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    • Issue #16 SIA for rural resilience and wellbeing >
      • SIA for rural resilience and wellbeing: Intro
      • The drivers and agents of on-farm change in Aotearoa New Zealand
      • Social-ecological assessment for remote and island communities
      • The Impact of Substandard Rural Housing on Resilience and Wellbeing in Te Tai Tokerau
      • Success factors for planning regeneration in rural areas
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      • Economic methods in impact assessment: an introduction
      • The Nature of Economic Analysis for Resource Management
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      • Economic impact assessment and regional development: reflections on Queensland mining impacts
      • Fonterra’s policy on economic incentives for promoting sustainable farming practices
    • Issue #14 Impact assessment for infrastructure development >
      • Impact assessment for infrastructure development - an introduction
      • Place Matters: The importance of geographic assessment of areas of influence in understanding the social effects of large-scale transport investment in Wellington
      • Unplanned Consequences? New Zealand's experiment with urban (un)planning and infrastructure implications
      • Reflections on infrastructure, Town and Country planning and intimations of SIA in the late 1970s and early 1980s
      • SIA guidance for infrastructure and economic development projects
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      • Impact Assessment for Pacific Island Infrastructure
    • Issue #13 Health impact assessment: practice issues >
      • Introduction to health impact assessment: practice issues
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      • Introduction
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      • Values-Based Impact Assessment and Emergency Management
      • Certainty about Communicating Uncertainty: Assessment of Flood Loss and Damage
      • Improving Understanding of Rockfall Geohazard Risk in New Zealand
      • Normalised New Zealand Natural Disaster Insurance Losses: 1968-2019
      • Houston, We Have a Problem - Seamless Integration of Weather and Climate Forecast for Community Resilience
      • Innovating with Online Data to Understand Risk and Impact in a Data Poor Environment
    • Impact Connector #11 Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation, and Impact Assessment: views from the Pacific >
      • Introduction
      • Climate change adaptation and mitigation, impact assessment, and decision-making: a Pacific perspective
      • Climate adaptation and impact assessment in the Pacific: overview of SPREP-sponsored presentations
      • Land and Sea: Integrated Assessment of the Temaiku Land and Urban Development Project in Kiribati
      • Strategic Environmental Assessment: Rising to the SDG Challenge
      • Coastal Engineering for Climate Change Resilience in Eastern Tongatapu, Tonga
      • Climate-induced Migration in the Pacific: The Role of New Zealand
    • Impact Connector #10 Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation >
      • Introduction
      • Is a “just transition” possible for Māori?
      • Adapting to Climate Change on Scale: Addressing the Challenge and Understanding the Impacts of Asia Mega-Cities
      • How responding to climate change might affect health, for better or for worse
      • Kanuka, Kereru and carbon capture - Assessing the effects of a programme taking a fresh look at the hill and high country land resource
      • Wairoa: Community perceptions of increased afforestation
      • Te Kākahu Kahukura Ecological Restoration project: A story within a story
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Natural character assessments and provisions in a coastal environment
Rhys Girvan and Emma McRae

Defining natural character

The term ‘natural character’ occurs within the first of eight matters of national importance under Section 6 of the Resource Management Act (RMA). Under the RMA, sustainable management of natural and physical resources requires the preservation of natural character within the coastal environment (including the coastal marine area), wetlands, rivers lakes and their margins. However, the term ‘natural character’ is not defined.

When the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS) was released in December 2010, local authorities were tasked under Policy 13 to map or otherwise identify (at least) areas of high natural character in the coastal environment. The NZCPS also introduced the new term, ‘outstanding natural character’. In defining natural character, the NZCPS clarifies that natural character is not the same as natural features and landscapes or amenity values and provides a list of eight matters which may apply in Policy 13 (2).

Guidance prepared by the Department of Conservation on how NZCPS Policy 13 is applied, identifies that the degree or level of natural character depends on:
1. The extent to which the natural elements, patterns and processes occur;
2. The nature and extent of modification to the ecosystems and landscape/seascape;
3. The degree of natural character is highest where there is least modification;

4. The effect of different types of modification upon natural character varies with context and may be perceived differently by different parts of the community

Whilst such guidance is useful for understanding the concept of natural character, it does not clarify how natural character relates to a landscape assessment. In seeking to clarify this relationship, natural character can be conceived of as a measure of the condition of biophysical landscape attributes. Such condition can vary as a result of levels of human modification and takes account of the way biophysical attributes are experienced i.e. the ‘feeling’ of being in a wild unmodified environment. By comparison, landscape evaluation considers a broader suite of biophysical, sensory / perception and associative attributes including aesthetic and scenic qualities alongside other shared and recognised values.
Relationship between landscape and natural character
Any natural character methodology must be flexible and adapt to suit different types and scales of coastal environments. The outputs from natural character assessments are enhanced through terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecologists and other natural science experts (e.g. geomorphologists), as well as landscape architects and planners. However, assessing natural character is different to determining whether coastal features, habitats or species are geologically or ecologically significant.
In essence, assessing natural character is primarily concerned with the degree to which biophysical landscape attributes have undergone human modification.  In the case of habitats and ecosystems for which human action has resulted in at least some transformation of New Zealand’s pre-human condition, assessment should consider how representative the current assemblage of species is relative to its possible natural successional stage. This also recognises that such natural character attributes can be restored or rehabilitated as promoted by NZCPS Policy 14.

