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Floodplain Management Australia 2024 Conference Round-up
Sharyn will give a round-up of the Floodplain Management Australia (FMA) conference held in Brisbane in May. The theme of the conference was ‘Floods in a Changing Climate’ and covered flood risk management, environmental and cultural river management projects and issues, community engagement, policy and planning. The 2024 Conference attracted 486 practitioners who are working in or interested in flood risk management, including Commonwealth, state and local government representatives, research organisations and education providers as well as consultants, engineers, land-use planners, emergency responders and community volunteer organisations. The programme also included international contributors from the USA, UK and New Zealand. Sharyn has been on the conference Programme Advisory Committee since 2021, and GW became an Associate Member of Floodplain Management Australia in 2022
Floodplain Management Australia (FMA) is the peak national body for flood risk practitioners in Australia, and has an Associate Member category for international members. FMA promotes wise management of development on floodplains and community awareness of flood-related issues, helping to reduce the risks of flooding to life and property. FMA members include over 160 Australian (and New Zealand) councils, catchment management authorities, federal, state and territory government agencies, businesses, and professionals involved in all aspects of urban and rural flood risk management.
Presenter: Sharyn Westlake
Sharyn is Principal Engineer, Construction at Greater Wellington Regional Council (GW), and is a Chartered Professional Engineer and Fellow of Engineering NZ. Sharyn has more than thirty years’ experience in governance, engineering, management, strategic planning, consultation and engagement in the private sector and local government..
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The performance of bioengineering solutions (poplars and willows) for riverbank protection during the Cyclone Gabrielle flood event.
Bioengineering solutions (trees – primarily poplar and willow cultivars) have been used to manage flood risk and erosion throughout NZ for decades and continue to be used as a cost effective and highly functional part of river management. This project looked at how bioengineering functioned within Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti, including performance in relation to flood flow effects, erosion control, stopbank protection, interception of silt and woody debris, and benefits to downstream receiving environments. Studying the effectiveness of different techniques, tree species, management, relative location, and age of trees were significant parts of the project. The conclusions derived will inform best-practice for river managers, to ensure bioengineering techniques are implemented and managed for optimal performance of river control schemes during flood events, and to minimise the downstream effects of flooding, sediment, and woody debris.
Resource: Poplars and willows as bioengineering solutions
The presenters:
Ian McIvor – lead scientist, Plant & Food Research
Ian Heslop – principal river engineer, Environment Canterbury
The art of balancing community expectations, cost, and politics in an environment of climate change.
There is no ‘one size fits all’ tool in the river management toolbox, particularly when it comes to balancing expectations from numerous stakeholders about what’s best. Policy, affordability, politics, and science all play a part.
The use of willows to manage river edges in the Bay of Plenty has proved key to balancing these expectations.
Depending on what side of the fence (or river) you sit on, willows can be either good or bad.
This webinar will address the perception and reality of using willows as frontline protection across the many dynamic rivers in the Bay of Plenty region.
Presenter: Tony Dunlop
Tony is the Area Engineer for Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
With over 45 years in the business, he’s been involved in policy development, community and iwi relations, asset management, infrastructure delivery and contract management – most of the time in his gumboots!
His passion is river edge protection and maintenance.
This combination of experience of passion for what he does, day in, day out has seen Tony become a regular speaker and advisor to river management practitioners in regional councils across the country.
Asset Management Training
Join Johan Kirsten (HBRC) for an Introduction & Overview in Asset Management
Key Topics
- ISO 55000, 1 & 2
- The International Infrastructure Management Manual
- 3 x Core AM Levels
- A Fundamental Principle of AM
- The Asset Management Landscape
- Asset Lifecycle Thinking
- The AM Journey
- Accurate Asset Information
- Information Velocity
- Focused and Continuous Improvement
- AM in the Flood Protection and Drainage Context
Working with geomorphic recovery in river management: How, where and at what cost?
There are calls for river management globally, to fully transition from command-and-control engineering to nature-based approaches (aka process-based, ecosystem-based, recovery-enhancement). However, even in this era of nature-based solutions, ad hoc and reactive management still dominates and the health of river systems continues to decline.
Working with recovery and (re)building corridors of river recovery is a nature-based approach to river management. However, to work with river recovery in-practice requires that practitioners are able to monitor and track changes in river condition to identify when recovery is occurring so that decision-support frameworks can determine whether river management is required, where, when and how much to intervene to enhance river recovery and when to opt-out of management because the system requires little (or no) intervention. In this presentation Kirstie will focus on the structural aspects of river recovery (i.e. geomorphic river recovery). Kirstie will outline an approach to identify and measure key geomorphic indicators of river recovery for different river types. Kirstie will then discuss the types of information and understanding (databases) that are needed to undertake assessments of recovery potential across catchments. Kirstie will also present findings from cost-benefit analysis that shows that working with recovery and adopting a corridors approach to river management provides the best return on investment. To do this Kirstie will use the case study of eastern New South Wales (NSW) Australia as a demonstration of the benefits of working with river recovery in river management. Kirstie will also present generic principles that can be applied in any setting, including New Zealand.
Presenter: Professor Kirstie Fryirs, Macquarie University
Kirstie’s research focusses on how rivers work, how they have evolved, how they have been impacted by anthropogenic disturbance, and how to best use geomorphology in river management. Kirstie also researches how rivers and catchments may respond to future disturbances, particularly floods and droughts. Kirstie is probably best known as the co-developer of the River Styles Framework and professional short courses, and more recently delivery of microcredential courses for industry. Kirstie works in multi-disciplinary, collaborative teams that include ecologists, hydrologists, social scientists, industry practitioners and citizens. Kirstie has co-written three books and published over 150 journal papers. Kirstie is on the Specialist Environmental Advisory Committee (SEAC) for the Certified Environmental Practitioner (geomorphology) program. Kirstie is passionate about rivers, their health, their geodiversity and how to use best available science in conservation and rehabilitation practice.
Natural Flood Management (NFM): Using all the geomorphological tools in the toolbox to achieve nature-based flood mitigation.
The 2021-2022 floods across eastern Australia highlighted the vulnerability of rivers to changing climate extremes. They are the costliest natural disaster in Australia’s recorded history with insured losses of ~$6.41 billion, well ahead of the 2019-20 ‘black summer’ bushfires (ICA 2022). By 2050, Australia’s annual extreme weather cost is likely to be $32.5 billion (ICA, 2022).
The 2022 New South Wales (NSW) Government inquiry into the floods calls for implementation of “nature-based flood mitigation … using floodplains as assets … and letting watercourses largely flow naturally rather than implementing engineering barriers such as flood levees and mitigation schemes to stop floods” (O’Kane and Fuller, 2022). In this context we must urgently re-examine how to live with rivers and build nature-based flood mitigation capacity and resilience into them, to prepare for an inevitable future where floods are forecast to be more intense and extreme. So, how do we achieve this?
Natural Flood Management (NFM) uses natural processes to slow floods down, reduce their erosive power, and reduce flood risk. In this presentation Kirstie will describe how an understanding of geomorphic, vegetative and hydrological recovery can be used to determine the NFM potential of rivers and catchments. Kirstie will then consider how we realise NFM on-the-ground by using and applying all the nature-based tools we have in the toolbox to enhance river recovery and deliver flood mitigation to communities. Kirstie will use the 2021-2022 catastrophic floods in Eastern NSW as a case study to demonstrate the potential for delivering geomorphologically-informed NFM and river recovery in 21st Century river management (Fryirs et al., 2023).
Presenter: Professor Kirstie Fryirs, Macquarie University
Kirstie’s research focusses on how rivers work, how they have evolved, how they have been impacted by anthropogenic disturbance, and how to best use geomorphology in river management. Kirstie also researches how rivers and catchments may respond to future disturbances, particularly floods and droughts. Kirstie is probably best known as the co-developer of the River Styles Framework and professional short courses, and more recently delivery of microcredential courses for industry. Kirstie works in multi-disciplinary, collaborative teams that include ecologists, hydrologists, social scientists, industry practitioners and citizens. Kirstie has co-written three books and published over 150 journal papers. Kirstie is on the Specialist Environmental Advisory Committee (SEAC) for the Certified Environmental Practitioner (geomorphology) program. Kirstie is passionate about rivers, their health, their geodiversity and how to use best available science in conservation and rehabilitation practice.
Fryirs, K., Zhang, N., Ralph, T., Arash, A.M. 2023. Natural flood management: Lessons and opportunities from the catastrophic 2021-2022 floods in eastern Australia. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 48, 1649-1664. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5647
ICA (Insurance Council of Australia) 2022. Catastrophe Resilience Report. Available at: https://insurancecouncil.com.au/
O’Kane, M., Fuller, M. 2022. 2022 Flood Inquiry Volume One: Summary Report. 29th July 2022. New South Wales Government, Sydney. Available at: https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/projects-and-initiatives/floodinquiry
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This webinar is an introduction to the concepts described in the NZ River Managers SIG – Room for the River Guidelines. An outline of the technical basis for the Room for the River concept will be presented along with some high-level examples of its implementation.
Presenter: Kyle Christensen - River Engineering Consultant
Kyle is the lead author of the NZ River Managers SIG – Room for the River Guidelines and has developed design river management lines for a number of rivers across New Zealand.
A users guide to the ‘Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s - Stopbank Design and Construction Guidelines 2021’ and its relevance in the design, construction and maintenance of the Lower Rangitaiki River flood protection scheme.
Presenter: Peter Hay
Peter Hay is an accomplished Civil Engineer/Project Manager with a 35+ years’ experience managing complex engineering projects in the field of flood management, climate adaptation, and infrastructure development. Currently serving at the Bay of Plenty Regional Council since March 2017, his key accomplishments include managing the Rangitāiki River April 2017 Flood Recovery Works and overseeing the design and construction of the Rangitāiki Floodway & Spillway.
