Goal 3

A Unique and Outstanding Environment

Auckland's unique natural heritage and outstanding landscapes create a strong sense of place. Urban and rural communities sit within a mosaic of green spaces and blue waters, enhancing ecological integrity while connecting people to the natural world. Productive soils and land support a thriving rural economy. We have clean air to breathe, and our streams, harbours and forests are rich with life and opportunity for enjoyment. Aucklanders live sustainably, protecting the environment and natural resources for generations to come.

This goal is about our environment and the things Aucklanders care about most - our coasts and beaches, open spaces and a healthy environment. Protecting the long-term life supporting capacity of the region's ecosystems is essential to ensure we continue to have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and an ongoing supply of natural resources.

This goal provides an emphasis for the future on:

  • Substantially improving environmental quality within the region
  • Creating and protecting a regional natural network
  • Strengthening Aucklanders' stewardship (kaitiakitanga) of the environment
  • Using natural systems and processes in urban and infrastructure design
  • Increasing resource efficiency and productivity.

Opportunities

Some of the main opportunities relating to Goal 3 are:

  • Identifying and protecting ‘no go' areas - including areas that are of special value, either for intrinsic value and life supporting capacity, or for the heritage value they hold to the community
  • Regional natural network - continue the region's commitment to implementing the quality compact city model, which minimises the need for urban sprawl into valued natural and cultural areas in the region. We will also need to identify a regional natural network and prioritised natural areas to serve a range of functions: public open space, ecological corridors, water quality buffers, cycle and walkways, recreational space and green infrastructure opportunities
  • Increasing sustainability education opportunities to all sectors - using the regional natural network and region's environmental footprint to provide a focus for community, school and business stewardship schemes. Funding and support can build communities' capacity to take care of their own local environments
  • Sustainability opportunities for business - transform business sector performance through radical increases to resource productivity, and by transforming the way products and services are designed and delivered. Leading international firms are showing how this is possible by designing products to mimic natural processes, and moving away from linear ‘take-make-waste' processes to more cyclical loops. This presents a challenge of innovation to the region's businesses. There are also opportunities to facilitate greater use of natural systems and processes in urban and infrastructure design, for example through low impact design approaches.

Challenges

While Auckland residents value the natural environment and natural heritage, they also expect to have unlimited access to water, energy, open space and an ever increasing range of consumer goods and services at affordable prices. Full environmental costs are not priced into consumer goods and services and people do not always make connections between what they consume and throw away and the quality of the environment. There is still some way to go to meet international best practice for energy, waste and water use.

At current consumption levels, Auckland's ecological footprint is five times its land mass. While this is not high for the region's population density, it raises questions about how prepared we are to deal with limited resources and how self-sufficient we can be for basic goods.

Some of the main challenges relating to Goal 3 are:

  • Resource scarcity - as some resources become more scarce and expensive internationally, managing the region's rates of consumption and coping with the consequent economic adjustments will become more of a challenge
  • Urban growth inevitably places pressure on the regional environment. Development to accommodate the region's growing population has the potential to further fragment natural areas, reducing ecological resilience, eroding landscape values and locking up productive land. Immediate demand for expansion, particularly the demand for countryside living, could undermine the future potential of rural land to provide essential services; including food production, environmental functionality and biodiversity. The relationship between the urban and rural components of the region and how this is managed will be critical to the overall health of the region.
  • Climate change will increase pressure on the region's environment. With average temperatures predicted to rise by 2°C, and as extreme weather events become more frequent, some species will struggle to survive, particularly at the fringes of ecosystems. Increased flooding, storm surges and sea level rise will impact on coastal infrastructure and water quality

Indicative Strategic Responses

Shift required to meet goal Indicative strategic responses which will contribute to meeting the goal
Integrate thinking, planning, investment and action
  • Develop a regional natural network throughout city, neighbourhood and rural areas, providing ecological, recreational and transport benefits.
  • Take an integrated, inter-organisational approach to managing Auckland's natural environment.
  • Take a catchment management approach to planning.
Reduce our ecological footprint
  • Change production, design and consumption patterns to reduce resource usage and waste.
  • Develop compact urban settlement patterns to prevent the loss of natural areas and productive soils.
  • Utilise low-impact urban design.
Build a carbon neutral future
  • Undertake reforestation.
  • Reduce energy consumption and substitute renewable energy sources for fossil fuels.
  • Reduce vehicle and domestic fire emissions to improve air quality.
Think in generations, not years
  • Identify and protect from development areas of cultural and environmental significance.
  • Identify key tipping points for ecological systems and their consequences to social and economic well-being.
  • Take a precautionary approach to decision-making when environmental consequences are uncertain.
  • Ensure that product and service pricing reflects the associated social and environmental costs.
  • Ensure that investment decisions are driven by both long and short term benefits.
  • Provide adequate funding for environmental restoration efforts.
  • Improve ecosystems through restoration, reforestation and effective pest management.
Put people at the centre of our thinking and actions
  • Increase resourcing for school-based educational programmes that promote a sense of connection with, and stewardship for, the environment.
  • Ensure everyone is aware of the opportunities for, and has easy access to, recreation in the natural environment.
Value te Ao Māori
  • Care and protect the mauri of water and other natural taonga.
  • Future proof wäahi tapu and whenua from climate change and other adverse effects.

Supporting Documents