouse Gas emissions and actions taken to reduce these across all
regional council activities (see Appendix 1 following).
What approach to
community engagement?
49 As
the Regional Council’s work plan evolves, relative to Climate Change, it
considers the opportunity to create ownership through a resourced, high-impact
community engagement and behaviour change campaign, or a lesser path to manage
community expectations for change.
50 A
matrix of options and indicative costs is laid out in the following table.
|
Engagement level
|
Possible Tactics
|
Early Indicative Cost
|
|
HIGH
(preferred approach)
|
· Develop comprehensive engagement plan for
consultation on CC framework
· Develop comprehensive mid/ long-term
social/ digital marketing strategy to affect behaviour change
· Work with partner councils and lead the
delivery of the engagement and strategy
· Create Regional Council, TLA and key
stakeholder governance group
· Create Regional Council, TLA, expert, and
key stakeholder working group/ TAG
· Create a suite of communication and
social marketing tools for long term engagement with communities and stakeholders,
e.g. dedicated website, online resources, overt public displays/illustrations
· Ongoing community engagement with all
levels of Hawke’s Bay community
· Facilitate sector leaders to share their
expert views on the issue and potential solutions through a series of
‘town hall’ meetings, up to x3 per year
· Run workshops in all Hawke’s Bay
communities to engage at a low-local level on the framework
· Engage with all schools in Hawke’s
Bay to enable their involvement in the development of the framework. Ongoing
engagement for behavior change
· After early engagement, develop a
framework for mitigation and adaptation that touches each community, with
clear actions for each audience type in the region,.
· Change all language used to reflect the
crisis, not simply a change
|
Staff time +
$250 - 800k
|
|
MEDIUM
|
· Develop engagement plan for consultation
on framework
· Develop mid/ long-term social marketing
strategy for behaviour change
· Work with partner councils to deliver the
engagement and strategy
· Create limited communication and social
marketing tools for engaging with communities and stakeholders, e.g.
dedicated website
· Ongoing community engagement with some
levels of Hawke’s Bay community
· Run workshops in large Hawke’s Bay
communities to engage on the framework
· Engage with some schools
· After early engagement, develop a
framework for mitigation and adaptation that touches some audiences, with
clear actions for those audiences
· Change all language used to reflect the
crisis, not simply a change
|
Staff time +
$175 - 300k
|
|
LOW
|
· Develop light engagement plan for
consultation on framework
· Develop social marketing strategy for
behavior change
· Take a back seat on work with partner
councils to deliver the engagement and strategy
· Ongoing community engagement with city
centres and some remote communities in Hawke’s Bay
· Run workshops in city centres in
Hawke’s Bay to engage on the framework
· After initial light engagement, develop a
framework for mitigation and adaptation that touches some parts of the
region, and provides clear actions for the Hawke’s Bay community.
· Change all language used to reflect the
crisis, not simply a change
|
Staff time +
$35 - 80k
|
Conclusions
51. Key take outs from this
report are:
51.1. Engagement must be
tangible – as real as possible – and understandable by all in
community using simple, effective and engaging language
51.2 Use sustained
digital/ social marketing campaign to develop and execute behaviour change
initiatives that cross the entire community
51.3 Ensure any change /
policy is directed from a bottom up approach
51.4 Three pronged focus
of engagement includes:
51.4.1 What
will the climate crisis physically do in our region?
51.4.2 What
can we, as a community, do?
51.4.3 What
is the Regional Council doing itself?
52 Next
steps for community engagement are:
52.2 Further
develop HBRC’s preferred option for community engagement with key
messages, timeline, refined order of costs and actions.
52.3 Further
develop website content covering the climate crisis, the Regional
Council’s response, and high level impacts to the region.
52.4 Align
community engagement programme with other related work (e.g. refresh of
Strategic Plan 2017-2021, Draft Annual Plan 2020-21, input to develop the Draft
LTP 2021-2031, Climate Change Risk assessment & readiness work, and other
community engagement, such as for freshwater).
Appendix 1 - HBRC
Mitigation & Adaptation Activities 2019-20
http://hawkesbay.infocouncil.biz/Open/2019/06/ESC_19062019_AGN_AT.PDF
53 There
are a range of ways in which the Council is leading in mitigating the effects
of climate change. The two tables following identify mitigation and adaptation
responses.
|
Area
|
Mitigation activity
|
Climate Change Benefit
|
|
Transport
|
Public
transport provided, and use of a Super Gold card
|
Reduction in
· Vehicle emissions
· Fuel demand
· Regional carbon footprint
Reduction is
able to be achieved because of more choice in transport options and fuel
types
|
|
Promoted
cycleways include the regional network and iWays
|
|
E-vehicles
are promoted
|
|
Driver-Share
app under development
|
|
Napier-Wairoa
rail line reinstatement
|
|
E-vehicles
and e-bikes in vehicle fleet, cycling and public transport use for staff is
promoted
|
|
Biodiversity
|
Wetland
enhancement, riparian planting, erosion control planting, and forestry
‘Right tree, right place’ is under development
|
Carbon
sequestration
|
|
Reduction in
energy and material used and corporate carbon footprint.
Reduction is
able to be achieved because of more efficient resource use, less waste, and
alternative practices e.g. more skype meetings
|
|
Energy
|
Buildings’
Lighting,
heating, materials, skype in meeting rooms & various other operational
initiatives
|
|
Housing
Clean heat,
sustainable homes
|
|
Corporate
Ethical Investment Policy – no
fossil fuels
Reduce, re-use, recycle initiatives
Emission
reporting
|
|
Area
|
Adaptation activity
|
Climate Change Benefit
|
|
Natural resources
|
Water
Irrigation
efficiency, efficient allocation & use, measuring flows & use,
security of supply projects, and regional freshwater security programme in
Tukituki & Heretaunga
|
Natural
resources are used in more sustainable ways, recognising climate change
effects.