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The provision and management of river schemes is the responsibility of Regional Councils through the Local Government Act. The origins of the schemes date back to the Soil and Conservation Rivers Control Act 1941 which recognised that flooding and drainage problems were best considered on a catchment basis.
Traditionally the river scheme flood protection approach relied on structures based on European technology and science to control floodwaters and improve drainage.
The historical approach of hazard control and “holding the line” is no longer considered sustainable against a backdrop of change. Our New Zealand climate is changing, and these changes will continue for the foreseeable future. Adaptation is essential to ensure our river schemes remain sustainable in the long term.
Long Term Sustainability
The strategic view for local authority river management is now more focused on reducing the long-term risk of flood hazards, encouraging a more natural and less engineered/confined river system to improve overall river and ecological health, promoting environmentally and economically sustainable land-use practices along with raising awareness in our communities. An integrated approach to flood risk management is needed to ensure river schemes remain viable and affordable.
Our councils are concerned with the long term environmental and financial sustainability of existing river schemes and are investigating alternative flood management options while considering international and national evolving best practise.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council - River Scheme Sustainability Projects
The need for the River Scheme Sustainability project was identified in 2011 following a number of flood events. As part of the project defined work streams were developed including the optioneering work stream. This work stream looked at long term sustainable flood management practices for the Bay of Plenty Regional Councils five major river and drainage schemes. Exploration included investigating catchment wide options, general and catchment specific ideas, enhancing existing structures, structural and non-structural solutions.
This webinar will present a floodplain assessment methodology and solutions that can be considered for any catchments.
Presenter: Katalin Maltai
Katalin Maltai Senior Projects Engineer working for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council has been leading the River Scheme Sustainability Project for over 10 years and delivering long-term flood mitigation solutions for the region, while also involved in climate change adaptation, sea-level rise, coastal hazards, risk management, hydrological and hydraulic assessments. She works with a range of regional and district councils, water agencies. Katalin has a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering with research experience in USA and Belgium and work experience in both UK and NZ working for consultancies, territorial and regional authorities.
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Making Space for Water – Community Flood Resilience & Overland Flow Path Assessments
The January 2023 Anniversary Auckland flooding events brought to focus how the lives of the public can be severely impacted by large storm and flood events. Auckland Council has developed and will be investing into the Making Space for Water programmes for the next 10 years, aiming to reduce impacts and increase resilience for future flooding events. Of the initiatives, Community Flood Resilience and Overland Flow Path assessments are the initiatives where there is an emphasis on engaging with the community and individual property owners.
Presenters: Bianca Lilley, Dean Yee, Nancy Baines, Auckland Council
Bianca is a Senior Healthy Waters Specialist at Auckland Council where she co-leads the Community Flood Resilience initiative within Auckland Council's Making Space for Water programme. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Conservation, and brings experience in urban contaminant reduction, working alongside mana whenua and local communities, and fostering valuable industry partnerships. Her current work is focussed on improving community understanding of flood risks and resilience, ensuring that residents are equipped with the knowledge and tools to connect with and care for their local environment in a changing climate. She seeks to elevate the importance of environmental literacy while addressing the pressing challenges of urban flooding.
Nancy is a Senior Flood Risk Specialist at Healthy Waters & Flood Resilience, where she co-leads the Community Flood Resilience initiative within Auckland Council's Making Space for Water program. With a Master's in Earth and Environmental Science, Nancy brings experience in flood risk management, emergency planning, and community engagement in both the UK and New Zealand to her role. Her primary goal is to ensure that the public has access to clear and actionable flood risk information, empowering communities to make informed decisions and build resilience for flood hazards.
Dean is a Principal Specialist at Healthy Waters & Flood Resilience department of Auckland Council. He’s been an environmental practitioner for over 10 years, with some experience overseas in Malaysia, and more recent years in local government sector of Tāmaki Makaurau. More recently he led the review of the Auckland Stormwater Bylaw. His current focus is around making a difference on the ground, having involvement in regulatory and compliance areas, and inspection and monitoring programmes.
Planned relocation: addressing the key policy issues.
Climate change will have ever-increasing impacts during the 21st century and beyond, including more severe riverine and pluvial flooding, along with accelerating sea level rise and related coastal erosion and inundation. This talk will focus on the key policy issues raised by the need to move significant numbers of people and structures out of harm's way, especially due to sea level rise later this century and ideally on a precautionary or pre-emptive basis rather than post-disaster. The key issues include: identifying and assessing risk and determining appropriate risk thresholds; designing effective bespoke planning processes; determining who should pay for the various costs of planned relocation, including compensatory arrangements for the loss of private property; possible changes to the provision of property insurance; and designing public institutions that will be capable of coping with the unprecedented adaptation challenges that lie ahead. Of relevance in this context is the recent report on climate change adaptation of Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee and the government's plan to introduce legislation dealing with adaptation in 2025.
Presenter: Jonathan Boston
Jonathan Boston, ONZM, is Emeritus Professor of Public Policy in the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington. His research interests include: climate change policy (both mitigation and adaptation); child poverty; governance (especially anticipatory governance); public management; tertiary education funding (especially research funding); and welfare state design. He has served at various times as the Director of the Institute of Policy Studies and the Director of the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. In the early 2000’s he served as a member of the Tertiary Education Advisory Committee and helped design and implement the Performance-Based Research Fund in New Zealand’s tertiary education sector. During 2012-13 he co-chaired the Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty for the Children’s Commissioner. In 2021 he was seconded to the Ministry for the Environment to contribute to policy advice on various aspects of environmental policy, including resource management issues. He served as a member of the Expert Working Group on Managed Retreat for the Ministry for the Environment between August 2022 and June 2023, and has also been assisting the Environmental Defence Society with their current project on climate change adaptation. Over the years he has served on the boards of various non-governmental organizations, such as Oxfam Aotearoa (2013-22).
Recent books and major reports include: Child Poverty in New Zealand (with Simon Chapple) (2014); Governing for the Future: Designing Democratic Institutions for a Better Tomorrow (2017); Safeguarding the Future: Governing in an Uncertain World (2017); Foresight, Insight, and Oversight: Enhancing Long-Term Governance through Better Parliamentary Scrutiny (with David Bagnall and Anna Barry) (2019); Transforming the Welfare State: Towards a New Social Contract (2019); Funding Managed Retreat: Designing a Public Compensation Scheme for Private Property Losses: Policy Issues and Options (2023). He is the editor of Policy Quarterly.
Could Sponge Cities offer a solution to help deal with more intense rainfall caused by climate change?
The sponge city approach aims to sustainably manage water resources in our urban centres. It requires cities to work with water rather than against it, using green infrastructure, minimising impervious surfaces, ‘daylighting’ streams, and more. By creating space for water, these approaches complement conventional engineering solutions.
Cyclone Gabrielle and other storms since have highlighted our vulnerability in the face of the increased flood risk. Adapting New Zealand’s cities will be a complex task – and require tough decisions on how we build in the future. In this webinar we will explore:
- Why Sponge Cities should be part of the solution to building flood resilience in New Zealand urban spaces.
- Practical small and large initiatives to adapt our cities that we could start today.
- Policy recommendations, such as excluding vulnerable flood-prone areas from development, making space for water (room for rivers) and incorporating mātauraunga Māori knowledge to achieve solutions that enhance biodiversity and promote human well-being.
Our speakers:
Liam Foster, WSP Technical Principal – Water. Liam is a Chartered Environmentalist and Chartered Scientist specialising in sustainable water management, surface water and flood risk management. He is a Fellow of CIWEM and has over twenty years of experience in water cycle and strategic water policy and planning. Prior to joining WSP in New Zealand, Liam worked across the water environmental and water industry within the UK.
Kali Mercier, WSP Fellow, Deputy Director of the Helen Clark Foundation and report author. Kali is a public policy researcher with a focus on climate change, infrastructure and sustainable urban design, and is author of a recent report on Sponge Cities. Previous roles include Principal Advisor at the Ministry of Justice, Policy Director at the NZ Drug Foundation, and human rights advocate for Amnesty UK and other charities overseas.
Coastal blue carbon in Aotearoa: opportunities and challenges
Blue carbon is the carbon sequestered by coastal and marine habitats such as mangroves, saltmarsh, and seagrasses. The carbon sequestration service provided by these habitats could help to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as providing other important ecosystem services. Restoration of coastal habitats for the purpose of sequestering blue carbon can generate carbon credits, potentially offsetting the costs of restoration and any lost revenue for landowners. Coastal blue carbon projects have been successfully implemented overseas, but a blue carbon market has not yet been established in Aotearoa. This session will discuss the spatial opportunities and policy challenges that face this growth area in Aotearoa.
Dr Phoebe Stewart-Sinclair NIWA
Phoebe Stewart-Sinclair is a marine ecologist and economist. Her work broadly focuses on marine conservation and climate change adaptation and mitigation through conservation of marine organisms and environments. She has worked in research in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. Her qualifications include a Certificate in Tertiary Teaching, a BSc in Zoology and Ecology, an Honours in Zoology, a Masters in Conservation Biology, a PhD in Biology, and a PhD in Economics. At NIWA, she is a Scientist in the Marine Ecology team.
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Mā te Haumaru ō te Wai: Flood Resilience Aotearoa is a 5-year MBIE funded Endeavour programme to understand Aotearoa’s flood inundation hazard and risk under the current and future climate. We are also developing an understanding of social vulnerability, especially in the case of repeated flooding events and working with iwi, central, regional and local government and other stakeholders to develop tools and practices to make Aotearoa more resilient to our most frequent natural hazard.
In this webinar your presenter, Dr Emily Lane provides an overview of the programme and then present a case study for Westport.
