Whakarongo ki te wai o Waitaha
Client
Te Kapu Ō Waitaha
Experts
Lara Taylor (E Oho! Awakening Aotearoa)
Te Kapu Ō Waitaha requested expert support to address the languishing state and Te Mana o te Wai of their tīpuna awa (ancestral river) and its many tributaries. These culturally significant water bodies are on the decline due to a multitude of land use activities and impacts within the catchment.
Specifically, Waitaha sought help to revitalise the mauri of the awa by improving the water quality and surrounding whenua of Te Raparapa-ā-Hoe (one of eight tīpuna awa). Waitaha iwi whānui are concerned about the wellbeing of Te Raparapa-ā-Hoe and the flow on effect to their people.
Through A2E’s guidance, Lara Taylor (E Oho! Awakening Aotearoa) worked with Waitaha whānau Ted Whare and Rangituaia Walker to identify their needs, aspirations, issues, and opportunities for monitoring their tīpuna awa. Lara facilitated an in-person hui to confirm ten monitoring sites, alongside Ted and Rangituaia as lead freshwater kaimahi. These ten sites will be intensively monitored for a period of 12 months to develop the baseline state of this awa.
Lara also developed an action plan with clear next steps, to guide ongoing iwi engagement with and implementation of the Essential Freshwater policy. The plan was created with careful consideration of current Waitaha capability and capacity. The plan offers several recommendations to assist and support growth in these two areas.
The action plan was complemented by a range of networking and capability building opportunities, with a focus on eDNA testing, development of a potential digital monitoring platform, and attendance by the Waitaha team at the annual hui Papa Pounamu event in Kirikiroa / Hamilton (part of the NZ Planning Institute Conference); freshwater planning, monitoring, care, and partnerships being key focuses of the events.
The action plan provides Te Kapu Ō Waitaha with practical next steps that will support their focus – improving Te Raparapa-ā-Hoe health and establishing a model that can be applied throughout their catchment and rohe. In time, the overall mana and mauri of the entire catchment, rohe and Waitaha whānui will improve.
Excitingly, an additional opportunity was identified to build upon this work, with continued support from A2E. This next phase will involve working alongside Waitaha to develop a cultural monitoring platform and app, which will provide an appropriate mechanism to capture, store, interpret, visualise, and communicate freshwater data monitoring and management in the long term.
Kaiate Falls, photo supplied by Te Kapu Ō Waitaha.