A Community Defined by Its Harbour

The 2021 survey conducted by Mangawhai Matters revealed that the harbour plays a crucial role in shaping Mangawhai's landscape and appeal, as well as the interests and values of its community. Sustaining the harbour is not only important for the environment but also vital for community well-being.

Currently, the services the harbour provides – to the environment, residents, and visitors – are at risk due to a volatile climate, sea level rise, development, and sand mining.

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Shared Responsibilities

Public organisations responsible for the harbour and its environment include the Northland Regional and Kaipara District councils, the Department of Conservation, and (indirectly) the Ministries for the Environment and Primary Industries.

Community groups involved are the Harbour Restoration Society, the Shorebirds Trust, the NZ Fairy Tern Charitable Trust, and the Riparian Planting Group.

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Our Goals

These groups often operate independently and sometimes at cross-purposes. Mangawhai Matters believes that the risks facing Mangawhai necessitate a collaborative effort to prepare and implement a long-term plan to sustain the harbour. For this reason, we have initiated the Sustainable Mangawhai Project to foster collaboration and clarify the necessary steps in the plan and each party's responsibilities.
 

Our Starting Point

The survival and value of the harbour depend on the Mangawhai Spit. Without it, the harbour would be replaced by an unprotected estuary meeting the ocean.
 

Our Aims

Our goals are to assess the risks to the spit and harbour, identify the potential impacts on the environment and community if they degrade, and propose management guidelines to protect them for the foreseeable future.
 

Our Approach

First: Two studies are currently being conducted to assess the situation. One examines the physical challenges and risks to the harbour, while the other investigates the potential losses for the community if the harbour and spit are significantly degraded.
 

Second: More focused scientific studies may be needed to address any knowledge gaps identified in the scoping studies and evaluate the best ways to protect the spit and harbour.
 

Third: Provide well-researched information to enable agencies and the community to come together to coordinate plans for long-term management of the harbour, clarifying where responsibilities should lie and how they might be funded.
 

How You Can Help

If you are a permanent resident or Mangawhai bach owner and haven't done so already, please click through and complete one of the online surveys below. It will take 3 to 4 minutes and will contribute to our understanding of how the community uses the harbour and its surroundings, strengthening any initiatives proposed to safeguard them.