Natural Hazards

This resource has not been updated and does not reflect best practice.

Search Ministry for the Environment publications 

• Faultlines and earthquakes
  • Building on the Edge: The Use and Development of Land on or Close to Fault Lines(Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment; March 2001)
  • District Plans and Regional Policy Statements - How Do They Address Earthquake Hazards? (New Zealand Planning Institute; September, 2000)
  • Gaps in the Understanding and Mitigation of Earthquake Hazards(New Zealand Planning Institute; July 2002)
  • Learning From Earthquakes: Understanding the Real Lessons and the Role of Urban Planning in Mitigation(New Zealand Planning Institute; July 2002)
  • Napier after the Earthquake: Reconstruction and Planning in the 1930s(New Zealand Planning Institute; September 2006)
  • Planning for Development of land on or Close to Active Faults: A Guide for Resource Management Planners in New Zealand (Ministry for the Environment; December 2004
  • Plan Tectonics (New Zealand Planning Institute; May 2005)
  • Tsunami: Review of Hazards in New Zealand (Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management; 2013)
  • Addressing earthquake hazards: a review of council policies and plans within the Wellington region(GNS Science Limited; 2011)
  • Understanding disaster preparedness and resilience in Canterbury: results of interviews, focus groups and a questionnaire survey(GNS Science Limited; 2010)
  • Observations from the Great Southern California Earthquakes shake out(GNS Science Limited, 2009)

• Flooding
  • 1999 Queenstown Floods(New Zealand Planning Institute; March 2005)
  • Assessment of the impacts of sea level rise on floodplain management planning for the Avon River (Ministry for the Environment; December 2003)
  • Guidelines for Reducing Flood Losses(International Strategy for Disaster Reduction; March 2004)
  • Hang-Ups in Flood Hazard Planning (Part I)(New Zealand Planning Institute; May 2005)
  • Hang Ups in Flood Hazard Planning (Part 2)(New Zealand Planning Institute; December 2005)
  • Hutt River Flood Management Plan 2001 (Wellington Regional Council; October 2001)
  • Lessons from Mother Nature(New Zealand Planning Institute; September 2005)
  • Managed Flooding?(New Zealand Planning Institute; December 2003)
  • The Waikato Weather Bomb: Understanding the impact(Ministry for the Environment; March 2004)
  • Waters of Aotearoa - Alive or Dead?(New Zealand Planning Institute; June 2004)
  • Flood risk management research in New Zealand: Where are we and where are we going?(GNS Science Limited; 2012)
  • Flood perceptions, preparedness and response to warning in Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand: Results from surveys in 2006-2009(GNS Science Limited; 2011)
  • Flood perceptions, education and warnings in four communities in New South Wales, Australia- results of a questionnaire survey, November 2005(GNS Science Limited; 2009)

• Hazard Management
  • 1999 Queenstown Floods(New Zealand Planning Institute; March 2005)
  • Civil Defence and Planning(New Zealand Planning Institute; June 2003)
  • Enhancing Sustainability through Pre-event Recovery Planning(New Zealand Planning Institute; March 2007)
  • Guidelines for Assessing Planning Policy and Consent Requirements for Landslide Prone Land (GNS Science Limited; 2007)
  • Interim Guideline on the Emergency Works Provisions of the RMA (DOC)(Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management; June 2007)
  • Mapping Social Vulnerability to Natural Hazards Using GIS(New Zealand Planning Institute; March 2006)
  • Planning for the development of land on or close to active faults(Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences; January 2008)
  • Pre-event recovery planning for land-use in New Zealand (GNS Science Limited; June 2006)
  • Improving community resilience in the Hawke's Bay: A review of resilience research, and current public education, communication and resilience strategies(GNS Science Limited; June 2005)
  • Building community resilience to disasters: A practical guide for the emergency management sector(GNS Science Limited; June 2013)
  • Community resilience in Christchurch: Adaptive responses and capacities during earthquake recovery(GNS Science Limited; June 2013)
  • 1st Australian Natural Hazards Management Conference: from warnings, to response to recovery(GNS Science Limited; June 2007)

