Talking Point: Strategy to protect coast in full swing

Westshore beach shingle protection wall replenishment. Photo / File

The article in HB Today on Wednesday, November 4 headed "Shingled-minded approach to Westshore erosion under scrutiny" really puts into perspective the challenges we're facing in Hawke's Bay.

In 40 years, 30m taken off the shoreline at Westshore. Around 0.6m eroding away each year. A dramatic change in Westshore beach and how the community can use it.

Erosion, inundation, sea level rise, storm surges, slips, the list goes on. As a coastal region, we're vulnerable to the impacts of coastal hazards, made worse by climate change. Stretches of our coastline have already been impacted for some time, like Westshore.

Sea levels may rise by up to 1.5m over the next 100 years and this would have a huge impact on our coastline according to the latest Niwa report.

As a region, we all want our coastal communities, businesses, and infrastructure to be able to deal with the effects of coastal hazards. But how do we do support our communities to become resilient? What is the extent of the risk and potential hazards? How do we identify what places need the most support? How do we fairly look after homes and infrastructure all along the coast?

The Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy 2120 has been looking at all of these issues since 2014, with the aim to identify and respond to the coastal hazards of erosion and inundation and the influence of sea level rise over the next 100 years.

We've been working with the community all the way through since 2014 to plan for the uncertain future.

Over the past six years we've identified the extent of coastal erosion and coastal inundation hazards, developed a community decision-making framework, and developed responses based on community-led "panels".

The panels identified 100-year pathways for each section along the coast between Clifton and Tangoio. Part of the pathway for Westshore is annual renourishment, which for 2020 began along the beach in November.

For the wider strategy, we're now looking at how we plan to implement responses to hazards, based on the panels' decisions. This means we'll engaging with the wider community on design, budget, funding, and preparing for implementation over the next couple of years. We're about the re-engage with the community to get their feedback on our work ahead of going to consultation.

The strategy is at the forefront of dealing with these issues across New Zealand and around the world. While we're taking the lead, we're also facing challenges with little or no guidance. We're having to make decisions about who is responsible for helping communities adapt, and who pays for it, within existing regulations and without central government guidance.

We've worked with the Ministry for the Environment to develop a report looking at the challenges to responding to coastal erosion and climate change adaptation. We also submitted to the Resource Management Act review based on our experiences and challenges, and were pleased to see the recommendations come from the RMA Review Committee for a Climate Change Adaptation Act.

Our focus remains on supporting our communities and implementing our response to coastal hazards.

Jerf van Beek is chairman of the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy 2120 Joint Committee.

Napier City, Hastings District, and Hawke's Bay Regional councils alongside Mana Ahuriri, Heretaunga Tamatea, and Maungaharuru Tangitū have partnered on this project.