1 Introduction
New Zealand is prone to the full range of natural hazards, including meteorological / hydrological, geological and geomorphic, biological, and human / natural hazards (refer to Table 1, section 4).
There are many sources of information on the management of natural hazards, both nationally and internationally. This report seeks to draw on these sources to provide a comprehensive and stand-alone technical research report on key aspects of natural hazard management. While international sources have been used, this report focuses on those hazards and approaches which are relevant to the New Zealand context.
This is a background technical document which is designed as a resource to feed into and complement future guidance on the Ministry for the Environment's Quality Planning website (www.qualityplanning.org.nz). The document is not designed for general public consumption and therefore contains some terminology and concepts that may be difficult for the general public to understand, particularly sections 3 to 6 which focus on the theoretical background to risk management.
The following items are provided in the report:
- A glossary of natural hazard and risk management concepts, terminology and definitions (national and international).
- An overview of risk management methodology (national and international), including sources of information and techniques of relevance to New Zealand.
- A summary of natural hazard management principles and approaches (treatment options) of relevance to New Zealand.
- An overview of the New Zealand legal and planning framework for natural hazards management.
- Case law on natural hazard management, and the relevance for planning and development in New Zealand.
- Assessment of best practice for natural hazard management planning in New Zealand.
Structure of the report
Section 3 is an introductory chapter which outlines the fundamental concepts of natural hazard and risk management, and introduces the risk management methodology framework. Sections 4 to 7 provide more detail on the risk management methodology framework, including a 'toolbox' of generic management approaches / treatment options available for managing natural hazards in section 7. Section 8 provides a comprehensive overview of the planning and legal framework (including case law), and section 9 discusses best practice within New Zealand. A glossary of concepts and terminology, and a reference / bibliography section concludes the report.
Note: items in italics throughout the report are those for which further definition and / or information can be found in the glossary section.
