bnr-kaipara-harbour
  2. What We Do
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Kaipara District Council Climate Change Risk Assessment

WSP supported Kaipara District Council (KDC) in completing a first-pass Climate Risk Assessment. The district has 25,000 residents and is the fastest growing region in Northland.

Location

  • Northland, New Zealand

Client

  • Kaipara District Council

Project Value

  • $60,000

Project Status

  • Completed: June 2021 - December 2021

Kaipara District Council (KDC) is located in Te Taitokerau Northland. They have roughly 25,000 residents in rural and coastal communities spanning both the east and west coasts. They are also the fastest growing region in Te Taitokerau Northland. Some areas of the district have experienced over 30% increase in population within the last 10 years.

KDC is in the early stages of its climate adaptation planning. The council needed to better understand climate-related risks, both physical and transitional, through a Climate Risk Assessment. This is a formative step in their climate change planning and strategy work programme.

WSP supported Kaipara District Council (KDC) in completing a first-pass Climate Risk Assessment. The assessment focussed on council’s infrastructure assets. It identified hotpots for mitigation and adaptation planning as well as areas that needed further analysis to fully inform important decisions.


CLIENT CHALLENGES

Future trends considered in this project focussed on climate trends, at-risk infrastructure and policy considerations:

Climate Trends
Future climate trends were considered for this risk assessment specifically the RCP 8.5 (High Emissions) scenario over two timeframes: Mid-century (2040-2050) and Late century (2090-2100). Climate projections for the below hazards were included in the assessment:

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Sea Level Rise

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Drought Frequency

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Storm Intensity and Frequency

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Forest Fires

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Hotter Days

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Flooding

At Risk Infrastructure
New Zealand’s main transport infrastructure (airports, rail and road) has been built in environmentally ‘at-risk’ areas. WSP supported KDC in identifying critically at-risk assets.

Policy Considerations
Climate adaption policies will impact planning and development across all sectors with the NZ government set to release a climate adaptation act in 2022. WSP made sure this project was aligned with national and regional frameworks such as NCCRA (National Climate Change Risk Assessment) and Northland Regional Council (NRC) strategic documents.


OUR SOLUTION

WSP provided confidence by utilising a locally based team to deliver the work. Local staff in the Whangārei office worked closely with WSP’s specialists to develop the Climate Risk Assessment and provided training and guidance for Council staff.

The evaluated risks were used to produce a Climate Risk Register. This provided KDC decision makers clarity over which assets should be prioritised to reduce the risk to natural hazards. It also helps enable the Council to make more informed decisions on infrastructure funding and planning for their communities and residents.

At a high level, the project involved the following phases:

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Phase 1

Kick-off workshop with key KDC staff and stakeholders conducted by local staff and WSP’s climate risk specialists to identify elements-at-risk and develop sub-district criteria.
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Phase 2

Development of the Risk Screening tool evaluating vulnerability and exposure ratings to determine preliminary prioritisation of direct and indirect risks.
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Phase 3

Collaborative review workshop to review summarised findings and populated risk register as well as identify knowledge gaps and opportunities.
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Phase 4

Development of Climate Risk Assessment report and Climate Risk Register providing final outputs and findings.

CLIENT/COMMUNITY BENEFITS

The Climate Risk Assessment will directly inform the rest of the KDC climate change work programme in the following ways:

  • Equips Council with climate risk understanding to develop sound climate policies and make more informed decisions in climate risk management.
  • Provides resilience-building and improvement through district-wide climate action plan/s.
  • Evidence-based approach strengthens development of adaptive pathways decision-making projects for communities.

KEY FACTS

  • Roughly 25,000 residents in rural and coastal communities spanning both the east and west coasts
  • Some areas of the district have experienced over 30% increase in population within the last 10 years

Other challenges that we have overcome