Gulf gets $5 million environment funding boost

Friday, 19 August 2016

Home to diverse wild life including Brydes Whales, the magnificent Hauraki Gulf is continuing to decline.

Solid solutions to the declining health of the Hauraki Gulf may be on the horizon with a major $5 million, five year funding initiative from Foundation North.

Rather than 'business as usual' solutions, the philanthropy foundation will be running an innovation lab for groups and individuals on 14 September. It hopes this will kick start completely new possible solutions for the Gulf.

The timing of the initiative before the release of the Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari marine spatial plan may seem counter productive but project manager Kim Collins says the foundation has been working closely with the Stake Holder Working group and iwi.

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'There are no guarantees the plan will be released this year and we are ready to go. This is the early stages of the fund, which will run for five years, and we are working in with Sea Change. There is consensus around the issues affecting the Gulf and we want fresh thinking to bring about huge change.' she says.

The environmental health of the Hauraki Gulf has been in the spotlight since the seminal State of the Environment report in 2011 which showed the Haruaki Gulf Marine Park has been in a continued state of decline for generations.

This kicked off the development of a marine spatial plan for the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park three years ago for the 1.2 million hectares park with the plan due to be released before the end of the year.

The Firth of Thames is also part of the focus of a major new $5 million, four year coastal acidification project CARIM looking at the effects of increasing coastal seawater acidification from climate change and the effects of nutrient runoff from agriculture particularly on the Hauraki Plains into the Firth.