Floodplain restoration principles for the Avon Ōtākaro Red Zone Technical Report
- Author
- Orchard, S.
- Year
- 2017
- Publisher / Organisation
- Avon Ōtākaro Network. Christchurch
- Pages
- 45
- ISBN / ISSN
- 978-0-473-39705-0
- Keywords
- Christchurch, floodplain, Avon, Otakaro, restoration
- Summary
- Key conclusions There are internationally proven strategies available for hydrological and ecological restoration in the AORZ. These approaches are consistent with a city-to-sea philosophy for river corridor regeneration that accommodates ongoing dynamics including ecological succession, climate change, and resilience to sea level rise. Due to the difficulty of producing accurate a priori predictions of complex eco-hydrological relationships and expectations for restoration and successional change, an adaptive management approach is recommended. A feature of prominent and successful river corridor restoration projects has been the assembly of a core science and information management team able to support and guide the development and implementation of an adaptive management approach. Local and traditional knowledge, practitioner know-how, and technical expertise in ecosystem-based management and the restoration ecology of key taxa are some of the recommended knowledge and skill sets for inclusion. Attention to governance, outreach, science communication, and citizen science activities are additional dimensions that can support the successful implementation of adaptive management in practice. Comparative evaluation of restoration options can occur at many different points within an adaptive management cycle to facilitate decision-making. These assessments may help refine or select a short list of options at strategic decision points before committing resources to greater levels of detail. These aspects may be readily included in the proposed Integrated Assessment activities and Better Business Case evaluations being developed to support the regeneration planning process for the AORZ. An adaptive approach can accommodate experimental trials, pilots and innovative demonstrations at small scales to inform the design and planning of larger scale initiatives. Close proximity to the central city provides many opportunities for community engagement, education, and experiential activities to feature prominently in the development, design, and implementation of restoration strategies. These have been shown to be the source of beneficial outcomes in other successful projects, including through the socialisation of restoration objectives, and by encouraging participation, buy-in, and ownership of the new management paradigms that may be implemented. The process of developing and implementing an adaptive management strategy could be a significant source of benefits in relation to overall project objectives. Attention to, and development of this process is an important component of identifying specifications for ecological restoration in the AORZ, consistent with a socio-ecological systems approach to managing common-pool natural resources. The objective of developing and implementing optimum restoration and regeneration activities lies at the centre of this process and is a dependent on it. To address this further, information on the potential opportunities and benefits offered by innovative restoration processes were among the topics addressed at the ERO workshop (Orchard et al., 2017). Ecological restoration activities in the AORZ offer an unprecedented opportunity to address national priorities including the remediation of legacy effects on lowland biodiversity and associated cultural values. Through attention to design and integration between compatible activities and co-uses ecological restoration can be achieved alongside, or incorporated within other beneficial land use options.