These
actions will enable community wellbeing to be sustained, now and into the
future
Reduce the
adverse impacts of extreme weather events, including droughts, heavy
rainfall, wind and new pests and diseases
|
|
Land
Erosion
control, including the Hill Country Erosion Fund, and shade, shelter &
fodder
|
|
Biodiversity
Riparian
planting, Predator-Free HB, pest management, wetland restoration, ecosystem
prioritisation
|
|
Air
Particulate control and urban emissions inventory
|
|
Monitor and regulate
|
Monitor,
inform & educate, develop climate change predictions, and report on
situation and trends
|
Good
information improves climate change awareness and responses
|
|
Manage
effects of resource use and set bottom lines
|
Regional
plan controls set development parameters to recognize and minimise the risk
of climate change
|
|
Human activities
|
Primary
sector
Future
Farming and catchment modelling & management
|
The regional
economy is better able to adapt to likely climate change, thereby sustaining
the regional community
|
|
Civil
defence
Reduce
natural hazard risk, increase readiness, reaction, and recovery for hazard
events
|
Communities
within the region are better prepared & able to respond to any
climate-related hazard
|
|
Climate-related
hazards
Flood
protection & drainage, including upgrade of the Heretaunga Plains Flood
Protection Scheme, coastal defences, and proposed Coastal Protection Fund
|
Physical
defence systems provided, with future investment recognising changing climate
risks
|
|
Development
Clifton
– Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy, HPUDS, flood assessment, 3 Waters
|
Adaptations
are made to where and how development occurs, including for housing and
infrastructure investments
Resources
are allocated effectively & efficiently to achieve long term, sustainable
regional benefits
|
Appendix 2 - HBRC Examples
of Mitigation & Adaptation
Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Strategy 2100
54. Clifton
to Tangoio is the most developed and populated part of the Hawke’s Bay
coastline, as well as hundreds of people’s homes located along this
coast, there are businesses and industry, roads, bridges,
electrical/gas/water/sewage services, a seaport and an airport.
55. The
Strategy is being developed to understand coastal hazards risks and the
management options for this key part of the Hawke’s Bay
coastline. It’s making a start with the priority areas between
Clifton and Tangoio, but will move to focus on other coastal areas in future.
56. The
Strategy will identify the areas that may be affected by various coastal
hazards over the long term and the risks to public and private property,
cultural sites and areas, recreational use and infrastructure services.
56. The project is a joint
initiative between Hawkes Bay Regional Council, Napier City Council and
Hastings District Council.
58. The strategy development
commenced in late 2014 and has been through the following stages.
58.1 2014- Project
establishment and context setting
58.2 2015- Hazard
Evaluation and Risk Assessment
58.3 2016- Decision
making framework and funding model
58.4 2017- Evaluation
Panel process
58.5 2018- Implementation
Phase
58.6 2019-
Implementation Phase
59. In 2018 the Report of the
Northern and Southern Cell Assessment Panels was published and noted by Napier
City Council, Hastings District Council and Hawkes Bay Regional Council. This
document is the summary of the work from 2014 to 2018 and reflects the
recommended pathway for each priority cell.
60. Next steps are do develop
a funding and governance model to take the strategy forward. This has proven to
be a challenging area to align all three councils with the joint committee.
Only funding for execution of the project $100,000 p.a. is included in forward
budgets. There is currently no allowance in the LTP for construction of coastal
protection infrastructure.
60. The following work
packages are to be progressed over the next 12 months:
60.1 Completion of Concept
Design Report for each priority cell excluding Pandora
60.2 Stress test-
analysis of extreme climate change scenario vs recommended pathways
60.3 Managed Retreat-
definition and planning level estimate of retreat options
60.4 Triggers-
definition of triggers and signals for initiating pathway response
60.5 Regulatory-
analysis of current regulatory framework and recommended improvements
60.6 Consent Risk
Assessment- determine level of comfort in consenting pathways under
current.
61 A significant step in
the delivery of this coastal strategy is the public consultation required under
the Local Government Act for the formulation of a new rating mechanism and
significant investment portfolio. As this is a collaborative effort across
multiple agencies boundaries it is likely that consultation will occur outside
of the LTP process. Consideration should be made as to how consultation for the
coastal strategy may fit into the wider climate change portfolio. Detailed
information and reports can be found at https://www.hbcoast.co.nz/
Figure 1 Summary of pathway for
each priority area
Heretaunga Flood Control Scheme Level of
Service Upgrade to 1:500
62. The Heretaunga Plains
Flood Control Scheme covers the low lying historic river plains of the
Tutaekuri, Ngaruroro, Clive and lower Tukituki Rivers. It provides protection
against frequent flooding to most of Hastings, Flaxmere, Havelock North and
Napier urban areas. The area directly benefiting from the Scheme covers
approximately 39,000 hectares with a population of around 110,000 people living
within the scheme boundary- approximately 75% of the Hawke’s Bay
population.
63. The scheme as we know it
today has evolved over the last 130 years from the efforts of Local River
boards in the late 1800s, through to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in
recent times. Improvements in the Scheme have followed significant flooding
events and specific catchment and asset reviews.
64. In 2015 HBRC had
consultation with LTP with a Level of Service (LoS) increase to 1:500, no
objections were noted during this process and therefore this was adopted as
part of the LTP. In addition to this, other Regional Councils across New
Zealand consistently adopted this approach.
65. The overall aim of the
project is to increase LoS from 1:100 to 1:500 year, protect productive land
and residential areas of Napier and Hastings against more frequent sever
weather events. It is supported by an economic review completed in October
2010.
66. The project is based the
Ministry of Environment provided guidance Tools for Estimating the Effects of
Climate Change on Flood Flow May 2010- A Guidance Manual for Local Government
in New Zealand
67. A budget of $20M has been
allocated for the next 10 years. The budget has been based on ability to fund
via existing revenue rather than an evidence based project estimate.
68. The project is currently
under review to formulate a detailed work plan, milestones, estimates and
business base.
69. A preliminary high level
program for the project is following.
69.1 Desktop
review of project history Dec
2019
69.2 Site
investigations and asset condition assessment March
2020
69.3 Modelling
69.3.1 Tutaekuri Jan
2020
69.3.2 Ngararoro May
2020
69.3.3 Clive Oct
2020
69.3.4 Lower
Tutaekuri Feb
2021
70 Engineering
and cost benefit analysis
70.1 Tutaekuri March
2020
70.2 Ngararoro July
2020
70.3 Clive Dec
2020
70.4 Lower
Tutaekuri April
2021
70.5 Business
Case July
2021
71 There are likely to
be significant land issues to be resolved once the form of upgrades is known.
