Waikato Regional Coastal Plan review

Marine biodiversity, including indigenous species, habitats and ecosystems can be adversely impacted by recreational and commercial activities in the coastal marine area. Some of these activities use techniques or practices that result in disturbance of the foreshore and seabed, or affect marine life.  

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The east and west coast of the Waikato have natural and scenic landscape qualities that are unique to our region. Activities in the coastal marine area can impact on these qualities and the characteristics or seascapes that depict our unique coastal environment.

The Waikato region’s coastal marine area has a number of recorded archaeological sites; however, there are many sites still unrecorded or unidentified. If not managed appropriately, activities in the coastal marine area can result in damage to or loss of this historic heritage.

Some ecosystems and habitats can only be found in our coastal environments, such as estuaries, lagoons, coastal wetlands, rocky reef systems, intertidal zones, eelgrass and saltmarshes. These coastal environments are home to some of our region’s indigenous plants and animals which can be vulnerable to activities in the coastal marine area.

Balancing economic growth and protecting and enhancing the health of our coastal environment is enabled by the coastal plan. It directs where activities should be avoided and where they are appropriate in the coastal marine area, and provides the objectives, policies and rules to manage these activities.

Since the coastal plan was first notified in 1995 there has been limited involvement by tangata whenua in coastal management decision making and in the practical expression of kaitiakitanga.

To address this, we have incorporated iwi views and mātauranga Māori provisions across topic areas in the coastal plan.