By Ashleigh McCaull, journalist
Time is running out for hāpori communities in low lying coastal areas, with calls for a hapū-led solutions to be front and centre to reduce the impacts of rapid sea level rise.
Photo: Unsplash / AR
A new report by NZ SeaRise shows parts of Aotearoa will have sea levels rise twice as fast as previously predicted.
By 2100 the sea level is expected to rise by about half a meter across the globe, but here in Aotearoa some areas could see a rise of 30cm by 2040.
Melting glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic are the leading cause of the rise in ocean levels.
Muriwhenua Incorporation chair Marama Pohatu has been researching the relocation of marae communities of Te Hāpua in Northland.
She said the task of needing to move the entire community was a lengthy process that involved the papakainga, kohanga and marae.
"It's gathering the voice first, because that's the most important for the community and unpacking where might it be located in relation to work places, in relation to main highways, accessing amenities, necessities for life."
Te Hāpua's marae is currently in the process of being relocated since the building is no longer able to be insured because of the encroaching sea.
Last month a section of an Urupā at Hinetamatea Marae in Anaura Bay washed away after heavy rainfall across the Tairāwhiti region.
Pohatu says hapū in low lying coastal areas are highly disadvantaged because they haven't got a platform to voice their concerns or solutions.
"Government tends, because of treaty settlements, the nature of treaty settlements, to engage mainly with iwi entities, so if you're not an iwi entity it's easy to be left out. If you're not an iwi, you're not necessarily guaranteed a voice to government".
A new website has been launched to show New Zealanders which areas of the country are most at risk from the rise in sea levels.
The sea-level projection and mapping tool was developed by Takiwā, a Māori-owned data management and analytics platform.
It follows New Zealand's first long term Infrastructure Strategy launched today, which shows around $5 billion of local government infrastructure is vulnerable to sea level rise.
It is the first ever long term infrastructure strategy - with 68 recommendations which include strengthening partnerships with Māori across the infrastructure system such as undertaking a stock take of current engagement with Māori.
The strategy calls for the establishment of a Māori advisory group to develop a framework focusing on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tikanga Māori - which considers the evolving role of Māori in the infrastructure system and options for ongoing governance and oversight of the framework.
