Providing a strategic roadmap to grow the use of Nature-based Solutions in New Zealand.

Aotearoa New Zealand and the rest of the world currently face the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for climate change adaptation have the potential to effectively mitigate or avoid the impacts of acute climate change risks in New Zealand. Actions to protect, conserve, restore, and sustainably use natural ecosystems can be applied to enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change, while simultaneously providing biodiversity, economic, human wellbeing, and cultural co-benefits. 

To grow the use of NbS in New Zealand for climate change adaptation, a strategic roadmap is required to enable system-scale change. This Roadmap for Scaling Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in Aotearoa New Zealand (the roadmap) sets out the key actions required to equip New Zealand with the information, tools, and resources required to scale the use of NbS. The roadmap seeks to scale the use of NbS through the implementation of actions that will grow the understanding, financing, and technical application of NbS to address a range of climate change risks.

Client

Ministry for the Environment

Location

National

Project team

Sam Parsons
Liz Gavin
Tommaso Alestra
Mark Lewis

Project date

2024

Boffa Miskell led the project, from concept scoping to delivery. This combined our climate change, ecology, landscape design, and engagement capabilities.

Recommending seven strategic actions across four opportunity objectives, the NbS roadmap actions target the system challenges currently facing NbS practitioners in New Zealand. These four opportunity objectives are:

  • KNOWLEDGE: Facilitate information development and sharing of NbS through case studies, research, and collaboration across government, iwi, private sector, and community groups
  • TECHNICAL: Strengthen New Zealand’s cross-sector tools and capabilities to build a common understanding and application of NbS
  • POLICY: Integrate and mainstream a wide range of NbS policy levers and practices in New Zealand’s policy frameworks for climate change adaptation
  • FINANCIAL: Significantly increase investment in NbS use, research, and long-term monitoring through development of public and private financing frameworks and opportunities

Delivery of actions identified in this roadmap are intended to create the systems-scale changes required for progress towards the greater uptake and use of NbS for climate change adaptation in New Zealand.

The Roadmap for Scaling Nature-based Solutions is the first of it’s kind in New Zealand. The development the roadmap arose from a recognised shared need for greater clarity of the challenges and opportunities for NbS in New Zealand, particularly as the government seek to grow their use for climate adaptation.

NbS are specifically included in the government’s Climate Change Strategy and the National Adaptation Plan, and feature in Green Financing conversations as well as a range of New Zealand’s international trade agreements. This Roadmap set’s the strategic foundation from which all proceeding NbS work can build off and contribute to in a consistent and collaborative manner.

To inform the roadmap, NbS insights and perspectives were gathered through cross-sector collaboration with NbS practitioners from government agencies, local councils, NGOs, academia, and private organisations. Coupled with findings from an international NbS literature review, New Zealand specific insights were gathered through survey, interviews, and hui.

Ministry for the Environment team representatives were invited to a series of collaborative workshops to test and refine the priority roadmap actions.

PREVIOUS

Caldera Apartments - Three Kings
Next

Waihī Estuary Catchment Wetland Restoration