The Horowhenua District Council has created a draft action plan to cope with climate change. It’s a very readable 24 page document outlining what climate change may mean for the Horowhenua region and what steps the Council is considering to deal with it.
The original document is available from Draft Horowhenua Climate Change Action Plan (separate version, as included in Council Agenda)(PDF, 3MB).
Waikawa Beach is specifically mentioned in at least 1 place, as the screenshot below shows.
Impacted coastlines and coastal communities
Our coastlines and coastal communities will likely be significantly affected by:
- Coastal erosion and accretion
- Changing river mouths and estuaries
- Rising sea levels
- Warmer water temperatures
- Flooding and inundation
- Storm events and surges
Coastal settlements and areas such as Waikawa Beach may experience river mouth migration if the sea level rises. This may mean that any restrictions to flow (sea walls/ structures) may cause overflow and flooding. This will affect property and infrastructure and may mean some family or communities will need to migrate to other areas.
Some other interesting items include:
ensure new builds are more self-sufficient with storm water management, for instance rain water tanks which minimise demand on local water supplies.
(Page 4)creating spaces and shared pathways
(Page 5)
that promote greener modes of transport like walking, public transport and cycling.Choose low-methane sheep breeds.
(Page 11) [can’t see the sheep for the cows …]- Page 16: managing coastal hazards
- Page 17: managing flooding from rivers and streams
Invest in more shared pathways
(Page 18)Create more green spaces and provide green corridors for active transport.
(Page 20)
And also, improving access to and use of public transport options.
This is a very readable, and important document. I suggest you take a look at it.
2021 draft Horowhenua climate change action plan with highlights. (3.3 MB PDF) (Note: this version has a few highlighted portions.)