The complexity of this project is high.
72 Following a detailed
business case, design and construction activities can commence post July 2021
Appendix 3 - Further
Information
Websites
73. Nelson District
and Christchurch
City Councils have developed climate change specific areas on their website
that tell their climate change story well.
74. Auckland has developed a
website specifically for engaging with the public on ideas and actions – climateakl.co.nz.
75. The Climate Leaders
Coalition website: https://www.climateleaderscoalition.org.nz/
76. The Aotearoa Circle
website: https://www.theaotearoacircle.nz/
77. The Ministry for the Environment’s
Climate Change webpage covers what the government is doing, information about
climate, likely impacts, emerging government responses and opportunities for
personal involvement: https://www.mfe.govt.nz/climate-change.
78. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change website, which the United Nations has made responsible
for assessing the science related to climate change: https://www.ipcc.ch/.
Articles
79. Sean Weaver prepared a
report, Hawke’s Bay Climate Resilience Programme (2017), for HBRC
on a climate change framework of the current LTP 2018-2028:
80. Climate
& Rapid Behaviour Change: What do we know so far? written by
the Rapid Transition Alliance in 2018 discusses behaviour change and how this
can be achieved to mitigate the damage to the planet due to our current behaviour,
i.e. a culture of disposability, short-term convenience and built-in
obsolescence.
81. Climate change response
in NZ communities: Local scale adaptation and mitigation planning is a New
Zealand local government focused article discussing the current efforts and
influencing factors in climate change mitigation and adaptation planning and
action. It found New Zealand’s decentralized approach to climate change
adaptation has the potential to create effective change, but also increases the
risk of fragmented, low-impact action. Hurdles to change included lack of
public awareness or demand to take action, lack of funding, and no legal
mandate to implement adaptation plans.
82. The US Environmental
Protection authority has a Local
Climate Action Framework: A Step-by-Step Implementation Guide.
83. A number of members of CLC
are also members of the NZ Sustainable Finance Forum (the Aotearoa
Forum). This Forum, comprising public and private sector leaders, is
charged with delivering a sustainable finance roadmap to help NZ shift to a
more sustainable financial system that supports social, environmental and
economic wellbeing. They are currently receiving feedback on their
recently released draft report on sustainable finance (which includes with
respect to climate change): https://www.theaotearoacircle.nz/sustainablefinance
84. Bell Gully has recently
released a report, The Big Picture: Climate Change Getting Your Business
Ready (Feb 2019) which summarises some of the concerns for businesses: (https://www.bellgully.com/Shared%20Documents/Climate%20Change%20Market%20Report%202018%20FINAL%20V%206.2%20EMBARGO.pdf)
Authored by:
|
Dale Meredith
Senior Policy Planner
|
|
Approved by:
|
Tom Skerman
Group Manager Strategic Planning
|
|
Attachment/s
There are no
attachments for this report.
|
Draft Climate Change Action
Plan
|
Attachment 2
|
Indicative Draft Climate Change Action Plan
These goals are drawn from the
Strategic Plan 2017-2021, and projects are based on the Annual Plan 2019/2020.
Those items appearing in green italics are currently unfunded initiatives (e.g. Climate
Conference, community perceptions survey, regional greenhouse gas emissions
inventory, contestable community fund, wider community engagement than
currently provided for the LTP review).
HBRC Strategic Goals:
1. By
2025, coastal communities are being managed to meet foreseeable climate change
risks to coastal communities out to 2100
2. By
2030, flood risk is being managed to meet foreseeable climate change risks out
to 2100
3. By
2030, Hawke’s Bay has environmentally sustainable, harvestable water
identified and stored or plans to be stored if required
4. By
2040, Hawke’s Bay is carbon neutral
5. By
2050 all highly erodible land is under tree cover
Table1:
Indicative Current Action Plan
|
|
ACTION
|
Time
|
|
A
|
Framework
Identify,
establish & maintain the resources, systems & data needed to address
climate change risks and vulnerabilities within Hawke’s Bay
|
|
|
A.1
|
Identify
& assess climate change risks & vulnerabilities:
· Improve understanding of Hawke’s Bay risks
& impacts
o Update models & seasonal forecasts with southern
hemisphere data
o Stocktake of risk knowledge &
analyses
o Undertake scenario modelling & resilience
studies, including for water management
o Flood risk assessments
o Natural hazard risk assessments
o Matauranga Maori perspective
· Benchmark community awareness, issues,
priorities & responses [NB 2019 survey included climate change questions]
|
2020
2020
Ongoing
Ongoing
2020-21
2020,
2-yearly
|
|
A.2
|
Identify
resources & opportunities for mitigation & adaptation:
· Consider climate change in making HBRC decisions
· Review proposed Annual Plan projects re climate
change
· Develop water security programme
· Identify Future Farming research initiatives
· Undertake 3-D Aquifer mapping of key aquifers
|
Ongoing
2020
2020
2019
2020
|
|
A.3
|
Develop
an agreed regional path to address climate change:
· Develop a Strategy & living
Climate Action Plan
· Update Transportation plans & strategies
(e.g. land transport management, cycling etc)
· Continue to develop CDEM community-response plans
· Review of RPS, & rolling program of regional
plan changes
· Update Heretaunga Plains Urban Development Strategy
· Progress Clifton – Tangoio Coastal Hazards
Strategy 2100
· Review flood control & drainage system levels of
service
|
2020
& ongoing
At
review
Ongoing
Ongoing
With
RPS review
Ongoing
2020-2021
|
|
A.4
|
Monitor
& evaluate progress:
· Air & regional greenhouse gas emissions
inventories
· Input to national climate change risk & response
monitoring
· Use Annual Report to highlight key corporate results
· Make quality data available
|
2020,
5-yearly
As
requested
Annually
Ongoing
|
|
B
|
Relationship
Identify,
establish & maintain relationships with the many parties that are
affected by, and may help address, climate change
|
|
|
B.1
|
Establish
climate change regional governance:
· Establish HBRC preliminary working group
· Establish interim governance, preferably with TAs
& iwi