Presenter: Dr Emily Lane
Dr Emily Lane is a hydrodynamic scientist with a specific focus on natural hazards. She is actively researching tsunami, storm surge and flooding inundation. She is leading Mā te haumaru ō te wai - an Endeavour programme focussed on understanding Aotearoa's flood inundation hazard and risk at a national level and using this to improve our resilience to flooding. Her background is applied mathematics and she has a PhD in applied mathematics with a geoscience minor from the University of Arizona. She has been working at NIWA since 2006.
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This webinar provides an overview of the assumptions, methods, limitations and regional scale finding results associated with the Deep South’s Climate Change impacts project. This project coupled the IPCC 5th climate projection ensemble for New Zealand (Ministry for environment 2018) with an a-priori parametrised hydrological model across New Zealand.
As part of the seminar, I will use case studies to illustrate some of the challenges associated with the use and interpretation of those datasets to inform water resource and hydrological extreme investigations. The learnings form this project are used to inform method development associated with the use of the IPCC6th climate projections for New Zealand to be released in June 2024.
Presenter: Christian Zammit
Christian has been at NIWA since 2010. He is a hydrologist whose specialises in development of understanding of catchment scale hydrological processes and its implementation in hydrological models in gauged and ungauged catchments across spatial scales. Over the past 12 years, he has further specialised in the use of hydrological models at local-regional and national scale associated to understand and quantify how climate change may impact water resource decision making, and riverine weather-related hazards including extremes at local, regional and national scale.
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A case study: how to manage the powerful and dynamic Waiho River in South Westland.
This webinar focuses on the work completed by the 2023 Waiho Technical Advisory Group (TAG), which was formed by the West Coast Regional Council in response to the ongoing aggradation of the riverbed, and the development of an avulsion path between the Waiho River and the Tatare Stream in February this year. The TAG was tasked with producing a 10-year management plan for the river. Utilising the extensive geomorphic understanding of the river system, a risk assessment of each stopbank in the protection network, and the PARA framework, the TAG developed a five phase plan involving a managed retreat from the Waiho’s true left floodplain. This rather drastic action will allow the Waiho River to access it’s entire fan surface (as oppose to just one third), giving it more space to distribute its incredibly high sediment load across, which slow the rate of vertical aggradation, and therefore reduce the pressure on the developing avulsion, as well as the true right stopbanks which protect the Franz Josef township.
Presenter: Matthew Gardner, BE (hons) Natural Resources, CMEngNZ and CPEng, Land River Sea Consulting Ltd
Matthew Gardner is the director and principal engineer at Land River Sea Consulting, a small Christchurch-based specialist engineering consultancy. First exposed to the Waiho River on family hiking trips as a child in the 1980’s; he was then educated in the classroom and on field trips to Franz Josef by Professor Tim Davies whilst studying Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury in 2004/2005. His first professional involvement with the river began in 2014 when he was tasked with building a hydraulic flood model of the river for the West Coast Regional Council. Since then, he has been involved in a range of investigations and workshops on the river helping the West Coast Regional Council as well as the Department of Conservation better understand the big picture behaviour and hazard profile of the river. He has conducted several hydraulic modelling studies on the river as well as detailed analyses in relation to changing bed levels and behaviour of the river over time.
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This webinar looks at the journey across the Waikato region on climate change adaption/resilience with a focus on river systems and flood protection schemes that will appeal to river managers, engineers and planners across local and central government, as well as researchers. We'll show you how climate change is addressed through current and proposed processes, that require partnerships and collaboration with other agencies, researchers and key stakeholders. We'll share the learnings we have made throughout our journey.
Presenter: Rick Liefting
Rick is the Regional Resilience Team Lead at Waikato Regional Council (WRC), North Island, New Zealand. The WRC covers some 25,000 km2 (~9,700 Square miles) with over 100 lakes, 1,150 km (715 miles) of coastline and manages 620km (385 miles) of stopbanks protecting some 3,000 km2 (1,158 square miles) of land. The Regional Resilience team provides knowledge on current and future natural hazards and risk, provides technical support in managing flood protection and land drainage schemes as well as emergency management and responding to natural hazard events.
The breadth of expertise within the team allows for an integrated approach to understanding projected impacts of climate change on communities and adaptation options. Rick’s 20 plus years of experience as a coastal scientist and natural hazard lead has guided a strategic approach to community resilience. A key component to successful adaption is community empowerment to make informed decisions using publicly available resources such as the WRC Coastal Inundation Tool, Waikato Regional Hazards Portal and site specific assessments.
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The adaptation agenda is not new, but appears it is only able to be progressed once people have experienced severe impacts and the scale and scope of damages have become clear. So what have we learned from our experience?
To prepare for the impacts of climate change in a climate exposed and unstable pluvial country we need fit for purpose governance and institutional arrangements that enable implementation of adaptation actions, planning frameworks and decision tools that account for dynamic changing risks, in tune with our Treaty partners, and iwi/hapu cultural values and that are inclusive of wider community values.
This webinar addresses these issues, illustrated with practical examples from New Zealand.
Presenter: Dr Judy Lawrence
Dr Judy Lawrence is Senior Research Fellow at the Climate Change Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington and Director of PS Consulting Ltd. Judy’s research and practice focus on climate change adaptation, sea-level rise, coastal hazards, river and water resource risk management, land use management and soil conservation. She is an active member of the global decision making under deep uncertainty network. Judy works with a range of regional and district councils, water agencies, central government agencies and supervises post graduate students. Judy was Co-Author of the MfE Coastal Hazards and Climate Change Guidance (2017), Co-Chaired the Climate Change Adaptation Technical Working Group (2018), Governance Domain Lead for the first NZ National Climate Change Risk Assessment (2020), Coordinating Lead Author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Working Group II Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (2022). Judy was a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Science Prize 2019 Melting Ice and Rising Seas Team 2019 and the Terry Healy Coastal Project Award in 2017 and 2018 for the Living Edge Resilience and the MfE Coastal Guidance Projects. She has a PhD in Public Policy on the adequacy of institutions for climate change adaptation and a Masters degree in Geomorphology. Judy is a Climate Change Commissioner
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This presentation looks at the concept of adaptation benefits and what adaptation is supposed to achieve. It also discusses the latest findings from the IPCC 6th Assessment on what effective adaptation looks like and which strategies seem feasible and effective and in which context. The presentation also unpacks the main ideas and heuristics around adaptation and explains how these implicit understandings of adaptation influence how adaptation decisions are made.
Presenter: Johanna Nalau
Dr Nalau is an award-winning climate adaptation scientist who thrives on finding clues how humans can better see into the future and make decisions how we adapt to climate change. Her Australian Research Council DECRA research focuses on understanding climate adaptation heuristics and the role these play in adaptation decision- and policy-making processes globally and nationally. Dr Nalau is Lead Author in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment report in Working Group II, Co-chair of the Science Committee of the World Adaptation Science Program at United Nations, and leads the Adaptation Science Research Theme at Cities Research Institute, Griffith University. She was awarded Griffith University Young Outstanding Alumni Award 2019 for the Sciences Group, and the Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Award 2020. She is passionate about the role of innovation and foresight in enabling the building of better futures.
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Stationarity is now invalid for dealing with the continually changing risks we face from climate change and the inherent widening uncertainties over time.
Consequently, a different approach to risk assessments and risk treatment must explicitly include the:
- increasing rate of change in risk over time
- interlinkages and feedback within the catchment system including cascading impacts
- compounding of coastal and freshwater hazards in coastal lowlands (including groundwater and salinisation)
- deepening uncertainties stemming from multiple possible coastal-climate futures
Being explicit about planning and/or design timeframes is now a critical component of risk analysis, when considering adaptation, whether using nominal or policy-driven timeframes (thereby artificially closing off ongoing changes in risk) or taking a realistic view of the permanence of the built environment and land-use decisions. Even short-term or incremental adaptation can lead to path dependency to a particular course of action or maladaptation and increasing residual risk down the track as climate-related risks unfold.
Rather than a conventional “predict-then-act” approach, we need to shift to an adaptive pathways paradigm taking a systems viewpoint (ISO 14090: 2019). Starting with a set of scenarios and re-framing risk assessments (ISO 14091: 2021), dynamic adaptive approaches provide a flexible solution and engagement space to explore and devise alternative pathways for fluvial and coastal plains that perform across a range of possible futures, considering the implications and limits of incremental versus transformative (eg, making room for the river, managed retreat, enhanced lowland wetlands) adaptation options.
Presenter: Dr Rob Bell
Managing Director, Bell Adapt Ltd, Hamilton
Teaching Fellow, Environmental Planning Programme, University of Waikato, Te Whare Wananga o Waikato
PhD (Civil Engineering–Canterbury), Fellow EngNZ, CPEng (Environmental)
Rob Bell has 42 years’ experience in coastal and estuary engineering, risk from coastal hazards, the impacts of climate change on coastal lowland communities and infrastructure and adaptive planning for climate adaptation.
Rob, formerly with NIWA, was the Lead Author of the 2017 coastal guidance for local government published by NZ’s Ministry for the Environment for planning adaptation to climate change. He was a Contributing Author for the IPCC Working Group II 6th assessment report on climate change impacts for Australasia (2022). He has been involved in several bridge projects for Waka Kotahi in the estuary/river transition situations, where sea-level rise will be an emerging issue compounding with fluvial flooding.
Rob is a certified Resource Management Act Hearings Commissioner and Charter Professional Engineer (Environmental). He is a key advisor for the new NIWA coordinated 5-year MBIE-funded Future Coasts Aotearoa programme. It focuses on rural settings and holistic adaptation pathways and economic evaluation for both built and squeezed natural lowland environments eg, wetlands, marsh and lowland sections of rivers (see recent Policy Quarterly article Vol. 19 No. 1)
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to play a significant role in disaster management, including mitigating the impact of cyclones like Gabrielle. While AI cannot directly prevent or stop a cyclone from occurring, it can be utilised in several ways to reduce its impact and improve disaster preparedness and response.