Defining the coastal environment

Preserving natural character within coastal environments requires identifying the extent and characteristics of the coastal environment itself. Policy 1 of the NZCPS 2010 recognises that the coastal environment will vary from location to location and includes a list of nine matters it includes. The coastal marine area (CMA) is defined below the mean high-water spring (MHWS), however the inland extent of the coastal environment can be more difficult to define. Policy 1 recognises that the coastal environment includes “Areas where coastal processes, influences or qualities are significant…”. In this context, significant implies not just that coastal processes, influences or qualities are present, but that they form a key characteristic of that environment.
 
Natural boundaries such as coastal escarpments and ridges can provide a clearly defined and logical inland boundary to the coastal environment. Coastal watersheds can also be helpful.  Where structures, such as roads and buildings are evident, these can dramatically reduce the significance of coastal processes, influences or qualities of the coastal environment. In ‘flat’ coastal areas, the significance of coastal influences may decrease gradually as you move inland. Consequently, mapping these areas can be challenging, and land use, coastal hazard lines and landscape character may help define where the inland extent of the coastal environment occurs.

Scale of assessment

When defining levels of natural character within the coastal environment, it is important to clearly identify the spatial scale considered.  The scale at which the coastal environment is assessed will typically depend on the study area or likely impacts and nature of a proposed development. Within a district or region-wide study, assessment scales may be divided into broader areas which consider an overall section of coastline with similar characteristics, and finer more detailed ‘component’ scales considering separate more local parts, such as specific bays or escarpments. In essence, the coastal environment can express different levels of natural character, depending on the level of detail gathered and the scale at which natural character is appreciated.

Outstanding Natural Character

For an area to have outstanding natural character it should exhibit an exceptional combination of natural processes, natural patterns, and natural elements, predominantly unaffected by human induced modification. In practical terms, when undertaking a district or region wide study, this requires re-examining areas or components identified as having at least high natural character and evaluating whether all or part of such areas stand out as exceptional.  Transparency of this assessment can be greatly assisted by use of a matrix which sets out indicators which identify where levels of natural character occur across the range of abiotic, biotic and experiential attributes assessed.
Areas of high natural character may also qualify as outstanding natural features and landscapes. However, other sensory and associative landscape attributes must also be considered when undertaking a landscape evaluation which determines whether a natural landscape or natural feature also qualifies as outstanding.

Assessing Natural Character Effects

The assessment of natural character effects involves considering the change to attributes which indicate levels of natural character.  This can be assessed by measuring and qualifying post development condition against current condition.  Adverse effects reflect a reduction in natural character condition.
diagram current to post development condition
In all areas of the coastal environment, significant adverse effects must be avoided. Whilst the nature of significant adverse effects is not defined in the NZCPS, such effects are more likely to occur in areas with higher levels of natural character proposed to undergo more substantial reductions in condition. Any adverse effect and consequent reduction in condition must be avoided in areas with outstanding natural character. In all other areas of the coastal environment, any adverse effect on natural character must be avoided, remedied or mitigated.
Download Article as PDF
Rhys Girvan is a registered landscape architect, landscape planner and senior principal in Boffa Miskell’s Christchurch office. He has experience evaluating natural character for district and regional councils within the Wellington region and South Taranaki.   
 
Emma McRae is a senior registered landscape architect in Boffa Miskell’s Wellington Office and has recent experience evaluating natural character working alongside natural science experts from NIWA in Porirua.