· Establish longer term governance with regional
partners
Establish
technical advisory panel
|
2020
2020
2021
|
|
B.2
|
Engage
with businesses, communities & iwi to respond to climate change:
· Co-host preliminary meeting with 3-R
· Hold 2 x Youth Fora through Enviroschools
· Use LTP preliminary consultation to discuss issues
&
opportunities
· Hold a Hawke’s Bay Climate
Conference
· Align with ongoing LTP process to develop action
proposals
· Use LTP consultation to confirm Climate Action Plan
· Business Hub services
· Future Farming initiative
· Open data initiatives (e.g LAWA, community science)
|
Nov
2019
1st
half 2020
April-May
2020
Mid-late
2020
Sept
2020
Apr-Jun
2021
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
|
|
B.3
|
Leverage
resources:
· Build on existing co-funding projects
e.g. Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Forum; Heatsmart
· Partner with relevant parties
e.g. PSGEs, TAs, DOC, NIWA etc
· Establish community contestable fund
|
Ongoing
As
relevant
|
|
B.4
|
Communicate
information & progress:
· Refresh the HBRC website, reflecting urgency of
crisis
· Hold a Hawke’s Bay Climate
Conference
· Create a new Climate Crisis
Hawke’s Bay portal
|
2019
Mid-late
2020
2020
|
|
B.5
|
Influence
behaviour change:
· Develop, implement & monitor a
behaviour change marketing strategy
|
2020-21
|
|
B.6
|
Engage
with central government through:
· Direct communication
· LGNZ
· Submission processes on proposed legislation
|
Ongoing
Ongoing
As
relevant
|
|
|
ACTION
|
Time
|
|
C
|
Action
Address
climate change risks & vulnerabilities
|
|
|
C.1
|
Hawke’s
Bay Regional Council: Leading by example
Mitigation:
· Measure corporate carbon footprint
· Monitor & report energy use in buildings
· Move to e-vehicles, e-bikes
· Incentivise use of public transport by staff
· Travel choices:
o Use online meetings where possible
o Offset air travel emissions
· Implement Ethical Investment Policy (no fossil
fuels)
· Waste management (Reduce, reuse, recycle)
· HBRC agenda papers online
· HBRC meetings livestreamed (YouTube, facebook)
Adaptation:
· Locate new buildings & services away from risk
areas (Guppy Rd)
|
Annual
Monthly,
annual
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
|
|
C.2
|
Region-wide
Activities:
Mitigation:
· Administer 1 Billion Tree/Right Tree Right Place
programme
· Administer Heatsmart home insulation & heating
subsidy
· Administer subsidised passenger transport
· Encourage & support e-vehicle infrastructure
· Manage HBRC forests
Adaptation:
· Natural resources management:
o Develop & apply the water allocation calculator
|
|
|
C.3
|
Northern
Activities
Mitigation:
· Reduce hill country erosion
· Lake Whakaki hot spot
Adaptation:
·
|
|
|
C.4
|
Central
Activities
Mitigation:
· Lake Tutira hotspot
· Ahuriri hot spot
· Construct Bayview-Whirinaki Cycleway
· Reduce hill country erosion
Adaptation:
· Implement Clifton Tangoio Coastal Strategy:
o Westshore coastal works
o Tangoio?
· Construct Awanui stopbank
· Support Te Tua augmentation scheme
· Review Napier Stream Levels of Service
|
|
|
C.5
|
Southern
Activities
Mitigation:
· Lake Whatuma hot spot
· Reduce hill country erosion
Adaptation:
·
|
|
HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
Environment
and Integrated Catchments Committee
5 February 2020
Subject: Summary of Activity and
Investment in the Coastal and Marine Area
Reason for Report
1. In previous council meetings Councilors have requested a summary of
the activities undertaken, and the investment that Council makes in the marine
and coastal areas. The following report outlines the key areas of Council
that work within the marine/coastal area, key activities and approximate annual
investment.
Background
2. The Hawke’s Bay coastal marine area (CMA) covers the area
between the Mean High Water Spring (MHWS – the average point a spring
high tide reaches) out to 12 nautical miles (~22km). This is
approximately 701,372 hectares, or just over 1/3 of the total area managed by
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.
3. Additionally, the Coastal Marine Environment/Coastal Margin (CME)
includes those areas that contribute to the coastal marine area but may
formally sit outside these boundaries.
4. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is responsible for promoting the
sustainable management of the CMA. The framework for the protection,
management and use of coastal resources is set in the Regional Coastal
Environment Plan (RCEP; HBRC 2014). This plan gives effect to the RMA and
the NZCPS at a regional level.
5. Activities within Regional Council fit within this mandate, and
specifically towards the strategic goals identified below.
Strategic Fit
6. Council’s
activities in the marine and coastal area contribute towards the strategic
goals of:
6.1. Healthy and functioning biodiversity including the identification of
priority areas for ecosystem restoration by 2020, active restoration by 2030
and the protection of indigenous habitats and ecosystems through active marine
biosecurity protocols.
6.2. Contributing towards success measurements for Smart, Sustainable
Land Use, by providing receiving water measurements with which to assess
contaminant reduction.
6.3. Contributing towards success measurements for Water Quality, Safety
and Certainty by providing information on receiving water and coastal
catchments.
6.4. Sustainable Services and Infrastructure by providing the information
and plans to support coastal hazard management.
Discussion
7. The coastal environment is the receiving environment for any
land-based activities that may affect the water quality of rivers. It is
also subject to pressures from fisheries related activities, and activities
associated with vessel traffic.
8. Additionally, the coastal environment can place pressure on adjacent
land and infrastructure through inundation and storm surges.
9. Council have recently requested a summary of Council activities and
investment in the coastal marine area. These total some $1.1 million of
annual direct investment and 6 FTE. The detail of the breakdown for
this follows.
Integrated Catchment Management –
Environmental Science/Environmental Information
10. The
Environmental Science and Environmental Information sections undertake work
associated with describing, and determining the state and trends associated
with marine habitats. This includes designing monitoring, research and
investigation programmes, data collection and management, data analysis and
reporting.