This webinar gives you an overview of the latest research using AI through recent innovations and development. It focuses on flood risk and presents the latest results to predict floods using machine learning by the TAIAO research team. This webinar will present the new TAIAO ML courses roadshow for flood practitioners. The TAIAO team is delighted to provide a data science and machine learning course designed specifically for flood practitioners.
TAIAO is a data science programme funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) over seven years. It aims to tackle our country's critical environmental problems by developing new machine-learning methods for time series and data streams to deal with large quantities of big data in real time.
Presenter: Dr Phil Mourot, PhD, Senior Hazard Advisor, Waikato Regional Council
Meet Dr Phil Mourot, a senior data scientist with over 25 years of experience in natural hazards and early warning system systems. With a PhD in geophysics from France, Phil specialises in developing new methods and tools to predict natural disasters. He has extensive field experience, from analysing the Mont Blanc glaciers in the French Alps to monitoring the Merapi volcano in Indonesia. In New Zealand since 2015, Phil is now a Senior Hazard Advisor for the Waikato Regional Council and advocates resilience to reduce disaster risk and support climate adaptation. Two years ago, Phil joined the TAIAO team from the University of Waikato, and his research focuses on predicting the impact of floods using deep learning and improving emergency management during a crisis. Phil is involved in numerous advisory groups and national projects, such as the AI Researcher Association of NZ (he holds the Secretary position) and QuakeCORE IP4.
This session introduces floodplain sediment archives and their potential for flood series extension in New Zealand. A broad, nationwide overview of centennial-scale river activity in the last 10,000 years will be followed by focusing on specific flood histories in discrete catchments. Assessing flood risk is presently constrained by short (generally ~50 year) gauged river flow records that poorly represent the distribution of hydrological extremes because these records typically do not include the largest floods generated in a catchment. There is a need to extend flood series to improve our understanding of flood hazard and risk, particularly in light of a rapidly changing climate. Floodplain sedimentary archives offer the prospect of generating flood histories over centuries and even millennia because they directly record the sediment signature of discrete flood events. These palaeo flood reconstructions provide a window into historic and prehistoric floods occurring within a catchment during a range of climate conditions, which allow us to better prepare for future floods.
Presenter: Ian Fuller, Massey University, New Zealand
Ian holds the position of Professor in Physical Geography at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, where he co-directs the Innovative River Solutions group and has been based since 2003. His research in fluvial geomorphology provides an integrated understanding of river systems at multiple spatial and temporal scales. He has completed numerous projects for stakeholders in river management and worked in catchments throughout New Zealand, as well as the UK and Europe. Prior to arriving in New Zealand, Ian completed his PhD at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1996, which was followed by a lectureship in Physical Geography at Northumbria University. He is passionate about educating students in NZ’s rivers and linking geomorphology with river management.
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Research aim 3: This part of the programme aims to develop useful, useable, scalable, and transferable sets of knowledge, processes and practices for understanding flood risks in a way that accounts for cascading impacts and complexity.
Objectives of research aim 3: Understand the social dimensions of flooding.
Use case studies and a systems-mapping approach to study how flooding affects hapū and communities, directly and indirectly.
Explore how cascading events (multiple large flooding events or combinations of flooding with other exacerbating factors) can affect tolerance to flooding, especially under climate change.
Presenter: Dr Paula Blackett, NIWA
Paula is an environmental social scientist with the National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA). She has extensive research experience (20 years+) in the social impacts and implications of climate change, climate change adaptation strategies and engagement practices, and system approaches to framing complexity and decision-making. She has worked across several environmental domains including coasts freshwater and rural systems and is an adept integrator of ideas and practice. She currently leads NIWA’s climate change impacts and implications research programme.
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Climate change will continue to super-charge the atmosphere with water vapour and energy, ensuring stronger storms and heavier rainfall as things continue to warm. But, when it isn’t raining, the weather looks drier, with faster evaporation and greater chance of drought. One signal that comes through clearly in future projections of river flows is an increase in variability. Even if the overall flows are not expected to change, variability in the flows is likely to increase. I’ll discuss the overall picture of how the climate is changing, and I’ll relate it to New Zealand river flows, water availability and extreme events.
Presenter: James Renwick, Climate Researcher
James is a climate researcher who studies Southern Hemisphere climate variability, and the impacts of climate change on the Pacific, New Zealand and the Antarctic. He has been a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the last 20 years, contributing to three Assessment Reports. James was awarded the Prime Minister’s 2018 prize for Science Communication and was part of the team that won the Prime Minister’s Science Prize in 2019. He was appointed to the New Zealand Climate Change Commission in 2019.
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Belinda Storey leads the Duct-Tape project in the Extreme Events and the Emergence of Climate Change, a five year, $10M research programme funded by MBIE. This project couples rainfall and river flow models with investment criteria to determine how extreme rainfall events affect the financial viability of river-based infrastructure.
Presenter: Belinda Storey
Belinda is a Senior Research Fellow at the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute, where she conducts research on the impact of escalating climate hazards on infrastructure, real estate, banking and insurance. As Managing Director of Climate Sigma, Belinda has developed a new model for valuing property under climate change called “climate leases” and in 2017 she coined the term “insurance retreat”.
Belinda Storey is Managing Director of Climate Sigma and Whakahura: Extreme Events and the Emergence of Climate Change, a five-year, $10M research programme funded by MBIE. Her research in this programme couples rainfall and river flow models with investment criteria to determine how extreme rainfall events affect the financial viability of river-based infrastructure.
In May 2022 Belinda was named Wellingtonian of the Year for Science and Technology in recognition of her work in pricing climate risk.
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Lynette discusses her research team's study on encouraging key beneficial behaviours (reporting stormwater pollution, installing urban rainwater tanks, volunteering) for urban freshwater biodiversity.
Residents’ behaviour is fundamental to protecting and restoring freshwater biodiversity in urban areas. However, a key challenge facing government agencies, environmental organisations, and community groups is convincing people to engage in activities that will benefit urban freshwater biodiversity. Lynette will describe a systematic approach to designing effective human behaviour change interventions, illustrated with a practical example for improving volunteer involvement with urban freshwater restoration projects.
The research team conducted a set of nationwide online surveys and established volunteering for urban freshwater restoration as a key target behaviour. They developed a randomised control trial with a restoration group in Kirikiriroa | Hamilton and tested ways to increase first-time volunteer participation and investigated volunteering benefits. Participants were recruited through social media and 627 potential first-time volunteers were identified. In the first stage of their experiment, they found that a $50 voucher combined with a nudge was most effective at increasing volunteer rates at an actual event. In the second stage, they found that volunteering for the first time increases future volunteering behaviour, generates positive spillovers to other pro-environmental behaviours and strengthens environmental attitudes and self-identity.
This research was partly undertaken in collaboration with Robbie Maris (University College London), Zack Dorner (Lincoln University) and Fredrik Carlsson (University of Gotherburg).
About the BioHeritage Challenge/Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho
The BioHeritage Challenge/Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho aims to protect and manage Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity, improve our biosecurity and enhance our resilience to harmful organisms by creating real, on-the-ground impact in the areas of Whakamana/Empower, Tiaki/Protect and Whakahou/Restore.
We are doing this through national partnership, delivering a step-change in research innovation, globally leading technologies, and community and sector action.
What are the National Science Challenges?
Eleven National Science Challenges were created in 2014 to answer some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s biggest science questions. The Challenges bring together the country’s top scientists to work collaboratively across disciplines, institutions and borders to achieve their objectives.
In total they were given just over $680 million by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). This was to fund research from 2014 – 2024, with a review period at the end of ‘Tranche 1’ (2014 – 2019).
New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge was allocated $63.7 million of this to facilitate research and impact in the areas of biosecurity and native biodiversity. We are hosted by the Crown Research Institute Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, with our offices in Lincoln, just south of Christchurch.
Leading our mahi (work) are Co-Directors Daniel Patrick and Melanie Mark-Shadbolt, as well as a dedicated Leadership Group.
You can keep up-to-date by checking out our research programmes or following us on social media.
Presenter: Lynette McLeod
Lynette McLeod is an environmental psychologist whose work is focused on improving human behaviour change to achieve better outcomes for people and the environment. Her interdisciplinary approach to research is guided by thirty years of experience across both science and social science fields, holding professional research positions within NSW Department of Primary Industries and the New England University and working with the community to manage a range of issues, including free-roaming cats, wild dogs, spray drift and human waste management in alpine areas. In 2021, she started McLeod Research, a consulting company helping organisations better understand their target audiences and design improved behaviour change interventions. Her current clients include RSPCA NSW, Maanaka Whenua Landcare Research and New Zealand Alpine Club. Lynette also holds an adjunct Senior Fellow at the University of Canterbury and is part of the Aotearoa New Zealand BioHeritage Science Challenge team empowering environmental stewardship and Kaitiakitanga.
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Graeme Campbell convener of the New Zealand River Managers group will recap the activities of the past year and the upcoming future opportunities.
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This webinar shares insights from two participatory research projects on how community groups, tangata whenua, government and stakeholders are working together to achieve catchment scale improvements in freshwater health, and barriers to collective action. Jim’s research reveals the support community groups need to realise collective freshwater management, while Kiely’s focusses on the role catchment collectives can play in supporting coordinated community-led restoration.
Presenters: Kiely McFarlane, PhD, MSc, and Jim Sinner, MSc, both from the Cawthron Institute
Kiely McFarlane is a social scientist at the Cawthron Institute whose research explores the social dimensions of freshwater issues and collective approaches to restoration. Kiely has a PhD in resources, environment and sustainability from the University of British Columbia and a MSc in geography from the University of Auckland. Her work at Cawthron has included research on the environmental history of lakes in Aotearoa, the application of environmental limits and targets in policy, collective approaches to ecosystem restoration, and the future of freshwater fish management in Aotearoa.
