Under the new Planning and Natural Environment Bills, how will Auckland maintain or increase its urban tree canopy cover — currently uneven and below targets in many areas — without stronger mechanisms to protect notable trees on private land?

Q.6.1 — Environment

Under the new Planning and Natural Environment Bills, which emphasise property rights and development enablement, how will Auckland maintain or increase its urban tree canopy cover — currently uneven and below targets in many areas (e.g., South Auckland local boards under 15%) — without stronger mechanisms to protect notable trees on private land?

The city's Urban Ngahere Strategy aims to lift the regional urban canopy cover from an estimated 18 percent to 30 percent by 2050, while ensuring no local board area drops below 15 percent. Yet South Auckland suburbs such as parts of Māngere-Ōtāhuhu have recorded coverage as low as 8 percent. Roughly 61 percent of the existing canopy lies on private land, making retention in those areas especially important yet more difficult under the evolving rules.

The new bills limit the regulatory tools councils have traditionally used to protect notable trees on private land, and interim government measures led to the withdrawal of Plan Change 113, which would have added hundreds of additional notable trees to the Auckland Unitary Plan schedule. Auckland is shifting focus toward proactive growth on public land — strategic planting in parks, reserves, and street berms, with particular attention to low-canopy suburbs in South Auckland.