Councils told to plan for sea level rises

Councils are being told to plan for coastal flooding, storm surges and erosion as rising sea levels driven by climate change take hold.

A new guide for councils issued by the Environment Ministry is aimed at helping councils to plan for the effects of rising sea levels.

Rising sea levels are expected to cause storm inundation and coastal erosion, especially on the eastern coasts, Cook Strait and Wellington.

The report says councils should plan for sea level rises even higher than those predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

It notes that much of New Zealand's development has taken place near the sea.

"As development in coastal margins increases, the impacts and consequences of coastal hazards also increase. Managing this escalating risk over coming decades presents a significant challenge for planning authorities."

The panel on climate change has predicted average sea level rises of 59 centimetres by the end of 2099.

But the Environment Ministry says that figure should be used as a baseline, and planners should consider sea level rises of at least 80cm.

Councils need to identify coastal hazards and raise community awareness of the risks.

Climate Change Minister David Parker said there was still uncertainty about how much sea levels would rise.

"By acting prudently now to plan for the future, we can avoid much greater costs later on. We cannot ignore it and hope it goes away."

Greater Wellington regional council hazards analyst Iain Dawe said it was researching which areas were most at risk from sea level rise.

Most councils had coastal hazard setback zones and some had recently been reviewed, he said. For example, in the Kapiti and Wairarapa districts, developments were not allowed less than 50 metres from the sea.

Last week, people in Kapiti watched in awe as waves up to five metres high pounded parts of the coast, while in Hawke's Bay large swells ate away two metres of land in front of a coastal campsite that has already lost 12 metres in the past year.

Meanwhile, at a climate change conference in Wellington, a Pacific expert said the region was facing the worst effects of climate change, despite contributing less than 1 per cent to global emissions.

The panel for climate change lead author, Graham Sem, who is based in Auckland, said it was probably too late to try to lessen hazards already hitting Pacific islands, such as erosion, storm surge and sea water inundation.

Efforts should focus on coping with the effects of climate change, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News