Jim Sinner is a senior social scientist at the Cawthron Institute in Nelson, New Zealand. Current and recent projects involve work on catchment groups, understanding values, collaborative planning, structured decision making and the concept of social licence. Jim has a MSc in agricultural economics from Cornell University and a BA in government from Harvard University. He came to New Zealand in 1991 and has worked in government, consultancy, advocacy and research roles concerning resource management and environmental stewardship. Jim has been at Cawthron since 2007.
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When applied in the right way, project management brings value and ensures smooth sailing throughout all stages of a project. The tools used by project managers can be useful for anyone working in a project environment, regardless of your role. Project reporting is one of the key tools to communicate successes and raise risks but how does one ensure the right things are captured at the right time for the right audience?
Presenter: Anna Ivanova, Regional Lead-Rivers Delivery, Enironment Canterbury
Join us as Anna Ivanova walks us through key project management principles, how to apply them in the public sector and shares a case study of reporting using the Climate Resilience Shovel-ready Programme (part of the COVID-19 recovery scheme) example.
Chantez Connor-Kingi – (Northland Regional Council) leads us in her reflections and perspectives on Māori Engagement and how we can do better by not repeating past grievances and building partnerships. We should ask ourselves as local government are we being genuine about Partnership, Protection, Participation.
Hiwa - to be watchful, focus on, to be vigorous (of growth), active, robust, light-hearted, entertaining, engaging
Through a case study, hear of the Hawke's Bay experiences (pre–Cyclone Gabrielle) in getting people involved and interested in making decisions about their rivers. Mary will share some lessons learnt through a freshwater plan process undertaken recently.
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Aotearoa New Zealand’s BioHeritage Challenge, Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho ‘Empowering Environmental Stewardship and Kaitiakitanga’ team presents: Te-ia-o-te-Rangi: Exploring localised Tūhoe astronomical knowledge in relation to the localised environmental management of water.
Presenter: Nathan Matamua
Nathan will be presenting qualitative research that aims to shed light on how a local Māori community can be better empowered to enact kaitiakitanga. Sharing kōrero with two Tūhoe tohunga (experts) from the local Tūhoe community of Ruatāhuna, the research draws on their experiences and meaning making when considering their understandings of the relationship between localised Tūhoe star lore and localised environmental knowledge associated with water.
Through analysis of collected data, the research provides a discussion on a lived Tūhoe perspective in relation to understanding water quality, and how these understandings may better empower local communities to enact local forms of kaitiakitanga.
Nathan Matamua (Ngāi Tuhoe) is a member of the BioHeritage Challenge/Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho ‘Empowering environmental stewardship and Kaitiakitanga' team. Nathan was born and raised in Levin, a town to the south of Palmerston North. “My tribal home is in the Bay of Plenty,” says Nathan. “I’m Tūhoe, and I’ve always been made aware of that. But even though we’ve constantly travelled home, in many ways, I still see myself as an outsider.”
Nathan has recently completed a Master’s in Psychology at Massey University and has found this a way of reconnecting with his roots and with his whānau. “Prior to being a student, I was a supply chain manager for a global company,” says Nathan. “I had the good career, but I wanted to spend a bit more time focused on family.” Studying was a way of doing that, and Nathan has found that it has naturally progressed to reconnecting with his identity. Read more about Nathan Matamua here.
About the BioHeritage Challenge/Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho
The BioHeritage Challenge/Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho aims to protect and manage Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity, improve our biosecurity and enhance our resilience to harmful organisms by creating real, on-the-ground impact in the areas of Whakamana/Empower, Tiaki/Protect and Whakahou/Restore.
We are doing this through national partnership, delivering a step-change in research innovation, globally leading technologies, and community and sector action.
What are the National Science Challenges?
Eleven National Science Challenges were created in 2014 to answer some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s biggest science questions. The Challenges bring together the country’s top scientists to work collaboratively across disciplines, institutions and borders to achieve their objectives.
In total they were given just over $680 million by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). This was to fund research from 2014 – 2024, with a review period at the end of ‘Tranche 1’ (2014 – 2019).
New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge was allocated $63.7 million of this to facilitate research and impact in the areas of biosecurity and native biodiversity. We are hosted by the Crown Research Institute Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, with our offices in Lincoln, just south of Christchurch.
Leading our mahi (work) are Co-Directors Daniel Patrick and Melanie Mark-Shadbolt, as well as a dedicated Leadership Group.
You can keep up to date by checking out our research programmes or following us on social media.
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This webinar offers the opportunity for river engineers and environmental managers to learn about Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi (the Treaty) and its relevance to contemporary river governance and management policies, planning, and strategies in Aotearoa New Zealand. The webinar begins by providing a brief overview of the history of the Treaty, which includes the reasons for disagreements about what the Treaty means.
Next, it will explore what Treaty principles are and what it means in terms of river governance and management approaches and on-the-ground practices. The different ways in which the Treaty (duties and principles) is recognised in relevant legislation, court decisions, and proposed bills are discussed, with a focus on providing environmental managers and water engineers with an understanding of the legal dimensions of the Treaty as well as how it is embedded within Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) and Māori concepts and values.
The webinar is designed to be an introduction to the Treaty and provide case studies that demonstrate why the Treaty is of critical importance to improving how rivers are governed and managed in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Presenter: Dr Meg Parsons, School of Environment, The University of Auckland
From my early days as a student, I have always been interested in the relationships between people and places, and how these relationships shift, change, are maintained and contested over time. My research is transdisciplinary in scope and nature, and crosses the boundaries between human geography, historical studies, and Indigenous studies. This transdisciplinary and intersectionality emerged from my own experiences as someone of mixed heritage (Māori/Pākehā/Lebanese) who grew up in small-town Aotearoa New Zealand, and noticed the ways in which different individuals and communities relationships with each other and their local environments were tied to their identities, values, histories, and different knowledge systems; all of which was bound up in their memories of and experiences of colonialism, social-environmental crises, and perceptions of what constituted healthy people and environments. My research is focused on examining how different values and belief systems are translated into environmental policies and actions, the ways in which specific historical narratives, memories, and discourses influence both the construction and practices of scientific knowledge, and how colonialism influences contemporary Indigenous societies' responses to climate change and other environmental changes.
Key areas of research include:
- Historical geographies of colonialism and environmental change
- Indigenous peoples' perceptions and responses to climate change
- Decolonising approaches to freshwater and coastal governance and management regimes
- Socio-cultural dimensions of climate mitigation
- Climate change adaptation and justice (social, climate, gender)
- Decolonising methodologies and co-production of knowledge
- Interaction of different knowledge systems (western scientific, Indigenous and local knowledges)
- Indigenous histories and conceptualisations of health and wellbeing
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Join us for this one-hour webinar to learn about evolving freshwater policy and how it is changing freshwater management in Aotearoa New Zealand. The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) is central to river management planning, consultation engagement and operational activities. Te mana o te wai was introduced as a key concept in the NPS-FM 2014 and in the most recent NPS-FM 2020 was elevated to a principle that puts the health and well-being of freshwater bodies at the forefront of decision-making about water. In line with the NPS-FM, this session will broaden the view beyond water quality and habitat management to include other aspects of river ecosystem health such as aquatic biota and ecosystem processes. A broadening of our view of rivers beyond ‘channels’, and ‘drains’ is more closely aligned with a Māori worldview of waterways. Additionally, this seminar also introduces Māori concepts and values relevant to understanding and implementing the NPS-FM such as water as taonga (treasure), mauri (life force of water), and mahinga kai (food-gathering).
Presenter: Linda Te Aho, Associate Dean Māori for the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences; Associate Professor
Linda is the Associate Dean Māori for the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences (Te Wānanga o Ngā Kete), and a legal academic at Te Piringa Faculty of Law. Linda is a member of the executive board for Waikato-Tainui (Te Arataura), a board member of the Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development, and a director of Tainui Group Holdings Ltd. Linda was appointed by Waikato-Tainui as a guardian mandated under the landmark settlement for the co-management of the Waikato River ecosystem to develop the long term vision for its holistic restoration. Linda is a board member for the Ngārimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board.
Linda was a key member of the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Treaty Claims team and continues to provides specialist advice on Treaty of Waitangi claims and post-settlement governance issues to iwi and hapū organisations. She provides expert advice on Māori legal issues in relation to lands and freshwater to iwi leaders, to crown agencies and government departments.
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In this webinar as part of our cultural series you will learn more about the how to of navigating towards te mana o te wai. Linda will share with you methods to assist with empowering and enabling iwi hapu involvement.
This will consider determining the right level of engagement, including considering the purpose and goals of the engagement, as well as the level of importance to a Council and level of interest for Māori.
Planning engagements need to consider what suits the parties including capacity and capability, possible financial support and remuneration investment considerations, timeframes, along with discussions of wider issues, understanding kawa (protocol/rules) and tikanga (customs).
Genuine and effective engagement is critical as part of supporting ongoing relationships and for leading to improved outcomes for the benefit of our work and community wellbeing.
Presenter: Linda Te Aho, Associate Dean Māori for the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences; Associate Professor
Linda is the Associate Dean Māori for the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences (Te Wānanga o Ngā Kete), and a legal academic at Te Piringa Faculty of Law. Linda is a member of the executive board for Waikato-Tainui (Te Arataura), a board member of the Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development, and a director of Tainui Group Holdings Ltd. Linda was appointed by Waikato-Tainui as a guardian mandated under the landmark settlement for the co-management of the Waikato River ecosystem to develop the long term vision for its holistic restoration. Linda is a board member for the Ngārimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board.
Linda was a key member of the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Treaty Claims team and continues to provides specialist advice on Treaty of Waitangi claims and Post-Settlement Governance issues to iwi and hapū organisations. She provides expert advice on Māori legal issues in relation to lands and freshwater to Iwi leaders, to Crown agencies and government departments.
