New Zealand / Aotearoa

Island Vulnerability explores the challenges which isolated geographies face when dealing with risk and disasters by examining the processes which create, maintain, and could be used to reduce their vulnerability. This page provides information on vulnerability issues in New Zealand / Aotearoa:

• New Zealand's Islands


• New Zealand's Responsibility to Pacific Island Vulnerability


• Some More Photographs


• Some Resources

This page provides information specifically related to vulnerability (including risk, disasters, and sustainability), rather than general information such as travel details, a country profile, all government websites, or history. The information provided is not intended to be comprehensive, but is indicative of the vulnerabilities which New Zealand / Aotearoa experiences and how sustainable solutions might be developed and implemented. The publications listed reflect those in the library of Island Vulnerability.

Bridge Damage Following Cyclone Bola Which Hit New Zealand on 7 March 1988.
(Copyright Dave Jack.)

• Cook Islands

• Niue

3. Self-administering territory of New Zealand (but moving towards self-governance in free association with New Zealand):

• Tokelau

By Ilan Kelman

Introduction

I was seeking to explore the role of New Zealand in the Pacific island community, particularly in terms of supporting research into island vulnerability in the region. An impetus towards such research would be New Zealand's strong ties to the Pacific and international island communities. When I mentioned this issue, a reaction from some island and vulnerability researchers and practitioners was that I should consider not only New Zealand's ties, but also New Zealand's responsibility to the Pacific islands in terms of understanding and reducing island vulnerability in the region.

New Zealand contributes extensively to programmes for reducing Pacific island vulnerability. For example, NZAID (New Zealand Agency for International Development / Nga Hoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti) provides more than one-third of the core budget of SOPAC (South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission) in addition to funds for activities outside the normal budget. According to NZAID, "SOPAC "has also been designated the lead agency for disaster management in the Pacific". Similarly, many Pacific islanders travel to New Zealand for secondary education, often supported by programmes funded by New Zealand's Government.

Therefore, I asked some New Zealanders their thoughts on New Zealand's involvement in Pacific island vulnerability reduction. My query particularly focused on the mixture of influences involving ties to the region, responsibility to the region, and kinship with other vulnerable islands. The two levels of the question are (i) does New Zealand feel responsibility and (ii) should New Zealand feel responsibility?

New Zealander Responses

Response 1
      [To mention responsibility] seems rather an idealist outlook on the history of New Zealand's dealings with the South Pacific and with the Third World. Such dealings have been based not on an abstract, amorphous sense of 'responsibility' but upon the needs of a First World state dominated by the interests of big brothers like Britain and the United States and by its own domestic business class.
      The notion that a sense of moral responsibility lies behind New Zealand's interventions in the South Pacific can be concretely tested by an examination of the history of these interventions. Here are half a dozen representative pieces of evidence against a sense of moral responsibility.
      New Zealand's record as a coloniser in the South Pacific is grim. In Western Samoa, the Tokelau Islands, the Cook Islands, and Niue the country maintained formal colonies (disguised, often, as League of Nations or United Nations mandates) for many decades. The colony in the Tokelaus remains to this day, and the other countries, though formally independent, remain economic colonies with little real sovereignty.
      Shortly after taking the territory from Germany in the First World War, the NZ government was directly responsible for the death of one fifth of the entire population of Samoa, when bureaucratic bungling and a preference for trade over Samoans' health led to the importation of influenza into the island. Enraged by abuses like this, the Samoan people formed in the 1920s a national liberation movement known as the Mau, a movement which, despite its pacifist orientation, was bloodily suppressed in the streets of Apia, the colony's capital. Rural 'counter-insurgency' campaigns which followed the machine gunning of peaceful urban protesters saw the burning of villages and random shootings of civilians suspected of pro-independence sentiment. Western Samoa would not achieve independence from NZ until 1960. Today, it remains a depressed semi-colony, whose citizens are often subject to racism and persecution by authorities armed with repressive anti-immigration laws if they travel to NZ in search of a better life.
      Western Samoa was not the only part of the New Zealand empire to feel and resist repression: in Niue, a small island with a tiny population, NZ's first political assassination occurred a few years after the Second World War, in response to the intolerable reign of a megalomaniacal NZ commissioner (governor). The assassins were protesting laws which banned political expression, imposed a nightly curfew on the island's entire indigenous population, and rewarded activities like the consumption of liquor, the public holding of hands, and the organisation of trade unions with prison terms.
      New Zealand governments have behaved badly in the South Pacific because they have been controlled by people with an interest in the exploitation of the South Pacific's natural resources. Generally, NZ foreign policy in the region has been guided by a desire to extract natural resources useful to its economy at as low a price as possible. Of course, all this is simplifying a very complex history a little.