11. Current
projects under this programme include; Recreational Water Quality, Sediment
Quality, Intertidal Reef Ecology, Estuarine Ecology, Sandy Beach Ecology,
Nearshore Water Quality, Coastal Monitoring Buoys, and Saline Transition Zones.
12. Additionally,
the Marine Hotspot programme has provided the opportunity to undertake subtidal
habitat mapping of the Wairoa and Clive Hards, and around Cape Kidnappers.
|
Programme
|
Internal time
|
Budgeted External Expenditure
|
|
313
Coastal Research
|
0.75 FTE
|
$48,700
|
|
331
Coastal SOE
|
2.5 FTE
|
$186,635
|
|
355
Marine Enhancement (Hotspot)
|
0.25 FTE
|
$200,000
|
Integrated Catchment Management
– Catchment Services (Marine Biosecurity)
13. Marine
biosecurity is included within the wider Hawke’s Bay Regional Pest Management
Plan (RPMP – operative February 2019). The strategy aims to reduce
the likelihood of introduction of marine pests into Hawke’s Bay by
undertaking biennial surveys of the Ahuriri Inner Harbour, undertaking a risk
analysis of vessels entering the Harbour, and dive surveys as required.
Dry docking and cleaning of vessels which do not meet the RPMP is required.
14. Hawke’s
Bay Regional Council is of the Top of the North Marine Biosecurity Partnership
(Auckland Council, Northland Regional Council, Gisborne District Council,
Waikato Regional Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and MPI) to share
information, best practice, resources and collaborate on research.
The plan has a strong
emphasis on education.
|
Programme
|
Internal time
|
Budgeted External Expenditure
|
|
Marine Biosecurity
|
0.3 FTE
|
$20,000
|
Strategic Planning – Policy
and Planning
15. The
Policy and Planning team are responsible for the preparation, development and
review of the Regional Coastal Environment Plan. The RCEP was made
operative in 2014 with commencement of the review programmed for 2021. A
Plan Effectiveness Review commenced in 2019 and is currently being peer
reviewed by staff.
16. The
Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazard Management Strategy is a strategic long-term
strategy for managing coastal hazards within this area and is led by the Asset
Management team, involving Policy, other HBRC departments and local
authorities. Policy maintain a degree of involvement in the Coastal
Hazards Strategy, attending meetings and providing advice where practicable.
17. Policy
and Planning maintain a watching brief as an interested party to proceedings on
over 30 applications lodged for parts of Hawke’s Bay region's coastal
area under Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act.
|
Programme
|
Internal time
|
Budgeted External Expenditure
|
|
191
RCEP Effectiveness & Coastal Hazards Strategy
|
0.1
– 0.25 FTE
|
$61,300
|
|
196
Statutory Advocacy
|
0.05
|
Legal
approx. $2000 each quarter for regular review and updates.
|
Regulation – Consents,
Compliance and Harbourmaster
18. Activities
not permitted under the Regional Coastal Environment Plan require resource
consent, and associated assessment of compliance with consent conditions.
This can vary annually depending on the type and number of consents received
and those requiring compliance monitoring.
19. Assessment
of the level of investment in this area is difficult due to consent
applications that may run across several years. However, as an example in
the 3 years between 1 January 2017 and 1 January 2020 a total of just over
$587,000 was billed from consent applications within the coastal marine
area. These costs are recovered.
20. Similarly,
compliance investment is also difficult to ascertain accurately, however as an
example in the calendar year between 1 January 2019 and 1 January 2020 a total
of just over $36,400 was billed for compliance monitoring within the coastal
marine area. These costs are recovered.
21. The
compliance investment above does not include activities associated with
Pollution Response.
22. The Harbourmaster
promotes the safe and navigable use of the regions waterways. This
includes activities such as development and enforcement of Navigation Safety
Bylaws, education, permitting and removing hazards to safe navigation.
Investment is detailed below.
|
Programme
|
Internal time
|
Budgeted External Expenditure
|
|
460
Navigation Aids and Regulation
|
1.4 FTE
|
$182,400
|
Asset Management – Coastal
Hazards
23. The Asset
Management team undertake monitoring and research associated with coastal
hazards and inundation. This includes coastal profile monitoring to
measure beach accretion and erosion, analysis of storm surges, and design input
to assist the Coastal Hazard Strategy.
|
Programme
|
Internal time
|
Budgeted External Expenditure
|
|
322
Coastal Processes Investigations
|
0.35
FTE
|
$403,000
|
CDEM – Oil Spill Response
24. Regional
Council has responsibilities under the Marine Transport Act to respond to oil
pollution and oil spills. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council have staff
trained at both a local level (to respond to Tier 1 and Tier 2 level oil spills
– smaller spills which can be resolved at the local level), as well as
staff who are trained and currently sit on the National Response Team (Tier 3
level oil spills which require a national response led by Maritime NZ).
25. The costs
of training for, or responding to, national level spills are met by Maritime
NZ.
|
Programme
|
Internal time
|
Budgeted External Expenditure
|
|
720
|
0.13
– 0.24 FTE
|
$14,500
|
Other Activities in Council
26. Many
other sections within Council undertake activities that have indirect benefit
to the coastal marine area, this includes activities such as catchment
management including the Erosion Control Scheme which reduces sediment
transport to the ocean and tsunami research and planning. These additional
indirect investments have not been calculated.
Next Steps
27. The State
of the Hawke’s Bay Coastal Marine Environment Report: 2013-2018 has
recently been completed and is currently being reviewed for publication.
This outlines our understanding of the coastal marine area and the current
state and trends, and provides a baseline with which to refine the science
programs to deliver information to council to support the sustainable
management of the Hawke’s Bay coastal area. The Marine and Coast Science
programme will be assessed based on this report, a review of the Hawke’s
Bay Regional Council Science Strategy (currently underway), and a review of the
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Marine and Coast Science Programme (near
completion).
28. Implementation
of the marine biosecurity component of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Pest
Management Plan over the next 2 years will inform the progression of this
programme of works meet the objectives of the plan.
