Assessing the vulnerability of our freshwater taonga species to a changing climate

To understand better how our taonga are going to be affected, we collaborated with NIWA to undertake an analysis of existing literature on the effects of climate change on our freshwater fish, and NIWA then used an internationally recognised method to assess the vulnerability of our taonga to a changing climate.

Taonga species exposure to climate change varies nationally and therefore each species will respond to climate change differently depending on where they are located and their unique set of characteristics (e.g., spawning duration or dispersal abilities). This document summarises the results of a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) done for 10 freshwater taonga species (eight fish and two invertebrates). The CCVA methodology is used internationally and has been completed for a wide range of species including birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, invertebrates, marine and freshwater fishes. This study is the first application of CCVAs to freshwater taonga species in Aotearoa– New Zealand.

To order physical copies of the Non- Technical Summary Report or the Supplementary Appendix 1: Species Profiles – please contact us at info@waimaori.maori.nz or click the thumbnails below to open and download the digital versions of each report.

Reports