Tangoio Marae adaptation pathways

These reports outlines the way that the Maungaharuru-Tangitū Trust (MTT) and the Tangoio Marae community, with support from NIWA, developed and tested an eight-step adaptation decision model, Te Huringa ki te Rangi: He Rautaki Tāwariwari (To Change with the Heavens: A Flexible Strategy).

This model, explained in the Adaptation Pathways report, helps facilitate the critical conversations required for hapū and iwi Māori to better understand the impacts, experiences and risks associated with coastal hazards like flooding.

In the words of whānau:

“We learnt a lot, we realise now that this is a complex project, and understanding the mahi involved, it is not as simple as go or stay… That is what we thought, easy done, so we realised there’s a lot to think about. We had a lot of fun, a lot of kōrero doing it. We are leaving here with our eyes wide open.

Māori communities have a range of governance and decision-making structures and processes. This transferrable approach can support other Māori communities to plan for, and respond to, climate risks and impacts.

Modelling to support decision making

The second, modelling report, supported the Tangoio community to integrate climate change impacts into their development plans.

Hydrological and hydrodynamic modelling, using flood data collected from the 1988 Cyclone Bola flood, was used to test several climate change futures for Tangoio. These futures include sea-level rise and future river flooding.

The Te Ngarue Catchment is an area with steep terrain and a low-lying flood plain, currently being used for farmland. It’s prone to severe flash flooding and erosion, both of which are predicted to increase with climate change.