Nga Pakihihi Whakatekateka O Waitaha CWMS
MANA WHENUA
Presentation to the Selwyn Waihora Zone Committee
Tuesday 5th April 2011
Iwi – Ngai Tahu Whanui
Nga Hapu – Ngai Tahu
Whanau – the heart of hapu
Mihi
Nga Papatipu Runanga
Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu
Individual Hapu – Incorporated Societies / Charitable Trust
Nga Pakihihi Whakatekateka O Waitaha CWMS
TAKIWA – BOUNDARIES
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Treaty of Waitangi 1840
Kemp’s Deed 1848
Creation of various Maori Reserve
Waitaki River in the south to Kaikoura in the north -Te
Parinui o Whiti (Vernon Bluffs)
CULTURAL VALUES
• “Mo tatou me nga uri e whai ake nei”
– For this and future generations
• Kaitiakitanga
– Resource Management
 Healthy Water, Healthy Land, Healthy People
• Whakapapa
– Relationships; Ki Uta Ki Tai
• Mana Whenua / Mana Moana
– Rights & Responsibilities
• Mahinga Kai
– Wellbeing of whanau & hapu
KAITIAKITANGA
 A practice governed by a highly developed system of Matauranga Maori
(iunderstanding of the natural world) and Tikanga (values based decisons and
leadership).
 Key objective  to sustain the resources we all depend upon and thereby
enhance the integrity of life (balanced well-beings).
 Fundamental Premise  Land (Papatuanuku) and Water (Tangaroa) sustain
people. People must therefore sustain land & water for present & future wellbeing. We must make sure that our actions do not compromise the life supporting
capacity of the environment.
 Expressions of Kaitiakitanga  (a) Iwi Management Plans (e.g. Te Whakatau
Kaupapa 1990, Ngai Tahu Fresh Water Policy 2002) i.e. statements of iwi/hapu
policies for the sustanable management of natural resources consistent with
iwi/hapu values; (b) Cultural Health Index / State of the Takiwa i.e. Fresh-water
Monitoring & Assessments tools and programmes; (c) South Island Customary
Fisheries Regulations e.g. mataitai & taiapure reserves; (d) Rahui; (e) Species
translocations; (f) Courts & Tribunals (Hunter Downs Irrigation); etc...
KAITIAKITANGA
 Scope  kaitiakitanga can be applied broadly or specifically (e.g. From
catchment based land & water management to species specific care &
protection). It can be specific or overarching. It all depends on the context.
Regardless of context, it is essential to recognise the inter-connectedness
between the different elements of the environment.
 Long Term Focussed Planning  Thinking ahead is a central pillar to
traditional natural resource management. Our children are our greatest
resource. We must plan for their well-being.
 Inherited Responsibility  Customary rights to use resources are
premised on customary responsibilities to protect, sustain and/or
enhance. Difficult (impossible?) when not at decision making table.
MAURI
• All things are considered to have mauri – i.e. the energy / capacity to help
create & sustain life).
• Mauri is the traditional key environmental ‘performance’ indicator.
• The absence/presence/strength of the mauri for any given environment
indicates the physical and spiritual health of that environment.
• An assessment of mauri informs how to manage that environment.
• Expressions of mauri-based resource management – House of Tahu.
WELL BEING OF OUR PEOPLE
• Core value that underpins management and decision making.
• Well being is understood holistically:
1.
Taha wairua (spiritual health)
2.
Taha hinengaro (mental health)
3.
Taha tinana (physical health)
4.
Taha whanaungatanga (strong families, healthy communities)
• Policy development and implementation in all services, including natural
resource management, must ensure the well being of our people.
MANA TUPUNA
• You cannot know where you are going to, without knowing where you
come from.
• Important to ensure that the knowledge of our ancestors is passed on and
reflected in the management of natural resources today – mistakes and
successes.
• Upholding this mana is about honouring the traditions and tikanga of
those that came before.
• Challenge is to find ways of applying intergenerational knowledge to
contemporary contexts.
WAAHI TAPU, WAAHI TAONGA
• Waahi tapu  place under tapu (restriction, sanctity)
• Waahi taonga  places treasured for their assocaiation and fundamental
significance to:
– Natural heritage (e.g. place names, purakau/stories, ara
tawhito/ancestral trails, kaainga/villages & paa sites, urupa/burial
sites); and
– Culturtal heritage (e.g. wetlands, riparian margins, coastal lagoons
estuaries & river mouths, springs, etc...)
