E pā ana ki te Hōtaka Urutaunga Tapātai
About the Shoreline Adaptation Programme
The Shoreline Adaptation Programme includes plans for 20 coastal areas across the region. We call these Shoreline Adaptation Plans.
Shoreline Adaptation Plans (SAPs)
SAPs look at how we can manage
council-owned assets and land across Auckland’s 3200km of shorelines (beaches, cliffs, harbours and estuaries) to respond to coastal hazards and climate change over the next 100 years.
Have your say on Auckland's shorelines
Visit
Have your say on Auckland's shorelines for a detailed map of SAP areas and to have your say on current SAP consultations.
How we develop SAPs
We develop each SAP in partnership with mana whenua and with guidance from infrastructure providers, technical experts and coastal communities.
Working together in this way will help guide the way we manage our coastlines and adapt to the impacts of coastal hazards and climate change into the future.
Once completed, each SAP will outline a flexible, long-term coastal management response for council-owned land and assets in its area.
Stages of the Shoreline Adaptation Plan process
Each SAP includes ongoing consultation with local iwi and several months of local community engagement. This helps us understand how communities use and value coastal areas.
Each SAP follows a process that involves:
- local iwi review and approval
- community engagement through public presentations and consultations
- strategy development based on research and feedback from local iwi, infrastructure providers,
council-controlled organisations (CCOs) and community values
- drafting and review
- local board endorsement
- final approval by the Governing Body.
Shoreline Adaptation Plan strategies
You should know
We have updated the names of some of our SAP strategies to use clearer language. This is based on feedback from communities across Tāmaki Makaurau.
We are still updating the names of other SAP strategies. Check the glossary of terms in each SAP if there is something you do not understand.
We apply four strategies to each SAP. These guide decisions around how to manage council-owned assets and land in each SAP area.
No action
Let nature take its course without intervention. We apply this strategy to coastal areas where council-owned land and assets are not exposed to coastal hazards or catchment flooding. This strategy invests in hazard-risk management, like land stability, but does not invest in hazard protection structures.
Maintain
Allowing for some maintenance to existing
coastal defences, and ensuring we keep assets safe while accepting that processes like wind, waves and storms will change the position of the coastline over time. This strategy also identifies that some assets or uses (like footpaths, sports fields and car parks) may need to be moved to manage potential risks.
Protect
Defending council-owned assets and land from
erosion and flooding, and preserving these areas (like walkways and sports fields) for their intended uses. We can do this by taking protective measures like building sea walls and planting dunes.
Adaptation priority area
We need to plan more to manage risks to our land and assets. We must consider social, cultural and natural values in our plans to:
- protect the environment
- support community needs
- keep coastal areas healthy.
This could involve:
- moving assets or changing how we use land in high-risk areas to:
- reduce danger
- protect the environment, culture and recreation
- designing assets to manage and reduce the effect of coastal hazards
- building structures that protect the coast and reduce erosion.
Coastal Management Framework
SAPs are key to implementing the 2017 Coastal Management Framework and
Te Tāuke-a-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan to help prepare Auckland and its coastal areas for ongoing environmental challenges.
Read the 2022 Coastal Hazard Assessment Guidance
Related topics
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