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  • Home
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  • Impact Connector
    • Issue #16 SIA for rural resilience and wellbeing >
      • SIA for rural resilience and wellbeing: Intro
      • The drivers and agents of on-farm change in Aotearoa New Zealand
      • Social-ecological assessment for remote and island communities
      • The Impact of Substandard Rural Housing on Resilience and Wellbeing in Te Tai Tokerau
      • Success factors for planning regeneration in rural areas
    • Issue #15 Economic methods and Impact Assessment >
      • Economic methods in impact assessment: an introduction
      • The Nature of Economic Analysis for Resource Management
      • The State-of-the-Art and Prospects: Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services in Environmental Impact Assessment
      • Economic impact assessment and regional development: reflections on Queensland mining impacts
      • Fonterra’s policy on economic incentives for promoting sustainable farming practices
    • Issue #14 Impact assessment for infrastructure development >
      • Impact assessment for infrastructure development - an introduction
      • Place Matters: The importance of geographic assessment of areas of influence in understanding the social effects of large-scale transport investment in Wellington
      • Unplanned Consequences? New Zealand's experiment with urban (un)planning and infrastructure implications
      • Reflections on infrastructure, Town and Country planning and intimations of SIA in the late 1970s and early 1980s
      • SIA guidance for infrastructure and economic development projects
      • Scoping in impact assessments for infrastructure projects: Reflections on South African experiences
      • Impact Assessment for Pacific Island Infrastructure
    • Issue #13 Health impact assessment: practice issues >
      • Introduction to health impact assessment: practice issues
      • International Health Impact Assessment – a personal view
      • Use of Health Impact Assessment to develop climate change adaptation plans for health
      • An integrated approach to assessing health impacts
      • Assessing the health and social impacts of transport policies and projects
      • Whither HIA in New Zealand….or just wither?
    • Issue #12 Risk Assessment: Case Studies and Approaches >
      • Introduction
      • Risk Assessment and Impact Assessment : A perspective from Victoria, Australia
      • The New and Adaptive Paradigm Needed to Manage Rising Coastal Risks
      • Reflections on Using Risk Assessments in Understanding Climate Change Adaptation Needs in Te Taitokerau Northland
      • Values-Based Impact Assessment and Emergency Management
      • Certainty about Communicating Uncertainty: Assessment of Flood Loss and Damage
      • Improving Understanding of Rockfall Geohazard Risk in New Zealand
      • Normalised New Zealand Natural Disaster Insurance Losses: 1968-2019
      • Houston, We Have a Problem - Seamless Integration of Weather and Climate Forecast for Community Resilience
      • Innovating with Online Data to Understand Risk and Impact in a Data Poor Environment
    • Impact Connector #11 Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation, and Impact Assessment: views from the Pacific >
      • Introduction
      • Climate change adaptation and mitigation, impact assessment, and decision-making: a Pacific perspective
      • Climate adaptation and impact assessment in the Pacific: overview of SPREP-sponsored presentations
      • Land and Sea: Integrated Assessment of the Temaiku Land and Urban Development Project in Kiribati
      • Strategic Environmental Assessment: Rising to the SDG Challenge
      • Coastal Engineering for Climate Change Resilience in Eastern Tongatapu, Tonga
      • Climate-induced Migration in the Pacific: The Role of New Zealand
    • Impact Connector #10 Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation >
      • Introduction
      • Is a “just transition” possible for Māori?
      • Adapting to Climate Change on Scale: Addressing the Challenge and Understanding the Impacts of Asia Mega-Cities
      • How responding to climate change might affect health, for better or for worse
      • Kanuka, Kereru and carbon capture - Assessing the effects of a programme taking a fresh look at the hill and high country land resource
      • Wairoa: Community perceptions of increased afforestation
      • Te Kākahu Kahukura Ecological Restoration project: A story within a story
    • Issue #9 Impacts of Covid-19 >
      • Introduction to Impact Connector Issue 9 – Impact assessment and Covid 19
      • Covid-19 fast-track consenting: climate change legacy key to success
      • Tourism – the long haul ahead
      • Making sense of the impact of Covid-19: planning, politics, and the public good
    • Issue #8 Social Impact Assessment >
      • Challenges for Social Impact Assessment in New Zealand: looking backwards and looking forwards
      • Insights from the eighties: early Social Impact Assessment reports on rural community dynamics
      • Impact Assessment and the Capitals Framework: A Systems-based Approach to Understanding and Evaluating Wellbeing
      • Building resilience in Rural Communities – a focus on mobile population groups
      • Assessing the Impacts of a New Cycle Trail: A Fieldnote
      • The challenges of a new biodiversity strategy for social impact assessment (SIA)
      • “Say goodbye to traffic”? The role of SIA in establishing whether ‘air taxis’ are the logical next step in the evolution of transportation
    • Issue #7 Ecological Impact Assessment >
      • The future of Ecological Impact Assessment in New Zealand
      • Ecological impact assessment and roading projects
      • EcIA and the Resource Management Act
      • Professional Practice and implementation of EcIA
      • EcIA in the Marine Environment
    • Issue #6 Landscape Assessment >
      • Introduction
      • Lives and landscapes: who cares, what about, and does it matter?
      • Regional Landscape Inconsistency
      • Landscape management in the new world order
      • Landscape assessment and the Environment Court
      • Natural character assessments and provisions in a coastal environment
      • The Assessment and Management of Amenity
      • The rise of the THIMBY
      • Landscape - Is there a common understanding of the Common?
    • Issue #5 Cultural Impact Assessment >
      • Introduction
      • Potential of Cultural Impact Assessment
      • The Mitigation Dilemma
      • CIA and decision-making
      • Insights and observations on CIA
      • Achieving sustainability through CIA
      • CIA - Enhancing or diminishing mauri?
      • Strategic Indigenous Impact Assessment?
    • Issue #4 Marine Environment >
      • Introduction
      • Iwi, Impact Assessment and Marine Environment
      • Sea-Bed Mining Application in Taranaki
      • The wreck of the MV Rena
      • High Court RMA Controls on Fishing
      • Initiatives in the Pacific Islands
      • SEA in an NZ context
    • Issue #3 Strategic Environmental Assessment
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    • Issue #1
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