Environmental Strategy

Natural environment

Protect and enhance the biodiversity and habitat of the river corridor (i.e. the river and its margins and tributaries).

Community

Encourage and enable improved connections between the river corridor and adjoining communities to enrich community engagement and understanding of the river, its open-space value and its management.

Recreation activities

Provide a variety of destinations, spaces and facilities to support a suitable range of recreational opportunities throughout the river corridor.

Natural environment

The three objectives focus on the river’s overall mauri (life force), its aquatic environment (including water quality) and its land environment (e.g. river banks).

Objective 1: Restore, protect, maintain the river's mauri (life force)

Objective 2: Protect and enhance the water quality and aquatic ecological values

Objective 3: Manage and enhance the biodiversity of the river margins and berms

Community

The six objectives focus on kaitiakitanga and mana whenua values, inclusive governance, public safety, community participation, river information, and protecting infrastructure.

Objective 4: Recognise and provide for kaitiakitanga and mana whenua values

Objective 5: Provide a governance and management structure for the river corridor that provides for regional and local council, iwi, community, and other stakeholder involvement and participation

Objective 6: Ensure public safety for river corridor users

Objective 7: Encourage and enable communities to participate in the development and management of the river corridor

Objective 8: Identify educational and interpretation opportunities to enhance wider/greater understanding of the river corridor

Objective 9: Ensure that works within the river corridor are designed and undertaken in such a way that protects existing infrastructure

Recreation activities

The five objectives focus on expressing mana whenua values, enhancing informal recreation, providing diversity, managing user conflicts, and developing opportunities through the Riverlink project

Objective 10: Provide for the expression of mana whenua values throughout the corridor

Objective 11: Manage and develop the open space/green spine of the river environment, to enhance its informal recreational and open-space values

Objective 12: Provide a diverse range of recreational opportunities, spaces and destinations throughout the river corridor

Objective 13: Manage activities that conflict with recreational uses and the conflicts between users

Objective 14: Identify and develop enhancement opportunities for recreation through the RiverLink project.

The goals and objectives are carried through into a series of actions for each section (‘reach’) of the river. The actions are based on recognising the way the river’s character changes along its length – and either strengthening that character, or improving or developing a new character in some places. See The River.

Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) has overall responsibility for the river corridor – for flood protection, ecology and managing the many uses and activities along the river. It is guided in this by the Hutt River Floodplain Management Plan (HRFMP). The environmental strategy is part of the floodplain management.

Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika are the river’s kaitiaki with a traditional responsibility to look after it for future generations.

The strategy was developed collaboratively with iwi, Hutt City and Upper Hutt City Councils, and the many agencies, community groups and landowners who are interested and/or involved in the Hutt River corridor.

GWRC implements various aspects of the strategy through its own river management activities but also depends on those who had input to the strategy to help. It’s a collaborative effort that requires skills and resources to be coordinated and results monitored. The Hutt Valley Flood Management Sub-Committee is responsible for the overall co-ordination.

See how the environmental strategy fits within a broader framework of national and regional resource and river management plans.

The full strategy is available on our Te Awa Kairangi/Hutt River Environment Strategy Action Plan (HRES Action Plan) page.