Mana whenua and communities to drive recovery plans

Following the 2023 storms, Auckland Council has begun facilitating community-led recovery planning with our three priority communities, impacted communities and mana whenua partners.

But what is community-led recovery planning and why is it so important?

Community-led recovery planning is about looking to the future after an emergency event. It is a community-driven process, where mana whenua and communities identify their aspirations for the future. They decide their key priorities and agree on next steps to make them happen.

"National and international research shows that communities who have a high degree of self-determination, and who contribute actively to the planning and implementation of recovery activities, recovery better and become more resilient,” says Recovery Office Community and Social Recovery Lead, Linda Greenalgh.

“This community planning is driven by mana whenua and communities, for their areas. It’s future-focused and about creating a collective vision after a disaster. It considers immediate priorities such as housing, roading and readiness for future events, alongside longer-term resilience and the impacts of climate change."

Community-led recovery plans are a key outcome of the Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Plan.

Because the impacts of the extreme weather events are being felt very differently across the region, the planning is focusing on:

• Mana whenua: Enabling iwi to exercise kaitiakitanga within their rohe to address the impacts of the severe weather events and to respond to the changing climate. We have partnered with Ngāti Tamaoho, Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Te Ahiwaru, Te Uri o Hau, Ngātiwai, Ngāti Whanaunga, and Ngāti Te Ata. 

• Priority communities: Three-year community-led recovery projects to support priority communities in Māngere, Mount Roskill/Wesley and Henderson/Rānui. These areas were already disadvantaged prior to the events and are more likely to see further social vulnerability. The goal is to enable these communities to lead their own recovery and resilience building efforts.

• Impacted communities: In addition to the above communities, are supporting 23 directly-impacted communities to engage a facilitator to support the development of local recovery plans until November 2025. 

If you’d like to get involved in planning efforts in your community, the table below lists all the communities and groups we’ve funded for local recovery planning. Also for upcoming local events, see our webpage: Key events for storm-affected communities. 

So what will be the council’s role?

Mana whenua and communities themselves will lead the recovery planning process. Auckland Council’s role will be to support this planning, with a focus on building community capability, strengthening networks and communication, and enabling local leadership. 

Once mana whenua and communities have identified their recovery aspirations, the council will support them to implement their ideas and link them into opportunities with a focus on building their capacity.

If you want to know more about local recovery planning, contact communitysocialrecovery@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.

Latest recovery planning activity

See our Recovery News section for localised recovery planning stories, and our latest regional community recovery update story: Locals guiding storm recovery priorities.