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Kia ora,
Welcome back to Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari. I’d like to start by thanking everyone for the positive response to our new-look newsletter, launched last month. It’s very encouraging to know so many people are engaged with the project and keen to know more.
I’d also like to thank those who completed the Hauraki Gulf Use and Values survey. Please note the survey closes on 21 April. If you haven’t already done so, please take the opportunity to complete the survey today. Your input is of enormous value.
In this issue we look in some detail at the recent progress of the Stakeholder Working Group – or SWG – which is now out of its establishment phase and well and truly cracking on with hard work. We introduce you to two of its members, Katrina Goddard and Callum McCallum, whose differing but equally impressive backgrounds illustrate how the SWG is bringing a range of perspectives together to achieve a common purpose.
Thanks once again for your ongoing interest and support, which are vital as we work together towards safeguarding the gulf as a healthy, productive and sustainable resource for all users. Everyone who values the Hauraki Gulf should have the chance to know about this project, so please, encourage friends, family and colleagues to both complete the survey and sign up for these monthly updates.
Best wishes to all,
Nick Main, Stakeholder Working Group Independent Chair. |
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Progress report from the SWG |
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The past few months have been a busy time for the Stakeholder Working Group (SWG) as they build their knowledge of the issues facing the gulf. The task ahead is taking shape and the group is gaining traction. Early meetings were spent building a shared knowledge base and developing ways in which we could collaborate effectively with other people interested in Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari.
We have had presentations on the gulf ecosystem as a whole, ecosystem services and marine resource management issues as well as an initial presentation on the ‘State of the Gulf’ report. We have also been introduced to SeaSketch (a marine spatial planning tool) and received basic training in its use (pictured).
The SWG has been helped by the Hauraki Gulf Use and Values survey and various listening posts and meetings. We meet at different locations around the coast and chairperson Nick Main has had three very worthwhile trips – to Great Barrier, Kawau and Waiheke. A number of SWG members went on the Waiheke Island Local Board tour of the gulf and islands and appreciated hearing local knowledge and making new connections.
Roundtables underway
One of the most exciting developments has been the creation of ‘roundtables’ to broaden the collaboration scope around a number of key issues identified by the SWG. These roundtables create an opportunity for us to hear from other stakeholders, which in turn helps us form a broader platform for collaboration and sharing knowledge. Roundtable findings will all feed back into the SWG. The SWG has a massive amount of work to do in a relatively short time and this roundtable approach leverages their efforts. Roundtables currently under way cover:
- water quality and catchments
- fish and fish stocks
- biodiversity and biosecurity
- infrastructure and commercial uses (to include ports, marinas, shipping, and visitor infrastructure).
Future roundtables are likely to be aquaculture and accessible gulf (recreation, boating, visitors, and heritage). The SWG is keeping the ecology/ecological productivity and economy of the gulf as topics to be managed within the SWG, as these are overarching ideas.
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Survey closing very soon! |
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The Hauraki Gulf Use and Values survey is an important piece of research being conducted by AUT PhD student Rebecca Jarvis. The anonymous survey results will:
- provide a snapshot of who uses the Hauraki Gulf, for what purposes and why
- form part of Rebecca’s PhD on conservation and social-ecological systems
- provide valuable data for the Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari project.
If you haven’t already completed the survey, please have your say today.
The survey closes very soon – on 21 April 2014.
Anyone who completes the survey can choose to go into the draw to win a Waiheke Island Explorer Tour family pass for two adults and two children, courtesy of sponsors Fullers. (Thanks guys!)
The survey and full details of the prize package are on our website. We want to hear from as many people as we can during the survey period so please, feel free to share this information with anyone in your networks.
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In partnership with mana whenua and the following agencies:
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