Nelson City Council approved the selection of The Wood as the first area in Nelson to take part in detailed climate adaptation planning, at a full Council meeting on Thursday 5 June.

Adaptation planning is the process of working with the community to assess climate risks—such as sea-level rise, flooding, and coastal erosion—and developing long-term, flexible strategies to manage and reduce these risks, ensuring the city’s resilience to unavoidable climate impacts over time.

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith says the climate adaptation approach is sensible and realistic given the inevitability of climate disruption and ongoing changes in weather patterns.

“The low-lying area of The Wood is vulnerable to flooding in a storm event coinciding with high tides and storm surge. This risk will increase with the effects of climate change on sea levels and storm frequency and intensity.

“This work on adaption is about engaging with the community on how we manage these risks into the future. It is difficult work as there is significant uncertainty about future global emissions that will impact on the scale of the effects. This work is important and complementary to the work Council is doing on mitigation to reduce Nelson’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

The decision follows significant groundwork undertaken as part of Council’s climate adaptation programme. To help decide where to begin detailed adaptation planning, Council looked at several areas across Nelson. Staff considered how exposed each area is to climate-related risks, how vulnerable the people, environment, and local economy are, and where there’s the best opportunity to work closely with the community, learn together, and share lessons that could benefit other areas too.

Group Manager Strategy and Communications Nicky McDonald says The Wood was recommended as the starting area for this work and presents a valuable opportunity to build a foundation for wider adaptation across Nelson.

“The Wood is significantly exposed to climate-related risks, including flooding, and is home to important cultural and historical sites. The community has already shown willingness to engage, and the scale and characteristics of the area make it a practical and meaningful place to begin this work.”

Elected members have also given the green light to community-wide engagement to support the development of adaptation options and pathways.

Councillor Aaron Stallard, who leads Council’s Climate Change Taskforce, says community-wide engagement allows for a wide range of perspectives and preferences to be heard.

“Working alongside residents, iwi, and the wider community, Council wants to explore how we plan and build, how we can work with nature, and how we can prepare ourselves for the changes ahead. We want to find the right mix of approaches to help prepare our communities for change now and in the future.

“Adaptation planning involves a degree of uncertainty, so part of our role is to work with the community to explore the range of possible future scenarios and help people understand the uncertainty involved. It’s important that our adaptation planning remains flexible, so we can respond and adjust over time as the risks and opportunities become clearer.”

Adaptation planning will be guided by the Protect, Avoid, Retreat and Accommodate (PARA) framework — a practical way to consider the full range of climate responses available.

• Protect – Natural or engineered barriers such as stopbanks, tidal gates or dune planting that help safeguard homes and places we value.
• Avoid – Steering new development away from areas at high risk of flooding or other hazards.
• Relocation – In some cases, this may involve gradually moving people and infrastructure away from areas at long-term risk.
• Accommodate – Making changes so we can live with some level of risk — for example, by raising floor levels or installing temporary flood barriers.

From here, Council staff will develop a comprehensive list of potential adaptation options, deepen the local climate risk assessment, undertake demographic and cost-benefit analyses, and work in partnership with the community to identify preferred adaptation pathways.

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