• The protection of waahi tapu and waahi taonga is a principle that
underpins traditional natural resource related decisions due to their
fundamental role in sustaining a balanced healthy environment.
WAAHI TAPU, WAAHI TAONGA
• These taonga have been valued and left to us, to maintain our presence on
this landscape. This includes matauranga taiao / knowledge of the
environment. Specialised knowledge, customs, practices and protocols
have been passed down by our tupuna/ancestors They have been
determinbed to help ensure the ongoing sustainability of local resources.
• Rahui, mataitai, taiapure are examples of customary management
practices, developed and used by our tupuna and which are still used in at
a least a modified form today.
WATER
DIFFERENT PROPERTIES & CHARACTERISTICS, DIFFERENT USES
For example:
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Waiora – Pure water. Contains the source of life and nurtures spiritual and
physical wellbeing.
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Wai Maori – is water in a normal and healthy state; water becomes wai maori
when it comes into unprotected contact with humans. It has a mauri (which is
generally benevolent) and which can be controlled by ritual.
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Waikino – is water which has been polluted or debased, spoilt or corrupted.
In waikino the mauri has been altered so that the supernatural forces are nonselective and can cause harm to anyone
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Waimate – is water that has lost its mauri or life force and has the potential to
cause ill fortune, contamination or distress to the mauri of other living things,
including people, their kaimoana or their agriculture. The subtle differences
between waikino and waimate are based on the continued existence of a
mauri (albeit damaged) in the former, and its total loss in the latter.
VALUES & RIVERS
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Mauri – Point and non-point discharges impact and erode the mauri. Flows affect
mauri. Flow regime must ensure life supporting capacity is maintained. Natural
character and flow variability is part of the life essence of the river. Maintaining
water quality is part of respecting the river. Protect, enhance & sustain strategic
features of our environment to help nature help us.
Wetlands – Reduced flows, land use and drainage have reduced the number of
wetlands associated with rivers and tributaries. Adequate flows are needed to
maintain any remnant wetlands. Wetlands are linked to water quality in their
functions as filtering water, they are the ‘kidneys’ of the land.
Springs – In some places, river flows are directly linked to waipuna. The flow of
waipuna (or lack of) may be used as an indicator of river health.
Riparian Areas – Healthy riparian areas, and the indigenous species associated
with them, require good water quality and sufficient flow. Reduced flows result in
encroachment of introduced plants (invasion) into a riverbed.
VALUES & RIVERS
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Coastal Lagoons & Estuaries - these are the key indicators of the health / mauri of
the whole river. They are vital areas for sustaining mahinga kai species, many of
which require access to and from the ocean. flow conditions are directly related to
the nature and extent of river flows into the sea and to maintaining the balance of
freshwater saltwater mix.
Mahinga Kai – Certain fish species will require certain levels of flow for migration
and spawning. Temperature and water quality (and other ecological conditions)
create distinctive habitats for species. Flood events as part of anatural hydrologic
regime are necessary to maintain vegetation free gravel bars in the river channel
for nesting birds. When water demand is highest is often when fish need the water
the most.
Wahi tapu/wahi taonga – Change in flow can either flood or expose wahi tapu
such as pa sites, middens, ovens, urupa or water burial sites. Rivers and their
tributaries are considered wahi taonga and thus sufficient flow and water quality
must be maintained.
Wahi ingoa/place names - Place names often describe the physical environment,
such as specific characteristics or uses associated with a waterway. Such
characteristics or use may be dependent on particular flow and water quality.
KAITIAKITANGA
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Ensuring that values associated with the river are protected is a key aspect of
kaitiakitanga and the rights and responsibilities that characterise the
relationship between TW and rivers.
Restoration of the ability of TW to effectively participate in freshwater
resource management (in partnership and other agencies) is part of
recognising and providing for Kaitiakitanga.
The essence of Kaitiakitanga is encapsulated in following whakatauki
(traditional proverb/axiom)
Toi Tu Te Marae o Tangaroa
Toi Tu Te Marae o Tane
Toi Tu Te Iwi
Healthy Water
Healthy Land
Healthy People