Join us for this webinar to learn how to demonstrate kaitiaki obligations to Te Ao Māori and achieve genuine engagement. You will learn about Mana Whenua statements also known as cultural impact assessments which provide Mana Whenua decisions against the proposal or policy to decision makers.
An understanding of these is fundamental for involvement in developing today’s river management including for research, planning, consultation and operation activities.
Presenter: Julian Williams, Te Huia Natural Resources Limited
Ko Taupiri tooku Maunga
Ko Waikato tooku Awa
Ko Pootatau te tangata
He piko he taniwha
Waikato taniwharau
Tiihei mauriora
I was raised, and attended school, in Ngaaruawaahia before graduating from the University of Waikato with a degree focussed on resource and environmental planning. My wife and I have an established consultancy service providing support and engagement for community, marae and council within the governance and environmental space, while enabling quality time with our sons. Currently most of my mahi is focussed on progressing collaborative arrangements to restore and protect the Waikato and Waipaa Rivers, undertake meaningful engagement with Marae and develop mana whenua reports. I currently chair Smart Waikato as a matter of special interest to empower youth through real education to employment pathways.
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Large Woody Debris
While “slash” on beaches has been in the national news since Cyclone Gabrielle the impact of large woody debris in the rivers and coast of Gisborne Tairawhiti has been an issue since at least 2017 and to a lesser extent on a smaller scale earlier.
In the 2017 event a major storm (Cyclone Cook) generated large volumes of woody debris which was jammed up against bridges, along riverbanks and on beaches. Much of the commentary in the local media was that it was “largely willows and poplars from farms”. This didn’t gel with what I was seeing in the field so an investigation was undertaken which lead to a comprehensive report. https://www.gdc.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/10408/cyclone-cook-slash-investigation-2017-report.pdf
The assessment concluded that the primary source of the woody debris was exotic plantation forestry, and not willows and poplars or indigenous material. During this investigation a standardised methodology to determining woody debris contributions was established. The most recent version of this methodology is available on the GDC website; https://www.gdc.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/77271/LWD-Assessment-Guide-v2.2.pdf
In 2018 a larger event occurred with even more woody debris migrating to the catchments. During this event one dwelling was partially destroyed and the family sheltering on the roof had to be rescued by chopper. Subsequently multiple forestry companies were prosecuted by Gisborne District Council.
In 2023 the region suffered multiple major storms with associated influxes of large woody debris. Following Cyclone Hale in January a boy was killed by a log on Waikanae Beach and in Cyclone Gabrielle many bridges were lost or badly damaged as a result of woody debris. Large woody debris also resulted in significant damage to the Gisborne water supply pipeline. Since then a large sum has been invested in cleaning up woody debris in the rivers and on the beaches but we expect there to be ongoing influxes for many years.
Dr Murry Cave M.eng.NZ Principal Scientist Gisborne District Council
Dr Murry Cave is the Principal Scientist with the Gisborne District Council having joined the council in late 2016. Prior roles included management roles in the Ministry of Energy and then Ministry of Commerce as well as a consultant with Ernst and Young where he worked in the energy and international consulting group.
Dr Cave is an experienced Expert Witness having appeared in consent hearings related to Gisborne consent compliance issues relating to Gisborne Forestry and farming prosecutions. He has also been an expert witness before the Environment Court relating to Kuratau River Erosion, Buller Water Conservation Orders, & the Pike River Coal Mine Resource consents. He was an Expert Witness to the Pike River Royal Commission for the Dept of Conservation and others.
At Gisborne District Council, he undertook an in-depth investigation into the impacts of forestry woody debris during Cyclone Cook in 2017 and was lead Council expert for the 2018 Queen's Birthday Tolaga Bay Storms Forestry prosecutions. He developed the business case for funding the acquisition of LiDAR over the Gisborne/Tairawhiti region. The many storms the Gisborne-Tairawhiti region since 2017 has been a major focus and he is presently focussed on the science response and recovery for the five major storms that impacted the region in 2023.
Dr Cave coordinates funding for strategic research within the Council and works closely relationships with external agencies such as GNS, the Universities, NIWA, EQC, Manaaki Whenua LandCare Research and others.
He is a member of the Regional Council Science Managers group, and the Flood Warning group, the Landslides working group and the Natural Hazards Special Interest Group.
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A presentation involving forecasting and preparation in the days leading up to the event, immediate response during the event, and rapid rebuild in the days following the event. We’ll touch on a few items from each of these topics and provide some insight as to what went well, and where there is room for improvement.
Presenter: Craig Goodier, Principal Engineer, Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Flooding is the most frequent natural hazard in New Zealand and the second-most costly after earthquakes. It is also expected to become more severe as climate change impacts are realized. Generally, we use two-dimensional hydrodynamic models to simulate flood inundation across a floodplain and obtain reliable estimations of flood extent and magnitude. However, these models are computationally expensive and time-consuming. Current computer and power limits the number of simulations we can run, the detail and complexity of these simulations, and the catchment's size. These limitations make real-time and forecasting flood assessment very challenging. Here, we propose a hybrid hydrodynamic - machine learning model that will reduce the numerical modelling load and enable probabilistic modelling. This model allows us to rapidly predict potential flooding events from an ensemble of previously assessed events. Specifically, the model can predict flood extent and maximum inundation depth from a rainfall storm and the geographic features of the catchment. We are using the Wairewa catchment (Banks Peninsula, Canterbury) to test the model.
Presenter: Andrea Pozo Estivariz
Andrea earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in civil engineering at the University of Cantabria (Spain). After graduating, she joined the GeoOcean research group based in the University of Cantabria. There, she worked as a consultant for coastal flooding risk assessments and had the opportunity to dive into different research topics, such as the development of prediction models for tropical cyclone activity. In 2022, Andrea moved to New Zealand to pursue her PhD in water resource management, focused on developing hybrid hydrodynamic – machine learning methodologies for rapid flood scenario assessment. Her research is part of the 5-years National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research led research programme “Mā te haumaru ō ngā puna wai ō Rākaihautū ka ora mō ake tonu: increasing flood resilience across Aotearoa New Zealand”, which is developing a system to map flood hazard consistently across the whole country for current and future climates.
The impacts when rivers meet landfills are well-known, with the 2019 Fox River disaster showcasing the impacts on an international stage. Join us to talk through the interaction of landfills, natural hazards and climate change. We will explore how we can use data to help understand the scale of the problem for New Zealand.
Presenters:
- Alex Cartwright
- Alex is passionate about better integrating people and the environment, with extensive experience in New Zealand, Asia and the UK. He focuses on developing knowledge and preparedness for natural hazards and climate change. Alex supports critical infrastructure organisations to assess risk and establish approaches to build resilience.
- Morgan Lindsay
- Morgan is a natural hazard risk and geospatial consultant, who has contributed to projects across New Zealand and the Pacific, that focus on understanding the impacts of natural hazards and climate change. A geospatial specialist, Morgan utilises her geospatial skills to analyse complex problems using large datasets, whilst communicating outputs simply to empower and better prepare communities for natural hazard events.
Prior to the Local Government amalgamation in 1989, Landfills were managed by small poorly resourced councils, and the location and design of these landfills
would not meet modern standards. Many of these were located in vulnerable locations adjacent to beaches or within active river beds. Some of these were then poorly capped with the transfer stations that replaced them installed on top.
These now make up the largest cohort of problematic and at risk contaminated sites within the region.
One such landfill is the Tokomaru Bay landfill which is situated within the bed of the very active Mangahauini River. The position of the landfill has modified the morphology of the river downstream resulting in lateral erosion. Severe storms since Cyclone Cook in 2017 has resulted in repeated erosion of the upstream revetment which protects the landfill and the cost of ongoing protection works has been unsustainable.
The transfer station on the legacy landfill is also vulnerable and storms in 2021, 2022 and then Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle in 2023 resulted in waste stored at the transfer station being washed to Tokomaru Bay Beach.
Funding has now been obtained to relocate the transfer station and remove the legacy landfill underneath.
Presenter: Dr Murray Cave
Dr Murry Cave is the Principal Scientist with the Gisborne District Council having joined the council in late 2016. Prior roles included management roles in the Ministry of Energy and then Ministry of Commerce as well as a consultant with Ernst and Young where he worked in the energy and international consulting group. Dr Cave is an experienced Expert Witness having appeared in consent hearings related to Gisborne consent compliance issues relating to Gisborne Forestry and farming prosecutions. He has also been an expert witness before the Environment Court relating to Kuratau River Erosion, Buller Water Conservation Orders, & the Pike River Coal Mine Resource consents. He was an Expert Witness to the Pike River Royal Commission for the Dept of Conservation and others.
Riparian Economic Zone
In this webinar Carla will discuss the costs and benefits of different riparian area management scenarios across various rural land uses. This will include both market and non-market values. Following this Rachel will discuss the practical considerations of riparian management on farming systems.
Carla Muller is a principal consultant at Perrin Ag. She has a background in environmental and agricultural economics and has undertaken freshwater policy development and analysis across the country. Most often this focuses on economic analysis of rural mitigation options, including riparian area management.
Rachel Mitchell is a specialist environmental consultant at Perrin Ag where she specialises in supporting landowners and managers to improve environmental outcomes in the context of their businesses and policy requirements. She is one of the only farm advisors in the country to be a CNMA and accredited by MPI as a specialist forestry advisor, focussed on native restoration.
The interdependent relationships between rivers, farming and rural communities – a Mid Canterbury example.
The presentation will consider: The interdependent relationships between rivers, farming and rural communities; the opportunities for environmental improvement and the critical role investment in infrastructure plays now, and into the future for resilient rural communities.