29. The
Regional Coastal Environment Plan is currently a stand-alone document, however
there is an opportunity to incorporate this and review alongside the Regional
Resource Management Plan which is also due for review in 2020/2021.
Decision Making
Process
30. Staff have assessed the
requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have
concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision making
provisions do not apply.
|
Recommendation
That the Environment and Services
Committee receives and notes the “Summary of Activity and Investment
in the Coastal and Marine Area” report.
|
Authored by:
|
Ceri Edmonds
Manager Policy and Planning
|
Alice McNatty
Senior Advisor Biosecurity
|
|
Anna
Madarasz-Smith
Team Leader/Principal Scientist Marine and
Coast
|
|
Approved by:
|
Iain Maxwell
Group Manager Integrated Catchment
Management
|
|
Attachment/s
There are no
attachments for this report.
HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL
COUNCIL
Environment
and Integrated Catchments Committee
5 February 2020
Subject: Right Tree Right Place
- Principles to Guide the Business Case
Reason for Report
1. This item discusses the principles and poses key questions
of Councl to guide staff over the next 18 months in preparing the business case
for any potential additional role for Council in afforestation. It also
provides a high level timeline and discussion of Right Tree Right Place project
resourcing.
Executive Summary
2. Targeted afforestation is a critical tool to achieve a
range of outcomes that this Council is seeking. A significant investment has
been made through the $30m in the Erosion Control Scheme, but this is focused
on the most at risk parts of our landscape and in reality is insufficient on
its own to deliver regional outcomes with regards protecting a significant
proportion of the regions erodible land.
3. Staff are asking Council to consider whether it has an
additional role in afforestation in the region. This role could be in further
regulation, building internal staff capacity/capability, supporting land user
practice change, direct investment or a combination of any of these. Staff are
developing a business case over the next 18 months leading up to the 2021-2031
Long term Plan to support Council decision making on this matter.
Background
4. The “Right Tree, Right Place” (RTRP) project
was initiated by the previous Council, and executed by HBRIC with co-funding
from Te Uru Rakau/Forestry New Zealand, to examine afforestation opportunities
for the Hawke’s Bay region. At the December 2019 EICC meeting the
committee received presentations on a number of aspects of the RTRP
project. That committee indicated a desire that in the lead in to the
2021-2031 Long Term Plan it wished to discuss Council’s role in broader
regional afforestation options. The importance of Council building clarity on
its role, internal and community capacity building and industry relationships
relating to forestry, are key to a strategic discussion on regional
afforestation. In particular Council’s ability to deliver the
outcomes it seeks and the relationship between; fully grant funded, public/private
and fully commercial investments in delivering those outcomes is important.
5. The region faces significant challenges around the adverse
impacts of erosive processes and corresponding sedimentation alongside its
response to the climate change challenge. In addition there are opportunities
for carbon sequestration and regional carbon neutrality, as well as improved
climate resilience. Diversification and inclusion of more trees in the
agricultural landscape can also lead to reduced externalities, positive impacts
on freshwater and marine ecology, a more biodiverse landscape and increased
farm profitability.
Discussion
6. Over the next two to three decades planting trees will be
critical to achieving a range of outcomes within the Hawke’s Bay region.
As a result of this, planting trees is likely to see significant investment by
a range of investors. This investment is already occurring now through
investments such as the Council’s $30m Erosion Control Scheme (ECS)
funding, the One Billion Trees central government funding and private
investment ranging from large-scale plantation forestry conversions to on-farm
riparian planting.
7. Within Hawke’s Bay, Council initially identified
252,000ha of the region as land at risk or erosive processes and so potentially
a priority for consideration for planting. Of this, modelling indicates
that the worst 100,000ha if put under tree cover would approximate halve the
total sediment yield. There is expected to be around 20,000 ha of the
highest risk land planted over the next ten years by grant funding initiatives
directly supported by Council such as through the ECS. This regional
context represents significant challenges, risks and opportunities. The
“Right Tree, Right Place” (RTRP) project is seeking to provide information
to support quality decisions on the future of our region’s planting
programmes. However the strategic context within which any afforestation
investments will need to be established by Council.
8. The RTRP project has identified that complementarity of
Council driven, diversified afforestation activity with pastoral farming will
be essential. Processes around farm environment management planning,
arising principally from freshwater reform, will drive key interventions.
It will be essential to build on, and in some cases start, conversations and
develop landowner understanding about afforestation options, and to build
capacity in catchment management teams to ensure maximum synergy with ECS and
other Council and central government programmes. The social and human
drivers for why people do/do not plant trees is a critical part of the
potential success of any Council investment in the RTRP.
9. The overall goal of this next phase of the RTRP due
diligence is to assess if there is an additional role, beyond the ECS, for
Council to play in regional afforestation. If so options for a range of
components need to be assessed and further advice provided to Council on
matters such as the funding, scope, areas of focus and delivery of the
investment.
Principles Guiding Business Case
Preparation
10. Principles
to guide business case preparation over the next 18 months will be important
for staff involved in the next phase of the RTRP Project. The following
principles are proposed and feedback/guidance is sought from Councillors as to
whether these are appropriate and / or whether other principles should be
included.
10.1. Inclusion
of Māori – Council has demonstrated through a range of mechanisms a
commitment to cultural values. This commitment would continue to be reflected
in the RTRP project.
10.2. Recognition
of ecosystem benefits – In 2008-2010 Council considered a significant LTP
investment in regional afforestation initiative called Trees on Farms. This
investment did not proceed for a number of reasons. One of those was that it
was approached as a purely commercial investment with no ability to recognise
the significant value from ecosystem services that the investment would
realise. The initial findings of the RTRP project regarding ecosystem services
is that for each dollar of economic value from timber there is 1.5 dollars of
ecosystem services value derived from planting. Staff propose that the value
derived from ecosystem services should be recognised if any additional RTRP
investment is made.
10.3. Long
term investment with Intergenerational benefits – Any investment in forestry needs to be considered in a long
term, e.g. 2-3 decades or more context. Afforestation is also likely to
have intergenerational benefits both in terms of realising financial returns
from wood, honey or carbon and ecosystem services.