My Reaction to Response 1
      NZ's self-governing territories, Niue and the Cook Islands, have the right to declare unilateral independence whenever they choose. Colonial interests may prevent that occurring, but the territories have plenty international recourse should imperialist pressures prevent them exercising their right. Notably, both Anguilla and Aruba successfully campaigned against full independence when their respective colonial powers moved towards this change in status. Both islands remain overseas territories. Despite the political shenanigans over Montserrat, few Caribbeans suggest independence as a viable or desirable outcome. Perhaps the NZ territories are in a similar situation?
      I would be curious as to how NZ's peace making in East Timor would be "guided by a desire to extract natural resources". Yes, there was too much appalling hypocrisy and lethargy in getting the mission started--and the West created and abetted the situation in the decades beforehand--but, in the end, the wishes of the East Timorese have been met. They have their state, due to their own sacrifices and campaigning, but also because the international community including NZ eventually and perhaps reluctantly decided to make it happen. East Timor must produce plenty business opportunities for NZ, but then from a business perspective, independence should have been supported previously. If previously supporting East Timor's self-determination would have cost business opportunities in Indonesia, did that situation change radically during 1998-1999?
      These statements deny neither the history nor the anti-colonial attitudes taken in Response 1. Reasons for past actions, though, do not necessarily transfer to reasons for present actions. Given the despicable acts of the past, would New Zealanders today find a strong imperative for a sense of moral responsibility to the Pacific islands? I do not necessarily object to the analysis of the past, but more needs to be said about the present and future.

Response 2
      I would agree with your ideas here on both levels. Ever since the early '90s, various political leaders have been saying that we should look to the Asia-Pacific region for our future in the world community, rather than the old UK/USA empires. New Zealand is the largest country in Polynesia, and is seen that way by Pacific Island states. So yes, there is a feeling that we are the Big Brother of Polynesia - our peace-keeping involvements tend to be in East Timor, Fiji and the Solomons rather than Kosovo or Afghanistan, and as far as I'm aware, much of our foreign aid goes to the islands. There is also a very significant Polynesian population resident in New Zealand, so we are always aware of our links to the region. Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world, in fact (Los Angeles is the second largest).

Response 3
      All the answers...are on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade web site www.mfat.govt.nz including policy and specific and general relationships with PICs/PINs/PIEs (MFAT acronyms for Pacific Island countries, nations or economies, which all mean something depending upon what treaty or agreement you're dealing with). The best ongoing example of how we view the PINs is human-induced climate change and the Kyoto Protocol, again on the web site.
      It's one of the major reasons why NZ is pushing the lines it does - feels it should do something for its "about-to-drown" PI neighbours - we don't want them flooding (sorry about the pun) over here when their countries go under now, do we!! [This comment is a sardonic remark about the general feeling in New Zealand rather than the writer's personal opinion.] Also check the Overseas Development Aid/ODA tab on this site [Prior to NZODA becoming NZAID]. Also there will be section on the site re disasters, which of course we do also get involved in on a case-by-case basis, but again using the same "grandparental" type hype and basis. Witness PNG tidal wave, Tongan typhoon etc as recent examples. Most Kiwis would tend to agree with this stance and actions, I would imagine, but especially so in South Auckland, and the allocation of emergency ODA or other Consolidated Funds monies to them.

Article

The following article is based on the above discussion:

Kelman, I. 2004. "Responsibility to Pacific Island Risk Management?". RiskPost: The Newsletter of the New Zealand Society for Risk Management, issue 4, no. 2 (August), pp. 8-9.

New Zealand's fascinating, beautiful, and dynamic physical geography produces an ideal setting for investigating and understanding how humanity's decisions and behaviour create disasters from normal environmental phenomena such as earthquakes, rivers overflowing, volcanic activity, rainfall, and fog. The consequences include internationally-renowned research, policy, and practice in New Zealand related to living sustainably with nature.

