Focus area 2: Focus on restoring environments as Auckland grows

Consistent population growth, and development to support this growth, has meant numerous areas and natural environments across Auckland have been degraded. Past activities or simple neglect can have a lasting impact on the natural environment.

However, as growth and redevelopment occurs in these areas, opportunities arise to:

• restore ecosystems
• restore and protect places of cultural significance
• add cultural design elements
• create new spaces for people to enjoy.

​There are a number of targeted opportunities for Auckland.

We are able to:

• remediate residual contamination, as described by the Ministry for the Environment
• enhance and restore existing ecological systems
• create new habitats for flora and fauna - as detailed in council's Indigenous Biodiversity Strategy
• identify local opportunities, like stream daylighting, revegetation, and tree planting as part of development
• use nature-based solutions and green infrastructure to restore natural areas and solve multiple problems at the same time.

In turn, this can provide new natural environments for local communities to connect with and enjoy, further building and creating Auckland's shared cultural heritage.

The above map was originally published in June 2018.

How this can be done

We can:

• identify natural ecosystems and areas that can be restored or enhanced around or near new developments, and incorporate them into green spaces for residents and communities
• collaborate with mana whenua to ensure protection and story-telling opportunities for sites of cultural significance
• identify and include nature-based solutions to help minimise the impacts of climate change
• set minimum expectations for new developments and the contribution they have to make.

This will ensure positive environmental outcomes from developments are integrated from the start, rather than having to invest further resources to fix mistakes later.

Related information

• Green infrastructure
• Our cultural heritage
• Climate change
• Ridge to reef: Auckland’s marine environments and their relationship to the land.