10.4. Leverage
and partnerships – A conservative estimate of the total investment
required to put the RTRP across 250,000 ha is between $500m and $1-1.5b.
In this context leveraging Council’s investment will be critical to
impact and opportunities for leverage should be sought where they drive the
outcomes Council is seeking. Partnerships are a key opportunity for
leverage. Partners should bring additional scale or access to skills and
resources that enable Council to better deliver the outcomes it seeks.
10.5. Utilising
market forces – In some cases market forces will operate successfully to
realise the outcomes Council is seeking. In this context being clear on where
council should invest and why is important. If the market will operate to
effectively deliver Councils outcomes it is suggested that there should not be
a direct investment role for council in that activity. This does not preclude,
however, a more indirect role for Council. An indirect role could include
building industry partnerships and internal capability to support creating
opportunities for more industry investment.
10.6. Multiple
revenue streams – should Council choose to have a direct investment that
realises revenue it should ensure that there are multiple revenue streams from
wood, carbon, honey and other sources.
10.7. Stronger
more resilient farms – Diversified afforestation activity on strong
pastoral farms is a key principle. Blanket forestry across whole farms is not
an outcome sought by the RTRP project.
11. Do
councillors agree with these principles to guide the preparation of the
business case? Are there other key principles that staff should take into
account during the due diligence?
Key questions to resolve in the
lead up to the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan
12. During
the period of the RTRP second phase due diligence there are a number of key questions
that need to be answered. These questions are important as they will help
define Councils role and refine if, why, where, when and how any investment
might be made. Staff propose the following as key questions to be answered
progressively over the next 18 months.
12.1. What
are the guiding principles for any potential investment?
12.2. What
is the broader strategic context that the investment sits within and what are
the implications of this for the investment?
12.3. How
does the investment align with other key HBRC and external partner investments?
12.4. What
is Councils role in the investment? Where might Council choose to invest
and why?
12.5. Where
are the opportunities for partnership, leverage and impact? What are the
benefits and risks of these?
12.6. What
is the most appropriate way to fund the investment? Debt, HBRIC investment
funds, or rates?
12.7. What
are the goals or targets for any investment and how are outcome and output
progress towards these goals measured?
12.8. What
is the proposed quantum of investment?
12.9. How
does an HBRC investment support landowner decision making on putting the Right
Tree in the Right Place?
12.10. If there is an
investment what are the potential delivery mechanisms for the investment?
13. Are
there any other key questions that should be considered by staff during the due
diligence?
Project Structure
14. The
following project structure is proposed:
14.1. Council
is the governance group through the Environment and Integrated catchments
Committee and Regional Council meetings
14.2. A
steering group comprised of Iain Maxwell, Tom Skerman and Jess Ellerm will
provide high level guidance to the business case team
14.3. Catchment
Services manager Campbell Leckie has been seconded to lead the business case
14.4. Project
management services will be contracted into support the preparation of the
business case
14.5. Other
HBRC staff will be involved with the business case on a as needs be basis.
Budget and timeline
15. During
the course of the 18-24 month Trees on Farm due diligence in 2009-10 around 1.5
FTEs and $150,000 in external consultancy costs were invested. The actual costs
for the next 18 month phase of the RTRP business case preparation will be
dependant on its scope, degree of detail and complexity. It would be
appropriate, however to expect that costs may be at a comparable level to those
above. More detail on the resourcing requirements for the due diligence will be
brought to the committee on its 8 April Meeting.
Timeline
16. A
high level indicative timeline for the next 18 months is attached.
Decision Making
Process
17. Staff have assessed the
requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have
concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision making
provisions do not apply.
|
Recommendation
That the Environment and Integrated Catchments Committee receives and
considers the “Right Tree Right Place - Principles to guide the
business case” staff report.
|
Authored by:
|
Campbell
Leckie
Manager Catchment Services
|
|
Approved by:
|
Iain Maxwell
Group Manager Integrated Catchment
Management
|
|
Attachment/s
|
⇩1
|
Right Tree
Right Place EICC Reporting Timeline
|
|
|
|
Right
Tree Right Place EICC Reporting Timeline
|
Attachment 1
|
Right Tree Right Place
– EICC Reporting Timeline
|
|
January –
February 2020
|
March 2020
|
April 2020
|
May 2020
|
June 2020
|
|
Environment
& Integrated Catchments Committee
|
5
Feb
· Principles of investment and key questions
|
|
8
April
· Indicative 15 month work programme
· Likely RTRP phase two resourcing requirements
· Develop key questions (Strategic context and
alignment/ Partnerships)
· Examples
and Case studies
|
|
|
|
|
July/August 2020
|
September/October
2020
|
November / December
2020
|
|
Environment
& Integrated Catchments Committee
|
1
July 2020
· Councils
role in any additional investment
Potential
areas for investment (for example direct investment, internal capability,
landowner extension)
|
16
September 2020
· Areas for investment (continue)
· Potential funding mechanisms
· Goals and targets for investment areas
|
4
November 2020
· Areas for investment (continue)
· Potential funding mechanisms (continue)
· Goals and targets for investment areas (continue)
· High level potential investment options
|
|
|
January –
February 2021
|
March/April 2021
|
May/June 2021
|
|
Environment
& Integrated Catchments Committee
|
Feb
2021
· Long term plan investment options
(if any)
|
April
2021
· Final decisions on any options to be consulted on in
the long term plan
|
June
2021
· Long term plan submissions on any afforestation
investment options
· Long
Term Plan 2021-2031 decisions by Council on afforestation options
|
HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
Environment
and Integrated Catchments Committee
Wednesday 05 February 2020
Subject: Heretaunga Plains Flood
Control Scheme Level of Service Review
Reason for Report
1. This report is to update Council on progress of the Heretaunga
Plains Flood Control Scheme Level of Service Review which seeks to investigate
the merits of upgrading the scheme from current level of protection 1 in 100
year (1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP)) to a new level of protection 1 in
500 year (0.2% AEP).
Executive Summary
2. The current levels of service are based on legal requirements,
community expectations and physical restrictions inherited over the evolution
of the Scheme. The flood control river assets are designed and maintained to provide
protection from flooding with up to a 1% chance of being exceeded in any one
year.