Presenter: Melanie Brooks
With over 18 years in the Financial Services Industry, both in New Zealand and abroad, spanning roles within Money Broking, Private, Business and Corporate Banking, and Leadership, in June 2017 Mel made the move to lead the MHV Water team, taking up the role of Chief Executive.
MHV Water are an infrastructure and environmental management co-operative delivering water for the purposes of irrigation, stockwater and environmental flows through piped and open race networks and the MHV infrastructure includes storage and control structures to deliver to an area of approx. 58,000 ha of productive land in Mid Canterbury.Mel is a member of the Institute of Directors and New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management, an Associate Director at Lyttelton Port Company, and has previously held governance roles with Endometriosis New Zealand, Irrigo Centre Limited and Hekeao Hinds Water Enhancement Trust.
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Understanding local government law relevant to flood control and drainage maintenance activities
Part 1
The first session provides historic context and introduce the relevant legislation that regulates flood control works and drainage maintenance activities.
Attendees will leave with a practical understanding of the key parts of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941, the Land Drainage Act 1908, the Public Works Act 1981 and the Local Government Act 2002, and the overlap in responsibilities between district and regional councils
Presenters: Imogen Edwards and Mike Doesburg, Environment and Planning
Imogen Edwards
Associate | Environment and Planning
Imogen is experienced in all aspects of resource management and environmental law, as well as local government law. She has significant experience with regional and district plan reviews, freshwater planning processes, streamlined planning processes, private plan change requests, and urban development and land use planning. Imogen acts predominantly for local authorities and has spent time on secondment at a regional council.
Mike Doesburg
Partner | Environment and Planning
Mike is a local government and environmental law specialist and regularly advises local authorities, companies and private clients on water issues. He has experience advising on complex flood control and drainage issues, including the implementation and upgrading of flood control schemes and bylaw processes to protect such schemes. Mike regularly appears before hearings panels, the Environment Court and High Court on resource consent and plan change appeals under the Resource Management Act 1991 and has a particular interest in water, coastal and land development issues. Mike is recognised as a next generation partner by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 legal directory and currently serves as Treasurer of the Auckland Branch Committee of the Resource Management Law Association.
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Understanding local government law relevant to flood control and drainage maintenance activities
(Local Government Functionality Part 2)
Building on the material covered in the first session, the second session will address the various regulatory organisations and instruments in the flood control and drainage space, including drainage boards and relevant bylaws (and their place in the future of flood control and drainage issues). The session will cover common pitfalls when navigating this complex area of law and policy.
Presenters: Imogen Edwards and Mike Doesburg, Environment and Planning
Imogen Edwards
Associate | Environment and Planning
Imogen is experienced in all aspects of resource management and environmental law, as well as local government law. She has significant experience with regional and district plan reviews, freshwater planning processes, streamlined planning processes, private plan change requests, and urban development and land use planning. Imogen acts predominantly for local authorities and has spent time on secondment at a regional council.
Mike Doesburg
Partner | Environment and Planning
Mike is a local government and environmental law specialist and regularly advises local authorities, companies and private clients on water issues. He has experience advising on complex flood control and drainage issues, including the implementation and upgrading of flood control schemes and bylaw processes to protect such schemes. Mike regularly appears before hearings panels, the Environment Court and High Court on resource consent and plan change appeals under the Resource Management Act 1991 and has a particular interest in water, coastal and land development issues. Mike is recognised as a next generation partner by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 legal directory and currently serves as Treasurer of the Auckland Branch Committee of the Resource Management Law Association.
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Mike addresses the regulatory framework relevant to river management, including the Resource Management Act 1991, the various higher order policy instruments including the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, and the management of activities in and around rivers through regional and district plans.
The session will be a whistle-stop tour through the relevant documents, but will leave attendees with an understanding of key issues for river management
Presenter: Mike Doesburg
Partner | Environment and Planning
Mike is a local government and environmental law specialist and regularly advises local authorities, companies and private clients on water issues. He has experience advising on complex flood control and drainage issues, including the implementation and upgrading of flood control schemes and bylaw processes to protect such schemes. Mike regularly appears before hearings panels, the Environment Court and High Court on resource consent and plan change appeals under the Resource Management Act 1991 and has a particular interest in water, coastal and land development issues. Mike is recognised as a next generation partner by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 legal directory and currently serves as Treasurer of the Auckland Branch Committee of the Resource Management Law Association.
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The Natural and Built Environments Bill and Spatial Planning Bill were introduced on 15 November 2022, just at the end of our three-part series on river legislation. The Bills will ultimately repeal and replace the Resource Management Act 1991, a key part of New Zealand’s river law. As a bonus fourth webinar, Mike and Imogen will present an overview of the most interesting and relevant parts of the new Bills relating to river management.
The session will focus on the changes the Bills bring and what that means for practitioners with an interest in rivers.
Presenter: Mike Doesburg
Partner | Environment and Planning
Mike is a local government and environmental law specialist and regularly advises local authorities, companies and private clients on water issues. He has experience advising on complex flood control and drainage issues, including the implementation and upgrading of flood control schemes and bylaw processes to protect such schemes. Mike regularly appears before hearings panels, the Environment Court and High Court on resource consent and plan change appeals under the Resource Management Act 1991 and has a particular interest in water, coastal and land development issues. Mike is recognised as a next generation partner by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 legal directory and currently serves as Treasurer of the Auckland Branch Committee of the Resource Management Law Association.
Making Space for Water
Making Space for Water programme was developed by Auckland Council in response to the extreme storms that impacted Auckland in early 2023. During this time, local and national states of emergency were declared and over 7,000 homes were evacuated. rainfall overwhelmed the stormwater network, and many people were not prepared for such significant flooding. Responding to and recovering from these events is complex and extends further than fixing damage to infrastructure. It was clear that the city could not afford to rebuild in the same way and that space must be made to accommodate water. Solutions must work with water, rather than seek to contain it and that nature-based solutions, such as restoring streams to their natural floodplains, are essential to manage the increasing volumes of rain Auckland is expected to face. This session will cover the development of the Making Space for Water programme, its objectives, and the interventions required to reduce Auckland's flood risk, increase resilience, and ensure residents are prepared for future flood events.
Presenter: Leigh Steckler, Healthy Waters & Flood Resilience, Auckand Council
Leigh is the Team Leader of Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters Sustainable Value Team, where she ensures that sustainability is central to all water projects delivered by Healthy Waters. With a strong legal background and over 20 years of experience in the environmental sector, particularly in the waste and water industries, Leigh has played a key role in advancing efforts to decarbonise Auckland's stormwater network. Her work is focused on emissions reduction planning, waste minimisation initiatives, and contributing to key climate adaptation programs such as Making Space for Water, a 10-year flood resilience program designed to mitigate flood risks, enhance community preparedness, and strengthen Auckland’s infrastructure against future extreme weather events.
Blue-Green Projects
Blue-green network is a system of interconnected green spaces and water bodies that work together to manage stormwater in urban areas. The streams and green spaces mitigate the impact of flooding by creating natural ponding areas and making space for water to flow through the landscape. In heavy storms, rainfall can be diverted into these areas with reduced risk to people and property. During the Auckland Anniversary weekend storms, the city experienced record-breaking rainfall causing unprecedented levels of flooding, slips and damage across the region. Many existing blue-green networks performed well in the floods with the watercourse and surrounding vegetation capturing rain and directing flows away from properties, allowing the water to drain away safely. This session will discuss how blue green projects are being developed in Auckland in response to the storms in areas identified as having critical flood risks, feasible stormwater solutions and the opportunity to create wider community benefits.
Presenter: Konrad Heinemann
Konrad is the programme manager for the Blue Green Network Programme in Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters Department, responsible for the development and delivery of a series of blue-green network projects across Tāmaki Makaurau over the next 10 years.
With a specific focus on integrating natural solutions into urban planning and development, Konrad aims to lead a step change in the way Auckland approaches its large urban stormwater assets, away from concrete lined conveyance to those that mimic nature and enhance the environment for the community to enjoy.
With over 20 years of experience as a stormwater engineer, Konrad brings a wealth of technical expertise to this role. Prior to managing the blue green network programme, Konrad led the departments in-house design office, overseeing the design and construction supervision of all scales of stormwater projects. Now, as the programme manager, Konrad leverages his engineering background to lead a team of project managers, consultants and contractors in implementing the ecological restoration of a number of the city’s streams, while also maximising the streams stormwater conveyance role in an environment of increasing urbanisation and climate change.
This presentation will look at the Fish Passage Improvement Programme.
This programme focuses on remediating broken fish passages or fish barriers in streams so the fish can successfully swim upstream and continue their migtation cycle. We focus on sustainable solutions to make sure we align to naturalising stream conditions.
Presenter: Aoibhe Charlott Kennedy. Aoibhe is the project manager for the programme. Aoibhe works in healthy waters and developed her interest in environmental services through helping out the marine biologists in her previous career as a scuba diving instructor.
From the industrial revolution to the ‘green’ energy transition: impacts of metal mining on global river systems.
Mining for metals produces waste containing toxic elements such as lead, mercury, and arsenic. Macklin et al. compiled global data on the locations of active and inactive metal mines and tailings dams, which hold mine waste. Using process-based , they assessed river system contamination from mines and failed tailings dams and determined the floodplains, people, and livestock that could be affected. Over 23 million people live on the ~164,000 km2 of floodplains affected by mining. Although tailings dam failures have massive local impacts, they are estimated to affect far fewer people than baseline contamination from current or past mining activities. Increased global data and monitoring are needed to fully understand the ecological and health impacts of this extractive industry suggesting a need for new safeguards to address the spike in demand for ‘green’ minerals”.