As well, New Zealand's position in the South Pacific, plus being a country comprising relatively small islands, leads to strong links with and interests in the international island community. Aside from New Zealand's history of involvement in Pacific island affairs, two island countries, the Cook Islands and Niue, are self-governing territories in free association with New Zealand, while Tokelau is a self-administering territory moving towards self-governance in free association with New Zealand.

New Zealand contributes extensively to programmes for managing risks on Pacific islands, not only through emergency relief aid and peace-keeping, but also in terms of vulnerability reduction programmes, long-term development, and education. NZAID http://www.nzaid.govt.nz provides more than one-third of the core budget of SOPAC http://www.sopac.org, which is the lead Pacific island agency for disaster and risk management, in addition to funds for activities outside the normal budget. Similarly, many Pacific islanders travel to New Zealand for secondary and tertiary education, often supported by programmes funded by New Zealand's government.

The links are clear, as are the historical and geographical reasons for these links. Does an additional factor exist, that of responsibility?

Does a moral imperative exist for New Zealand's involvement in Pacific small island risk management, most likely due to history and proximity? It is perhaps unfair, inappropriate, and going too far to suggest that the Pacific islands have a fundamental right to assistance from New Zealand for risk management. But how far does NZAID's motto "towards a safe and just world" permit the interpretation that obligations, not simply voluntary opportunities, exist for New Zealand (beyond NZAID and MFAT) to be involved in increasing safety and justice in the Pacific region?

Of course, the impetus for being extensively involved in small island risk management could be selfish. Safe and stable neighbours naturally enhance New Zealand's safety and stability, even considering the large distances between Pacific states. Little fault could be found with implementing appropriate disaster and development aid out of self-interest.

Nonetheless, in today's global village, less affluent states are increasingly making demands on more affluent states for equity and justice--followed by demands for resources and support to achieve equity and justice. New Zealand frequently obliges and is respected for doing so. Are New Zealand's contributions due to only internal, generous choice or is New Zealand required to do so from an obligation to Pacific island risk management? If that responsibility does not exist, should it exist and be made explicit?

Your Reaction

Please send your thoughts.

Beach on Pangaimotu Island, Tonga:
Does and should New Zealand have a responsibility to reduce this island's vulnerability?
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)

Duckingly duckish.
(9 kb in PDF which requires Adobe Acrobat to read.)

This list is not comprehensive, but is indicative of the work which has been done and the groups and people involved in issues related to New Zealand's vulnerability. The publications listed reflect those in the library of Island Vulnerability.

AJEM
Australian Journal of Emergency Management
The official journal of Emergency Management Australia...The purpose of the Journal is to build capacity in the emergency management industry in Australia." Many articles cover New Zealand.

Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies
"A peer-reviewed electronic journal utilising the Internet as a medium for the collation and distribution of original material on disaster and trauma studies within Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific rim."

Becker, J. and D. Johnston. 2002. "Planning for Earthquake Hazards in New Zealand: A Study of Four Regions". The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 17, no. 1 (Autumn), pp. 2-8.

Becker, J., R. Smith, D. Johnston, and A. Munro. 2001. "Effects of the 1995-1996 Ruapehu eruptions on communities in central North Island, New Zealand, and people's perceptions of volcanic hazards after the event". The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, vol. 2001-1, http://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/2001-1/becker.htm

Britton, N.R. and G.J. Clark. 2000. "From Response to Resilience: Emergency Management Reform in New Zealand". Natural Hazards Review, vol. 1, no. 3 (August), pp. 145-150.

CCL. 2004. New Zealand Disasters (Fact Sheets). CCL (Christchurch City Library), Christchurch, New Zealand. Downloaded from http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Childrens/NZDisasters in April 2004.

Connell, R.J., C. Beffa, and D.J. Painter. 1998. "Comparison of Observations by Flood Plain Residents with Results froma Two-Dimensional Flood Plain Model: Waihao River, New Zealand." Journal of Hydrology (NZ), vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 57-79.

Coyle, F. and J. Fairweather. 2005. "Challenging a place myth: New Zealand's clean green image meets the biotechnology revolution". Area, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 148-158.