3. The Scheme, as we know it today, has evolved over the last 130 years
from the effort of Local River Boards in the late 1800s, through to the
Hawke’s Bay River Board, the Hawke’s Bay Catchment Board and since
1989, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. Improvements in the scheme
have followed significant flood events and specific catchment and asset
reviews.
4. Council operates and maintains a network of stopbanks, live edge
protection zones, hydraulic structures and pump stations, as well as managing
the river, stream and drainage channels to ensure they work as expected during
flood events. The overall aim of the scheme is to reduce the risk of flood and
erosion damage while maintaining a high quality river environment.
5. Attachment 1: Heretaunga Plains Flood Control Scheme – Scheme
Boundary shows the extent of the scheme.
Background
6. The Heretaunga
Plains Flood Control Scheme covers the low lying historic river plains of the
Tutaekuri, Ngaruroro, Clive and lower Tukituki Rivers. It provides protection
against frequent flooding to most of Hastings, Flaxmere, Havelock North and
Napier urban areas. The area directly benefiting from the Scheme covers
approximately 39,000 hectares with a population of around 138,000 people living
within the scheme boundary. This equates to approximately 82% of the
Hawke’s Bay population.
7. Anticipated
projection of climate change in the Hawke’s Bay region suggests lower
total overall rainfall but more frequent, more intense, rain events in the
future. Seasonal changes are also anticipated with lower rainfall in winter and
spring and greater rainfall in summer and autumn. Greater intensity events are
likely to result in increased frequency of flooding and may be a key driver for
increasing the design level of protection afforded by the flood control
scheme.
8. The most recent
upgrade of the flood control scheme was undertaken more than 20 years ago
when land use on the plains was less intensive and land values much lower than
they are today.
9. Through the
2015 LTP process, HBRC noted that Level of Services would be reviewed over
time, but no further specific consultation was carried out. In the 2018-28 LTP
consultation document “Facing our Future,” the Heretaunga Plains
Flood Control Scheme Level of Service Review was not specifically consulted on
however the project was included as a major works in the pipeline and potential
for future consultation was identified. The project Heretaunga Plains Flood
Control Scheme named in this document states “Improve flood carrying
capacity from a “1 in a 100-year” event level to a “1 in a
500-year” level, in response to climate change.” No further
consultation with the public has been carried out since the Facing the Future
document was released.
10. In recent years, the
Ministry for Environment provided guidance to local government on the
significance of climate change and therefore this puts additional emphasis on
understanding the impact of climate change and considering the level of service
provided. (Climate Change Effects and Impacts Assessment – A Guide Manual
for Local Government in New Zealand (2nd edition 2008)).
11. A budget of $20M has been
allocated for the next 10 years (2018-28).
Discussion
12. The
paragraphs below describe a high level schedule, key deliverables and project
gateways. Alternatively, Attachment 2, Heretaunga Plains Flood Control
Scheme Level of Service Review shows a diagram of key project activities.
13. July
2018 – The project was approved for
delivery through approval of the LTP. During the 2018-19 financial year, flood
frequency analysis (based on existing hydrological records), has been carried
out on Tutaekuri, Ngaruroro, Clive and lower Tukituki rivers. Flood frequency
analysis is a technique used to predict flow values corresponding to specific
return periods for a given river. The information is used as an input to the
hydraulic modelling.
14. July
2019 – A dedicated project manager was
assigned and project team briefed on deliverables, timeframe and budget was
allocated to specific tasks.
14.1. Hydraulic Modelling
– 1:500, 1:200 and 1:100 event scenarios are being developed for each
river.
14.2. Asset Condition
Assessment – Assessing the condition and likely performance of the
existing flood protection assets. To date we have completed the
assessment for the Tutaekuri River and the assessment for remaining assets in
the scheme will follow this year (2020).
14.3. Consultation and
Communication – One of the key steps moving forward is to understand
how we proceed with communication and consultation with iwi and
stakeholders. A detailed plan is currently being developed.
14.4. Land Management
Investigation – This includes land identification, risk assessment,
ownership, land use and what future land acquisition we may require for the
potential engineering work.
14.5. Engineering
Optioneering – It is possible that a 1:500 year flood protection may
be unachievable in some areas due to financial constraints, land constraints,
engineering limitations, economic analysis or environmental impact. This
part of the work will indicate what other options there might be for enhancing
the current flood protection to deal with the effects of climate change.
15. July 2020- Project Gateway for Design
15.1. Preliminary Design
and Economic Analysis – Preliminary/concept design work and economic
analysis from engineering optioneering work.
15.2. Business case and
refined budget approval – Final report and council paper with refined
budget for 10 year period with design options for each river including a
detailed project risk assessment.
16. July 2021- Project Gateway for Procurement
16.1. Engineering design
and detailed design – This process allows us to identify, refine and
solve problems for recommended options and it will also allow us to define
phases for construction, land requirements, consents, tendering, contract
preparation, etc.
16.2. Construction
phase 1 – Contract Award and commencement of construction on high
priority locations.
Decision making
Process
17. Staff
have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to
this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the
decision making provisions do not apply.
|
Recommendation
That the Environment and Integrated
Catchments Committee receives the “Heretaunga Plains Flood Control
Scheme Level of Service Review” staff report.
|
Authored by:
|
Chris
Dolley
Group Manager Asset Management
|
Martina
Groves
Manager Regional Projects
|
Approved by:
|
Chris
Dolley
Group Manager Asset Management
|
|
Attachment/s
|
⇩1
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Heretaunga
Plains Flood Control Scheme – Scheme Boundary
|
|
|
|
⇩2
|
Heretaunga
Plains Flood Control Scheme - Level of Service Review
|
|
|
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Heretaunga
Plains Flood Control Scheme – Scheme Boundary
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Attachment 1
|
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Heretaunga Plains Flood
Control Scheme - Level of Service Review
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Attachment 2
|
HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
Environment
and Integrated Catchments Committee
5 February 2020
Subject: Discussion of Minor
Matters Not on the Agenda
Reason for Report
1. This document has been prepared to assist
Committee members note the Minor Items to be discussed as determined earlier in Agenda Item
5.
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