• Hazardous Facilities
  • Assessment guide for hazardous facilities(Ministry for the Environment; March 2000)
  • Land Use Planning Guide for Hazardous Facilities(Ministry for the Environment; February 2002)

• Hazardous Substance and New Organism Act
  • A Public Perspective of Genetic Engineering - The Law and the Report of the Royal Commission(Resource Management Law Association of New Zealand Inc; 2000)
  • Regulating GMO Land Uses Under the RMA (New Zealand Planning Institute; 2006)

• Hazardous
  • Hazardous Waste Management Second Progress Report on the Ministry for the Environment's Hazardous Waste Management Programme(Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment; April 2001)

• Landslides
  • Guidelines for Assessing Planning Policy and Consent Requirements for Landslide Prone Land(GNS Science Limited; 2007)

• Volcanic
  • Developing Effective Lahar Warning Systems for Ruapehu(New Zealand Planning Institute; December 2005)
  • Planning for an Eruption from the Auckland Volcanic Field(New Zealand Planning Institute; September 2005)
  • Infrastructure impacts, management and adaptations to eruptions at Volcano Tungurahua, Ecuador(GNS Science Limited; 2011)
  • Impact assessment of the May 2010 eruption of Pacaya Volcano, Guatemalar(GNS Science Limited; 2012)

• Climate- Carbon Dioxide Emissions
  • Wind Farms, the RMA and Climate Change(Paul Majurey)

• Climate Change Impacts
  • Adapting to Climate change: a checklist for development(South East Climate Change Partnership; November 2005)
  • Climate Change(Maxine Day and Sarah Chapman, New Zealand Planning Institute; March 2005)
  • Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; 2007)
  • Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; 2014)
  • Climate Change and Infrastructure Design Case study: Wairau Catchment, North Shore City(Ministry for the Environment; August 2004)
  • Climate Change and Resource Consent Decisions (PDF 2.04 MB)(Gerard van Bohemen, Resource Management Journal)
  • Climate Change Effects and Impacts Assessment: A guidance manual for Local Government in New Zealand(Ministry for the Environment; May 2008)
  • Climate Change: Likely Impacts on New Zealand Agriculture(Ministry for the Environment; September 2001)
  • Climate change policy and forestry (Ministry for the Environment; November 2001)
  • Climate
    Change: Potential Effects on Human Health in New Zealand(Ministry for the Environment; September 2001)
  • Coastal hazards and climate change: A guidance manual for local government in New Zealand(Ministry for the Environment; May 2008)
  • Coromandel Beaches: coastal hazards and development set back recommendations(Ministry for the Environment; May 2002)
  • Preparing for climate change guide for local government(Ministry for the Environment; June 2008)
  • How might climate change affect my region?(Ministry for the Environment; June 2001)
  • Hutt River Floodplain Management Plan 2001 (Greater Wellington Regional Council; October 2001)
  • Incorporating climate change into stormwater design - Why and now?(South Pacific Conference on Stormwater and Aquatic Resource Protection; May 2005)
  • Linkages Between Climate Change and Biodiversity in New Zealand (Landcare Research New Zealand Limited, Ministry for the Environment; September 2001)
  • Potential effects of climate change on New Zealand's terrestrial biodiversity and policy recommendations for mitigation, adaptation and research(Matt McGlone and Susan Walker, Department of Conversation; July 2005)
  • Local communities: Planning for climate change(Ministry for the Environment; May 2004)
  • Local Government Adaptation to Climate Change: Environment Bay of Plenty and Coastal Hazards(Ministry for the Environment; December 2003)
  • Meteorological Hazards and the Potential Impacts of Climate Change in Wellington Region - A Scoping Study(Greater Wellington Regional Council; June 2002)
  • Climate Change Hazards(Greater Wellington Regional Council; November 2007)
  • Coastal hazards and climate change: A guidance manual(Ministry for the Environment; 2008)
  • RMA (Energy and Climate Change) 2004 Amendment(Robert Schofield and Justine Daw, New Zealand Planning Institute; March 2005)

• Climate Change Policy
  • Cycle Network and Route Planning Guide(Land Transport and Safety Authority; 2004)
  • Wind farms, the RMA and climate change(Paul Majurey)