28 October 2021
File Ref: OIAP-7-22409
Brian Warburton
By email:
[FYI request #17079 email]
Tēnā koe Brian
Request for information OIA 2021-274
I refer to your request for information dated 7 October 2021, which was received by Greater
Wellington Regional Council (Greater Wellington) on 7 October 2021. You have requested the
following related to the maps of natural features that are included in Schedules A and B of the
proposed Natural Resources Plan:
‘My request relates to two of these natural features: Te Awarua-o-Porirua (Porirua
Harbour), and Raukawa Moana (Cook Strait).
In both cases please provide me with the following information:
- the method, or methods, and the source of data, used to map the landward extent of
the natural feature.
Note: in the case of Raukawa Moana (Cook Strait) I only require the information for
that part of the feature located within Porirua City.’
Greater Wellington’s response follows:
Schedule A
The Schedule A (Outstanding Waterbodies) map overlay in the proposed Natural Resources Plan
(PNRP) shows outstanding water bodies in the Wellington region including lakes, rivers and wetlands
with biodiversity values for indigenous species.
Wellington office
Upper Hutt
Masterton office
0800 496 734
PO Box 11646
PO Box 40847
PO Box 41
www.gw.govt.nz
Manners St, Wellington 6142
1056 Fergusson Drive
Masterton 5840
[Wellington Regional Council request email]
The schedule has been organised and mapped into three components:
Schedule A1: Rivers with outstanding indigenous ecosystems values. Values include aquatic
plants; indigenous fish diversity; threatened fish species; wildlife habitat; high macroinvertebrate
health.
Schedule A2: Lakes with outstanding indigenous ecosystems values. Values include aquatic
plants; indigenous fish diversity; threatened fish species; wildlife habitat; high macroinvertebrate
health.
Schedule A3: Wetlands with outstanding indigenous biodiversity values. Values relate to
representativeness, diversity and rarity of the wetlands and the associated indigenous
biodiversity.
The area of Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour
that is recognised as outstanding in the PNRP is the
Pauatahanui Inlet and is included in the wetlands schedule A3. The assessment and mapping was
undertaken by consultants Boffa Miskell Limited and based on a desktop analysis using GIS datasets
and expert opinion contained in the following report:
Attachment 1
DESKTOP DELINEATION AND ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE OF WETLANDS OF THE
WELLINGTON REGION - METHODOLOGY & RESULTS.
Report Number W10140-007 November 2011.
Prepared for Greater Wellington Regional Council by Boffa Miskell Limited.
The pages of the report that are in scope for your request are Pages 5 to 7 inclusive and Pages
23 to 27 inclusive.
The work was undertaken in accordance with and to give effect to Regional Policy Statement (RPS)
Policy 23
- Identifying indigenous ecosystems and habitats with significant indigenous biodiversity
values:
District and regional plans shall identify and evaluate indigenous ecosystems and habitats
with significant indigenous biodiversity values; these ecosystems and habitats will be
considered significant if they meet one or more of the following criteria:
Page 2 of 4
Representativeness
The ecosystems or habitats that are typical and characteristic examples of the full
range of the original or current natural diversity of ecosystem and habitat types in
a district or in the region, and:
i.
are no longer commonplace (less than about 30% remaining); or
ii.
are poorly represented in existing protected areas (less than about 20%
legally protected).
Rarity
The ecosystem or habitat has biological or physical features that are scarce or
threatened in a local, regional or national context. This can include individual
species, rare and distinctive biological communities and physical features that
are unusual or rare.
Diversity
The ecosystem or habitat has a natural diversity of ecological units, ecosystems,
species and physical features within an area.
Ecological context
The ecosystem or habitat:
i.
enhances connectivity or otherwise buffers representative, rare or
diverse indigenous ecosystems and habitats; or
ii.
provides seasonal or core habitat for protected or threatened indigenous
species.
Tangata whenua
The ecosystem or habitat contains characteristics of special spiritual,
values
historical or cultural significance to tangata whenua, identified in accordance
with tikanga Māori
The assessment treated the various wetland units around Pauatahanui as separate sites on the basis
that they are isolated by urban development including the imposition of SH56 and Grays Road on
the estuary margins. The mapped layer for Porirua shows only the Pauatahanui Inlet Saltmarsh and
the Pauatahanui Tidal Flats units as meeting the ‘Outstanding’ criteria. This explains the variations
in the landward extent of this overlay. Other wetlands in the inlet assessed but not included in the
mapped A3 schedule include:
Horokiri Raupo Swamp
Kakaho Saltmarsh
Camborne Scarp wetland
Motukaraka saltmarsh / Ration Point
Horokiri saltmarsh
Duck Creek Saltmarsh
Page 3 of 4
Schedule B
The Schedule B (Nga Taonga Nui a Kiwa) map overlay in the (PNRP) was mapped from the statutory
acknowledgment areas of Ngati Toa Rangatira. It shows the acknowledgement area in the coastal
marine area (CMA) including in some places, areas above mean high water springs (MHWS) and the
beds of rivers that are contiguous with the CMA that are culturally significant to and recognised
under the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Act 2014 and also included in the PNRP Schedule
D2.
The map overlays pertain to PNRP Policy P1:
Ki uta ki tai/integrated catchment management and
Policy P20:
Exercise of kaitiakitanga.
In particular, the schedule recognises that kaitiakitanga shall be recognised and provided for by
managing natural and physical resources in accordance with tikanga and kaupapa Māori as exercised
by mana whenua and that land and water resources will be managed recognising ki uta ki tai by using
the principles of integrated catchment management.
If you have any concerns with the decision(s) referred to in this letter, you have the right to request
an investigation and review by the Ombudsman under section 27(3) of the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Al Cross
General Manager Environment Management
Attachment (1)
Page 4 of 4
