Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari – a two-year project and the first of its kind in New Zealand – will develop a marine spatial plan for the Hauraki Gulf (Tikapa Moana/Te Moananui aToi). The plan, to be delivered in 2015, will identify solutions to competing demands in how we use and enjoy the 1.2 million hectare Hauraki Gulf Marine Park area. It’s a 30-year plan to accommodate growth and to safeguard the gulf’s future.

Click here to view online. Kia ora What’s Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari – a two-year project and the first of its kind in New Zealand – will develop a marine spatial plan for the Hauraki Gulf (Tikapa Moana/Te Moananui aToi). The plan, to be delivered in 2015, will identify solutions to competing demands in how we use and enjoy the 1.2 million hectare Hauraki Gulf Marine Park area. It’s a 30-year plan to accommodate growth and to safeguard the gulf’s future. The impetus for Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari is that the Hauraki Gulf is an extremely precious taonga, highly valued by all people for a wide range of cultural, environmental, social and economic reasons. All sorts of people enjoy the gulf in all sorts of ways; it also generates more than $2.7 billion in economic activity each year. However, the gulf’s health has been deteriorating in a variety of ways due to competing pressures on its use, and impacts from land use. Formation of the Stakeholder Working Group An independent chairman, Nick Main, has been appointed to lead this collaborative, stakeholder-led and ‘outside-in’ process of plan making. Nick is Deloitte’s former New Zealand CEO and chairman and more recently former global managing partner for sustainability services and global chief ethics officer. He is experienced in collaborative processes, and will provide extremely valuable leadership for the Stakeholder Working Group (SWG) and the project. Selecting people to form the SWG has taken place through a series of workshops in Waikato and Auckland involving more than 160 people. More than 700 groups and organisations were invited to participate. The diversity of the people who attended the workshops reflects the breadth of interest and the range of issues facing the gulf. Workshop participants covered the interests of the tourism industry, recreational and commercial fishers, community groups and organisations, shipping, farming, and environment sectors to name a few. SWG members were chosen by their peers not only for their ability to think creatively and to bring a strong knowledge set, but also for their ability to work collaboratively, and to find solutions. In parallel, mana whenua have held a series of hui to determine their representation on the SWG. Membership of the SWG is: •  Matt Ball •  Jake Bartrom •  Laurie Beamish •  Conall Buchanan •  Joe Davis •  Alison Henry •  David Kellian •  Callum McCallum •  Raewyn Peart •  Alan Proctor •  Dirk Sieling •  Katrina Subedar •  Tame Te Rangi •  Lucy Tukua Partnership at every level The Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari project is a partnership involving mana whenua, Auckland Council Waikato Regional Council, Department of Conservation (DOC), and the Ministry for Primary Industries. The Hauraki Gulf Forum has been a strong advocate of a marine spatial plan and supports the process also. This partnership approach extends to how we will engage and partner with stakeholders, communities and those that live work and play in and around the Hauraki Gulf. SeaSketch DOC, also a large landowner on the Coromandel, has funded the development of SeaSketch for use in this project. This is an innovative tool that uses cutting-edge technology to involve stakeholders and the public in marine planning, and in promoting the value of healthy marine environments. The use of SeaSketch in the Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari project sets us at the forefront of international marine spatial planning practices. The driving force behind SeaSketch is to provide the best available information in a form that can be readily accessed, used, added to and improved upon. SeaSketch is designed to be used by anybody, regardless of their experience in online mapping and collaboration. All you need to use SeaSketch is a web browser. Through feedback on existing data and surveys, SeaSketch will become a basket of knowledge about the gulf for everyone. It will incorporate science, matuaranga Maori, as well as local and community knowledge. AUT Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari Use and Values Survey A use and values survey is almost ready to go. The survey has been jointly designed by the AUT Environmental Sciences GIS department. Senior Lecturer Dr Barbara Breen is working on the preparation of the survey with Rebecca Jarvis, a PhD candidate, and Auckland Council’s coastal policy team specialists. This will be the first survey carried out for Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari. It will help us gather information about where people enjoy the gulf, and what they do along the coastline and islands of the gulf. The survey will also establish the beliefs and values people hold for the gulf. To make sure we hear from a range of people, the survey will be mailed to targeted demographic groups. It will also be open to the general public and particularly to the gulf’s many interest groups. If you are registered on the website, we’ll contact you when it’s available. The information gathered becomes part of the working knowledge base that will guide the SWG’s thinking in the early months of the project. Get involved; stay involved We appreciate that you have already indicated your commitment and ongoing interest in this project for the Hauraki Gulf by registering. It’s a great way to keep up to date, find out what’s coming up and ways to get involved next year. We encourage you to forward this email on to your family members, friends and others in your networks to sign up to Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari as well. To do this, all they need to do is visit www.seachange.org.nz,. Our first newsletter for 2014 will be out in February, so keep an eye out for it. Merry Christmas from the Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari team We wish you and your family a wonderful summer and we look forward to talking with you more soon. In partnership with mana whenua and the following agencies: Click here to unsubcribe.