Crump, J.A., D.R. Murdoch, and M.G. Baker. 2001. "Emerging Infectious Diseases in an Island Ecosystem: The New Zealand Perspective". Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 7, no. 5 (September-October), from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no5/crump.htm.

Davies, T.R.. 2002. "Landslide-dambreak floods at Franz Josef Glacier township, Westland, New Zealand: A Risk Assessment". Journal of Hydrology (NZ), vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 1-17.

Davies, T.R. and M.J. McSaveney. 2001. "Anthropogenic Fanhead Aggradation, Waiho River, Westland, New Zealand", pp. 531-553 in M.P. Mosley (ed.), Gravel-bed Rivers V, The New Zealand Hydrological Society, Wellington, New Zealand.

Davies, T.R.H., M.J. McSaveney, and P.J. Clarkson. 2003. "Anthropogenic Aggradation of the Waiho River, Westland, New Zealand: Microscale Modelling". Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, vol. 28, pp. 209-218.

EQC
Earthquake Commission
"A New Zealand Government Agency providing natural disaster insurance to residential property owners."

Ericksen, N. 1985. ANUFLOOD in New Zealand Part I: Approaches to Urban Flood-loss Reduction in New Zealand, CRES Working Paper 1986/2 (dated December 1985), full text (427 in PDF).

Geonet
"Provides real-time monitoring and data collection for rapid response and research into earthquake, volcano, landslide and tsunami hazards."

Glade, T. 1998. "Establishing the Frequency and Magnitude of Landslide-Triggering Rainstorm Events in New Zealand". Environmental Geology, vol. 35, no. 2-3 (August), pp. 160-174.

Glade, T. 2003. "Landslide Occurrence as a Response to Land Use Change: A Review of Evidence from New Zealand". Catena, vol. 51, pp. 297-314.

Glade, T. and M.J. Crozier. 1999. Landslides in New Zealand: A Selected Bibliography. School of Earth Science Research Report No. 1, School of Earth Science, Institute of Geography, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, full text (613 kb in PDF) courtesy of the authors.

GNS
Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited
"To be an acknowledged world-class, earth and planetary systems research company... To achieve maximum benefit for New Zealand from earth and planetary systems research."

The old GNS building in Lower Hutt.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2005.)

Gough, J. 2000. "Perceptions of risk from natural hazards in two remote New Zealand communities". The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, vol. 2000-2, http://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/2000-2/gough.htm

Handmer, J.W. 1985. ANUFLOOD in New Zealand Part 2: Background to Flood Loss Measurement, CRES Working Paper 1986/3 (dated December 1985), full text (436 in PDF).

Hazard Watch
"Hazard Watch provides weekly reviews of natural hazard events reported in New Zealand. Hazard Watch is a service of the Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences (GNS)."

Hicks, G. and H. Campbell (eds.). 1998. Awesome Forces: The Natural Hazards that Threaten New Zealand. Te Papa Press, Wellington, New Zealand.

Hufschmidt, G. and M.J. Crozier. 2008. "Evolution of natural risk: analysing changing landslide hazard in Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand". Natural Hazards, in press.

Huzziff, C.A. and K.R. Ronan. 1999. "Prediction of Children's Coping Following a Natural Disaster - the Mount Ruapehu Eruptions: A prospective study". The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, vol. 1999-1, http://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/1999-1/huzziff1.htm

ICNZ
Insurance Council of New Zealand.
"An industry organisation which represents fire and general insurers in this country. The Insurance Council comprises 20 member companies who write approximately 95% of New Zealand's general insurance business. Our members currently protect approximately half a trillion dollars of New Zealanders assets. Last year members of the Insurance Council paid claims of $1.5 billion to New Zealanders."

IGCI
International Global Change Institute at the University of Waikato.
"An independent unit within the University of Waikato (Hamilton, New Zealand) with a focus on the human dimensions of global environmental change. We provide research, consultancy, professional training and education, and have an active higher degrees programme."

International Global Change Institute in Hamilton.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2005.)

Isaacs, A. 1997. "The Cave Creek Incident: a REASONed Explanation". The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, vol. 1997-3, http://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/1997-3/isaac1.htm

Johnston, D., M.S. Bebbington, C.-D. Lai, B.F. Houghton, and D. Paton. 1999. "Volcanic Hazards Perceptions: Comparative Shifts in Knowledge and Risks." Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 8, No. 2., pp. 118-126.

