Objective 1

To safeguard the integrity, form, functioning and resilience of the coastal environment and sustain its ecosystems, including marine and intertidal areas, estuaries, dunes and land, by:

• maintaining or enhancing natural biological and physical processes in the coastal environment and recognising their dynamic, complex and interdependent nature;
• protecting representative or significant natural ecosystems and sites of biological importance and maintaining the diversity of New Zealand’s indigenous coastal flora and fauna; and
• maintaining coastal water quality, and enhancing it where it has deteriorated from what would otherwise be its natural condition, with significant adverse effects on ecology and habitat, because of discharges associated with human activity.

Objective 2

To preserve the natural character of the coastal environment and protect natural features and landscape values through:

• recognising the characteristics and qualities that contribute to natural character, natural features and landscape values and their location and distribution;
• identifying those areas where various forms of subdivision, use, and development would be inappropriate and protecting them from such activities; and
• encouraging restoration of the coastal environment.

Objective 3

To take account of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, recognise the role of tangata whenua as kaitiaki and provide for tangata whenua involvement in management of the coastal environment by:

• recognising the ongoing and enduring relationship of tangata whenua over their lands, rohe and resources;
• promoting meaningful relationships and interactions between tangata whenua and persons exercising functions and powers under the Act;
• incorporating mātauranga Māori into sustainable management practices; and
• recognising and protecting characteristics of the coastal environment that are of special value to tangata whenua.

Objective 4

To maintain and enhance the public open space qualities and recreation opportunities of the coastal environment by:

• recognising that the coastal marine area is an extensive area of public space for the public to use and enjoy;
• maintaining and enhancing public walking access to and along the coastal marine area without charge, and where there are exceptional reasons that mean this is not practicable providing alternative linking access close to the coastal marine area; and
• recognising the potential for coastal processes, including those likely to be affected by climate change, to restrict access to the coastal environment and the need to ensure that public access is maintained even when the coastal marine area advances inland.

Objective 5

To ensure that coastal hazard risks taking account of climate change, are managed by:

• locating new development away from areas prone to such risks;
• considering responses, including managed retreat, for existing development in this situation; and
• protecting or restoring natural defences to coastal hazards.

Objective 6

To enable people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural wellbeing and their health and safety, through subdivision, use, and development, recognising that:

• the protection of the values of the coastal environment does not preclude use and development in appropriate places and forms, and within appropriate limits;
• some uses and developments which depend upon the use of natural and physical resources in the coastal environment are important to the social, economic and cultural wellbeing of people and communities;
• functionally some uses and developments can only be located on the coast or in the coastal marine area;
• the coastal environment contains renewable energy resources of significant value;
• the protection of habitats of living marine resources contributes to the social, economic and cultural wellbeing of people and communities;
• the potential to protect, use, and develop natural and physical resources in the coastal marine area should not be compromised by activities on land;
• the proportion of the coastal marine area under any formal protection is small and therefore management under the Act is an important means by which the natural resources of the coastal marine area can be protected; and
• historic heritage in the coastal environment is extensive but not fully known, and vulnerable to loss or damage from inappropriate subdivision, use, and development.

Objective 7

To ensure that management of the coastal environment recognises and provides for New Zealand’s international obligations regarding the coastal environment, including the coastal marine area.