Bremen University student enjoying Te Reo studies

Taking beginner courses in Te Reo Māori has been “a big help” for University of Bremen doctoral student Friederike Gesing as she researches coastal erosion in Bay of Plenty communities. Ms Gesing is spending 12 months in New Zealand investigating, from an anthropological perspective, specific communities which are working to mitigate the effects of coastal erosion to their beaches and property.

Te Reo Māori Experience

She says the learning so far has helped her understand some words and concepts in her conversations with people.

“My pronunciation is terrible and I can’t follow a fluent speaker of Te Reo Māori, but as I interview people, it’s a big help to understand some of the words and key expressions for Māori cultural concepts which are commonly expressed in Te Reo. I’ve also learnt a lot about the cultural traditions within communities and the significance of restoration work, especially on former pa sites.”

Intercoast Programme

She is part of a group of students on the Intercoast Programme, a partnership between the Universities of Waikato and Bremen in Germany to study the marine systems of the Bay of Plenty and better understand the significant changes taking place in our coastal environment.

For her doctoral thesis Ms Gesing will build a social picture of the issues communities face around coastal erosion, and the attitudes, values and constraints that feed into local decision-making. She will also critically analyse how policies, including the allocation of funds, translate into everyday practice.

“There are different considerations and solutions for different places and the outcomes may not be the same. I’m interested in how communities grapple with the issues and make the decisions and how they implement them,” she says.

She says governments and local authorities are facing big questions as to what to protect at what cost, and what negative side effects may have to be tolerated.

“These are questions that cannot be answered by science alone, but need a multidisciplinary approach.”

Addressing Coastal Erosion

How to address coastal erosion is a pressing political issue in virtually all countries with a developed coastline and the debate over the use of traditional ‘hard’ protection measures, such as sea walls, versus ‘soft’ options such as the regeneration of sand dunes, has waged for many years in coastal communities.

Ms Gesing says New Zealand will face tough decisions in the future as coastal development increases while climate change scenarios predict sea-level rise, increased erosion and severe weather events.

Specifically, her research will focus on how Bay of Plenty communities are working to implement soft options.

She arrived in New Zealand last November, and since May has been a regular Coast Care volunteer, spending her weekends helping to restore sand dunes around the Waihi Beach, Mt Maunganui, Papamoa, Maketu, Pukehina and Otamarakau regions. Volunteers replant with Spinifex grass and Pingao which help to stabilise the dunes.

Coast Care

“Coast Care has been fantastic for New Zealand but in some communities, dune regeneration may not be an option if properties are built right on the beach front. Some communities are looking at other soft options such as submerged reefs, which help hold sand on the beach. There are many factors to consider and how communities deal with the issues is extremely interesting.”

As well as being actively involved in Coast Care, Ms Gesing is building her research through observation and interviews with volunteers, coastal scientists, policy makers and a raft of other people involved in the issue.

“New Zealand is a small country with limited resources, but its coastal lifestyle and natural amenities are highly valued. The use of hard structures to protect every piece of land affected by coastal erosion will just not be viable in the long term, but innovative ideas like Coast Care are effective and worthwhile, and could definitely be adopted by communities in other countries as well.”

Intercoast is a multidisciplinary programme including natural science, social science and law students. Projects include looking at the impacts of harbour development on ecosystems, protection and utilisation of the harbour and coastline, sediment studies as well as the legal issues surrounding coastal and marine resources, and the social changes taking place in coastal communities.