Johnston, D. and K. Benton. 1998. "Volcanic hazard perceptions in Inglewood, New Zealand". The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, vol. 1998-2, http://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/1998-2/johnston.htm

Jongens, R., J. Gibb, and B.V. Alloway. 2007. "A new hazard zonation methodology applied to residentially developed sea-cliffs with very low erosion rates, East Coast Bays, Auckland, New Zealand". Natural Hazards, vol. 40, pp. 223-244.

Latter, J.H. 1985. "Frequency of Eruptions at New Zealand Volcanoes". Bulletin of the New Zealand National Society for Earthquake Engineering, vol. 18, no. 1 (March), pp. 55-110.

Leonard, G., D. Johnston, D. Paton, and I. Kelman. 2004. "Towards Achieving Community Sustainability in the Face of Natural Hazards: Integrated Lahar Warning System Design on Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand". Presentation at the IAVCEI (International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior) General Assembly 2004: Volcanism and its Impact on Society, Pucón, Chile, 14-19 November 2004.

Life on the Edge: New Zealand's Natural Hazards and Disasters. 2007. David Bateman Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand.

Macaulay, J. 2004. "Disaster Education in New Zealand". pp. 417-428 in J.P. Stoltman, J. Lidstone, and L.M. Dechano, International Perspectives on Natural Disasters: Occurrence, Mitigation, and Consequences, Kluwer, London, U.K.

Magill, C. and R. Blong. 2005. "Volcanic risk ranking for Auckland, New Zealand. I: Methodology and hazard investigation". Bulletin of Volcanology, in press.

Magill, C. and R. Blong. 2005. "Volcanic risk ranking for Auckland, New Zealand. II: Hazard consequences and risk calculation". Bulletin of Volcanology, in press.

MCDEM
Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management
Our role is to:

• Provide strategic policy advice on New Zealand's capability to manage and be resilient to the social and economic costs of disasters.


• Ensure the establishment of structures to provide the capability to manage and respond to disasters in New Zealand.


• Provide support to sector stakeholders in their delivery of civil defence emergency management.


• Ensure a co-ordinated approach, at both national and community level to planning for reduction, readiness, response, and recovery.


• Manage central government response and recovery functions for large scale events that are beyond the capacity of local authorities.

The following documents were downloaded from the MCDEM Website:

• Activities for Earthquake Disaster Mitigation and Their Problems


• Brunsdon and Britton, abstract of The NZ Approach to Risk Management, EERI Conference Paper 2001


• Civil Defence Declarations Since 1 January 1963


• Emergency Management And Insurance: Toward A Collaborative Approach


• Making It Matter: Emergency Management In the New Millennium


• Managing Community Risks


• Non-Regulatory Approaches To Earthquake Risk Reduction: The New Zealand Experience


• Political Commitment And Policies


• Professional Development


• Progressing Emergency Management Reform in New Zealand


• Redesigning Emergency Management: Applying Principles And Practices In New Zealand


• Safeguarding New Zealand's Future: Emergency Management's Role in Shaping the Nation


• Session 1: Implementing the New Philosophy in New Zealand


• Session 2: Developing The Tools For Emergency Management In New Zealand


• Session 3: Developing The Skill-Base in New Zealand


• Whither The Emergency Manager?

National Crisis Management Centre below the Beehive in Wellington.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)

Miller, M., D. Paton, and D. Johnston. 1999. "Community Vulnerability to Volcanic Hazard Consequences". Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 8, No. 4., pp. 255-260.

Montz, B.E. 1992. "The Effects of Flooding on Residential Property Values in Three New Zealand Communities". Disasters, vol. 16, no. 4 (December), pp. 283-298.

Munro, A.J. 1998. "The Waikato Regional Flood Event of 9-20 July 1998". The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, vol. 1998-2, http://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/reports/ajm1.htm

Natural Hazards New Zealand
"Natural Hazards New Zealand provides an integrated approach to natural hazard management ranging from risk assessment, research, engineering solutions to legal framework strengthening and economic evaluation. We have the capacity and experience to resource and lead major projects at international, national and community levels."

Natural Hazards Centre
"We aim to provide New Zealanders with a single point of contact for the latest research, resources, and scientific expertise. Our strength lies in our multidisciplinary skills and resources for delivering world-class research to emergency and resource managers, the science community, and other stakeholders."

