Understanding seascapes
By James Bentley and Sue McManaway, Boffa Miskell
The sea, as a connected and contrasting element to the land, forms a critical part of our understanding of the world, and our place within it. As such, our understanding of landscape does not stop at the beach. Seascape is the term that embraces this expanded view of the natural surroundings.
Whilst the term seascape is not new in New Zealand, it is little-understood. Seascapes are a sub-set of the landscapes that make up our marine and coastal environments; like landscape, they reflect the relationship between people and place.
Seascape assessment is becoming more important globally as we recognise its environmental, economic and recreational significance.
Landscape is defined by the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA) in Te Tangi a te Manu as the following:
“Embodies the relationships between people and places: It is an area’s collective physical attributes, how they are perceived, and what they mean for people.”
The term ‘seascape’ has some traction because it is referred to in the ‘New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement’ (NZCPS) Policy 15, as noted above, which directs:
“the protection of natural features and natural landscapes (including seascapes) of the coastal environment from inappropriate subdivision, use and development…”
Overseas guidance on seascape assessments and seascape sensitivity have assisted in approaches to better understanding the sea from a landscape perspective in New Zealand, to date. However, in New Zealand, the understanding of landscape retains a distinctly unique approach, seeking alignment between Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākehā streams of landscape assessment. Cultural dimensions to the meaning of landscapes enrich what our landscapes mean to us, and our relationship with seascapes, is no different. For example, preliminary findings relating to the presence of cultural associations cannot replace the involvement of contributing iwi in the validation and decision-making process.
Living on a group of islands, inevitably we have strong links with the coast and sea; seascapes are an important part of our culture, our identities, and they support our economies and quality of life. Therefore, the pressure for development on our coasts and in our oceans is a real issue which means the need to understand these coastal and marine environments from a landscape perspective, is both urgent and complex.
Drawing on the well-established Landscape Assessment tool, ‘seascape assessment’ is emerging as a method for characterising, mapping, describing and assessing seascape character and values, including whether there are areas that merit specific protection from “inappropriate subdivision, use and development” under the RMA and the NZCPS.
The way in which a landscape or seascape can absorb further change or development is described as the seascape’s sensitivity, or its resilience to the pressures or ‘threats’ from certain kinds of activity. Sensitivity means “the susceptibility of a landscape’s values to the potential effects of certain kinds of activity” (Te Tangi a Te Manu, 2021).
Different seascapes will be sensitive to different pressures due to the differences in their particular combination of attributes and values. Therefore, the ability to understand the characteristics and values of New Zealand seascapes is critical.
Aquaculture is one of the common development activities in New Zealand waters; it has grown rapidly and looks set to keep on expanding. The major threat to seascape values is not necessarily the activity itself but its location, nature, scale, design or management.
A Seascape Study represents a core component of the evidence base needed for coastal and marine spatial planning and policy formulation around aquaculture, not just by identifying the most special or outstanding seascapes, but by teasing out the specific attributes to be protected. Seascape Assessments offer a robust platform for a finer grained ‘susceptibility’ or ‘issue-based’ assessment, (such as a NZCPS Policy 8 assessment of ‘appropriateness’ of aquaculture in ONLs).
In an area considered susceptible to aquaculture pressures for example, findings could address where to site new developments, whether or not existing developments could be increased, or where existing developments should be removed to improve seascape character and values.
While we look at land and can see the changes, we often pay less attention to the marine environment. Seascape studies are helping to fill the gaps in our understanding and guiding how development can respond sensitively to the quality and variety of our coastal landscapes.
Boffa Miskell are actively working in this space for numerous regional councils as well as for individual consents. Pressure for development and change will undoubtedly put the spotlight on our seas, and with critical understanding, we can together appreciate them rather than just the ‘edge’ of the landscape.