Climate adaptation has become an urgent and essential focus for regional and unitary councils. Recent extreme weather events, from devastating floods to coastal inundation and landslides, have underscored the profound risks that climate change poses to communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. The impacts are not distant or abstract—they are here, demanding coordinated action.
Through Te Uru Kahika, regional and unitary councils are taking on the challenge of preparing communities for climate change impacts and working to reduce the risks to people, property, and our environments. Its Climate Group, established in 2022, was created to unify understanding, connect expertise across councils, and strengthen the collective response to the challenges of climate change adaptation and mitigation. This collaboration enables councils to contribute more effectively to building climate resilience for communities, ecosystems, and economies across the country.
Why focus on climate adaptation?
Adapting to climate change is about safeguarding the well-being of our people, the environment, and the economy. It spans much of what regional councils do—from flood risk reduction and freshwater management to transport links and biodiversity conservation.
Recent weather events have brought a heightened urgency to this work. Communities in regions such as Nelson, Tairāwhiti, and Northland have experienced first hand the devastating impacts of extreme weather. These events highlight the need for a step change in increased proactive measures that reduce risk, build resilience, and bolstered emergency response and recovery.
We're working to build resilient communities
Councils are committed to helping communities adapt to climate challenges through knowledge sharing, effective policies, targeted investments, and system improvements.
Protecting essential infrastructure—such as roads, bridges, and flood management systems—is critical to maintaining community safety and economic stability. Councils emphasize nature-based solutions alongside traditional engineering to address risks while protecting ecosystems.
To effectively plan for climate changes, we know that partnering with communities to support their adaption journey is key. Councils hold a great deal of information and expertise that people living in at-risk places can benefit from and use to make decisions. Greater investment in flood risk reduction, community-focused risk assessment and management, and planned relocation will be part of New Zealand's future. Collectively councils are considering approaches and tools to support their communities to prepare for change.
Te Uru Kahika is also working to better understand and reflect mātauranga Māori into adaptation and support Māori-led approaches that ensure cultural and environmental values are upheld. Relationships with iwi/hapu at place are important to regional and unitary councils.
Councils are also supporting environmental resilience because they know that healthy ecosystems are vital to climate resilience. Restoring wetlands, forests, and waterways enhances biodiversity and captures emissions, while also mitigating the effects of climate change, such as flooding and drought.
The path ahead
Key opportunities for New Zealand through Te Uru Kahika include securing long-term co-investment from central government to co-fund climate adaptation projects, supporting the development of climate legislation to ensure local needs are reflected, and enhancing community awareness and access to data about climate risks.
Te Uru Kahika also advocates for a systemic approach to climate adaptation that connects local actions with national priorities, including emissions reduction. This ensures that efforts to adapt are paired with measures to mitigate further climate impacts, such as decarbonising public transport and supporting afforestation.
Our goal is clear, to support the development of communities, ecosystems, and economies that are resilient to the impacts of climate change. This requires not just physical infrastructure but also effective processes that support collaboration, equity, and long-term planning.
Regional and unitary councils are uniquely positioned to lead this work, drawing on decades of expertise in managing natural hazards, flood management, and emergency responses. Through a united effort, councils are calling for the resources and legislative clarity needed to drive effective climate adaptation. Te Uru Kahika are advocating for pre-emptive adaptation measures to address increasing flood risk, including enhanced spatial planning, planned relocation, and catchment nature-based solutions.
As a collective, Te Uru Kahika looks forward to continuing its partnership with the government to ensure the resilience of New Zealand’s communities against flooding and other natural hazards.