NCCES. 2002. "Climate Change Business Opportunities". Climate-Energy Matters, issue 2, p. 1, NCCES (National Centre for Climate-Energy Solutions), Wellington, New Zealand.

New Zealand Freshwater Floods Literature.
(32 kb in Rich Text Format).

NIWA
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
"To provide a scientific basis for the sustainable management and development of New Zealand’s atmospheric, marine and freshwater systems and associated resources."

NIWA in Wellington.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)

Norman, S. 2004. Proceedings from the NZ Recovery Symposium, 12-13 July 2004. Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, Wellington, New Zealand.

NZAID
New Zealand Agency for International Development / Nga Hoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti
"Our Vision: A safe and just world free of poverty.
Our Mission: Eliminating poverty through effective development partnerships.
Our Key Message: The New Zealand Agency for International Development works with people in developing countries to eliminate poverty."

NZCCO
New Zealand Climate Change Office / Te Tari Rereketanga Ahuarangi o Aotearoa
"A business unit within the Ministry for the Environment. It is responsible for leading the development, coordination and implementation of whole-of-government climate change policy."

NZCCO. 2001 (June). Climate Change Impacts on New Zealand, Ref. ME396. NZCCO (New Zealand Climate Change Office), Wellington, New Zealand.

NZSFRM
New Zealand Society for Risk Management Inc.
"Improving the knowledge and practice of risk management in NZ."

Optimx. 2002 (August). Waiho River Flooding Risk Assessment for Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management. Report 80295/2.

Paton, D., D. Johnston, and B.F. Houghton. 1998. "Organisational Response to a Volcanic Eruption". Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 7, No. 1., pp. 5-13.

Resilient Organisations
"A six year research project designed to assist New Zealand organisations to recover economic competitiveness after hazard events by improving their resilience."

Ronan, K.R. 1997. "The Effects of a 'Benign' Disaster: Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress in Children Following a Series of Volcanic Eruptions". The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, vol. 1997-1, http://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/1997-1/ronan1.htm

Rouse, H.L., T.J. Day, and T.R.H. Davies. 2001. "The Transit New Zealand Waiho Workshop", pp. 633-642 in M.P. Mosley (ed.), Gravel-bed Rivers V, The New Zealand Hydrological Society, Wellington, New Zealand.

Taig, T. 2002 (October). Ruapehu Lahar Residual Risk Assessment. A report produced for the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, New Zealand.

Tate, K.R., D.J. Giltrap, A. Parshotam, A.E. Hewitt, D.J. Ross, G.J. Kenny, and R.A. Warrick. 1996. "Impacts of Climate Change on Soils and Land Systems in New Zealand". pp. 190-204 in W.J. Bouma, G.I. Pearman, and M.R. Manning (eds.), Greenhouse: Coping with Climate Change, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), Australia.

University of Canterbury, Natural Hazards Research Centre
The centre has research programmes related to studies of active tectonics and earthquakes, landscape evolution modelling, land-use planning, urban vulnerability to volcanic eruptions, surveillance of active volcanoes and health risks from eruptions.

USAR
New Zealand Urban Search and Rescue
"Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) is a vital part of New Zealand's multi-agency response capability for dealing with urban emergencies. USAR involves the location and rescue of people trapped following a structural collapse arising, e.g. from a single building collapse, or as a result of a major landslide or earthquake. USAR combines the capabilities of New Zealand's emergency services and combines specialist technical task-forces with local community volunteer rescue teams."

Whetton, P., A.B. Mullan, and A.B. Pittock. 1996. "Climate-Change Scenarios for Australia and New Zealand". pp. 145-168 in W.J. Bouma, G.I. Pearman, and M.R. Manning (eds.), Greenhouse: Coping with Climate Change, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), Australia.

Avalanches in the Southern Alps.
(Copyright Ilan Kelman 2004.)

Contact Island Vulnerability.

The material on the Island Vulnerability website is provided as only an information source. Neither definitive advice nor recommendations are implied. Each person or organisation accessing the website is responsible for making their own assessment of the topics discussed and are strongly advised to verify all information. No liability will be accepted for loss or damage incurred as a result of using the material on this website. The appearance of external links on this website does not constitute endorsement of the organisations, information, products, or services contained on that external website.