Presenter: Mark Macklin is Distinguished Professor of River Systems and Global Change and Founding Director of the Lincoln Centre for Water and Planetary Health, University of Lincoln, UK. He is also co-director of Water and Planetary Health Analytics (waterandplanetaryhealth.com) that provides specialist leadership and expertise in planetary health approaches to water, biodiversity, climate change and industrial development worldwide for the green transition. Mark has acted as a consultant to Lloyd’s of London, Office of Nuclear Regulation, Rio Tinto, Auriel, Imperial Metals, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the World Wildlife Fund. He is a multi-award-winning physical geographer, including the 2018 Murchison award from the Royal Geographical Society and holds adjunct professorships at Massey University, New Zealand, the Centre for the Inland, La Trobe University, Australia, and Fiji National University. Mark is an authority on long-term human-river environment interactions, flood-risk assessment, metal mining pollution and its impact on ecosystems and society. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles (Google Scholar: h-index 81 – 19,286 citations) with external grant capture > £30 million, including 19 RCUK (18 NERC, 1 ESPRC), 5 EU, 3 ARC and 3 Leverhulme research grants. He conducts his research worldwide with ongoing projects in Australia, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Romania, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Zambia, and the UK.
The recently completed Berm Transition project saw extensive weed control and native planting performed regionwide to complement the flood protection infrastructure of Canterbury’s braided river margins. Several novel approaches were used during the installation of the berm transition assets, expanding on the standard techniques used in the restoration industry. Come along to hear the Braided River Revival team give a description of what they did, how they did it and what they hope to see next.
Presenter: Greg Stanley (PGDipSCi, BMus) leads a high performing team in his current role of “Regional Lead Braided River Revival” at Environment Canterbury (Canterbury Regional Council). After several years as an ecological works contractor and a decade working as a Regional Park Ranger and Biodiversity Officer, Greg is now engaged in the ambitious task of reviving the mauri of the heavily weed-infested braided rivers of the Canterbury Region. The Berm Transition Project, as part of the shovel-ready Climate Resilience Programme (CRP) funded by MBIE-Kānoa, is an example of just one of these aspirational efforts, with over 50 restoration sites established throughout the region, tackling weed infestations and establishing native vegetation to improve the resilience and flood protection function of Canterbury’s infrastructure network. The use of native vegetation as a flood protection asset and the integration of ecological restoration techniques into delivery are core elements of the team’s function and have been well developed through a range of trials and projects. Greg is passionate about Canterbury’s ecology, the betterment of our immediate environment and the protection of our remote habitats.
Working across numerous land tenures on multiple weed species, all based on a river catchment as a boundary, has proven to be valuable in both efficiency and effectiveness. Pete Caldwell, biosecurity project manager, will compare this with the usual approach to weed management, and will touch on control methods used, decision-making, collaboration with a range of stakeholders, and the management and use of data for planning, reporting and communication.
Presenter: Pete Caldwell, Boffa Miskell.
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In this webinar we’ll follow a river from the mountains to the sea: What do you find in a small stream close to a spring? What changes when the river grows with tributaries joining? What’s special about the wide, braided river before it meets the sea? Meet the in-stream community: plants, invertebrates and fish, and why they can tell us about what’s happening in their environment. And finally: how do our activities on land change the aquatic environment?
Presenter: Julian Sykes, Senior Environmental Advisor, Environment Canterbury
Julian is a freshwater ecologist and GIS analyst who worked at NIWA and predecessors for 35 years, and currently works for Environment Canterbury as a Senior Environmental Advisor for the Rivers Team. His relevant areas of expertise are. New Zealand freshwater fish biology, distribution, and critical habitats Ecological impact assessments of human activities on waterways. Fish passage requirements and considerations. River environment classifications and associated waterway morphology.
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New Zealand’s rivers provide crucial breeding habitat for a number of threatened bird species, many of which are found nowhere else on earth. In this webinar we will introduce you to some of the unique bird species that call our rivers home and discuss both the positive and negative impacts that river management activities can have on these species. We will present examples of initiatives being undertaken around the country to maintain or improve river bird habitats in the context of flood mitigation or gravel extraction activities, and will discuss additional work that could be carried out in the future to further improve on these efforts.
Presenter: Nikki McArthur, Independent Ecologist
Nikki McArthur is an independent ecologist specialising in the conservation management of New Zealand birds and their habitats. Nikki has spent over a decade monitoring shorebird populations throughout the country, and has spent a number of years working with regional councils and the gravel extraction industry to improve the management of shorebirds breeding on rivers in the Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Canterbury regions.
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How can you tell if a stream is healthy? Often, the first question that comes to mind is: Is the water clean? But chemical water quality is only one part in complex aquatic ecosystems where everything is interdependent: Plants and animals, habitat, chemical, physical and biological processes and connectivity to land and groundwater are all important components of stream ecosystems and determine if they are healthy and support a resilient and healthy community of plants and animals. How is ecological health measured and what are our obligations under the NPSFM?
Presenter: Michael Pingram, Waikato Regional Council
Michael is a freshwater ecologist enthusiastic about stream health and large river restoration. Since 2014, Michael has been working for the Waikato Regional Council as freshwater scientist, analysing and reporting on freshwater ecology, carrying out investigations, and providing science advice to inform policy development. In particular, overseeing the region-wide ecological monitoring of streams, with an emphasis on the aquatic macroinvertebrate and habitat components. In collaboration with other research organisations, he has broad research interests including the development of ecosystem health indicators for large non-wadeable waterways, and ecological responses of invertebrates and fish in multi-stressor environments. He is now Team Leader the Water Quality and Ecology Science team, a passionate team of scientists tasked with covering the Councils’ science needs related to the water quality and ecosystem health of rivers and lakes.
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Over the past 100 years New Zealand’s lowland waterbodies have been modified by streambed lowering, channel straightening and field drainage. Drainage has now occurred to the extent that over 90% of NZ’s wetlands have been lost. While wetland drainage has now largely ceased, lowland waterbodies are subjected to ongoing channel maintenance through mechanical macrophyte clearing, weed spraying and streambank reconstruction. These actions are undertaken to ensure the productivity of surrounding farmland and to protect homes and infrastructure from high water levels. Progressively, many lowland wetland-stream complexes have been replaced by grid-patterned drain networks. Yet, these modified waterbodies are still freshwater habitats that can harbour surprising high, and often overlooked, instream values.
In this webinar, I will explore how drain maintenance practices alter stream habitat and affect in-stream life—with a focus on freshwater fish. I will discuss a 10-year fish and habitat monitoring programme in Waituna Creek (Southland), which captured a major stream bank reconstruction initiative and a restoration project that included installing two-stage channels and instream habitat structures. I will also discuss an ambitious project in the Ararira-LII River (Canterbury plains), that aims to reimagine catchment drainage by consolidating and scaling-up various alternative ecosystem friendly drainage management methods to an entire lowland catchment.
Presenter: Robin Homes, freshwater ecologist, Cawthron Institute
Robin is involved in a range of projects with a focus on river and stream restoration, freshwater fisheries management and community approaches to river heath improvement. His research interests include land-use impacts on aquatic ecology and understanding native fish and salmonid life-histories and population dynamics. Recently, he has been involved in projects to enhance freshwater ecosystem values within agricultural landscapes, through actively restoring physical / structural stream habitat and promoting alternative land and stream management practices. He has a co-lead role in supporting the current MBIE-Endeavour Fish Futures programme.
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Communities and regional authorities around New Zealand actively manage river corridors to protect lives and property from flooding and erosion. There are a variety of methods to control and manage the impacts of flooding, with key actions including stop-banks, gravel extraction and managing vegetation within the active channel. In addition, various forms of bank protection are routinely employed to prevent erosion, such as rock walls, groins or managed willows. While these techniques can be effective at reducing flooding and erosion risk, they can have negative impacts on river health. Impacts include altered hydrology, reduced habitat complexity and reduced connectivity with floodplain habitats (e.g., riparian areas and floodplain wetlands). Collectively, these effects can reduce fish and macroinvertebrate habitat quality with flow-on consequences for overall river health.
In this webinar I discuss the potential ecological impacts of river engineering (for flood control) and pair these impacts with potential actions to minimise and/or mitigate instream ecological impacts. I will draw on the general river management literature and reflect on my recent experience in the Hawkes Bay region. Here I was involved in developing an ecological monitoring plan, with HBRC, to help manage the potential ecological effects of gravel management in the braided rivers of the Heretaunga plains.
Presenter: Robin Homes, freshwater ecologist, Cawthron Institute
Robin is involved in a range of projects with a focus on river and stream restoration, freshwater fisheries management and community approaches to river heath improvement. His research interests include land-use impacts on aquatic ecology and understanding native fish and salmonid life-histories and population dynamics. Recently, he has been involved in projects to enhance freshwater ecosystem values within agricultural landscapes, through actively restoring physical / structural stream habitat and promoting alternative land and stream management practices. He has a co-lead role in supporting the current MBIE-Endeavour Fish Futures programme.
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Estuaries are coastal waterbodies where freshwater meets the ocean. They host a diversity of flora and fauna, act as conduits for migratory species, and are transition zones where transformations of energy and matter occur. In addition to their ecological importance, estuaries are places of significance for the people of Aotearoa, delivering substantial economic and cultural value. This talk will review key ecological functions in estuaries and how they translate to goods and services that we value. The influence of land-based contaminants delivered to estuaries via freshwater and the difficulties of managing these ecosystems will also be covered.
Presenter: Drew Lohrer, Principal Scientist and Strategy Manager, Coasts & Estuaries Centre, NIWA
Dr Drew Lohrer has been working as an estuarine and coastal seafloor ecologist at NIWA since 2002, and is now Principal Scientist and Strategy Manager of NIWA’s Coasts & Estuaries Centre. Drew’s research specialty is ecosystem functioning—how seafloor invertebrate communities influence important ecosystem processes such as primary production and organic matter breakdown—and how loadings of sediments and nutrients from land impact estuarine health and functioning.