Te Whaitua o Kāpiti has presented its Whaitua Implementation Programme to Greater Wellington Regional Councilat Raukawa Marae in Ōtaki.
The programme sets out its vision of healthy waterways and thriving communities.
The programme combines mātauranga Māori and western science.
Te Whaitua o Kāpiti committee was established in 2022. The 12 members include six mana whenua representatives from Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki, Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and six community representatives, including councillors from Greater Wellington Regional Council and Kāpiti Coast District Council.
Te Whaitua o Kāpiti recommendations were developed through the Tiriti House model designed by Professor Whatarangi Winiata of Ngāti Raukawa as a framework for collaboration and decision-making.
Mana Whenua House Taurite Aroha Spinks of Ngāti Raukawa, (Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki) said developing the programme through the model’s mana whenua, kawanatanga and Tiriti houses ensured “true partnership”.
‘Acute threat’ of climate change
“In the spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the model is a framework for equal partnership and decision making, which we used to set a clear direction for returning Kāpiti waterways to health,” Spinks said.
“To make this programme, we brought together under one roof a firm understanding of the acute threat of climate change with solutions from our traditional knowledge of rivers, floodplains, wetlands, forests and coastal dunes.”
Spinks said the mana of the waterways was diminished, as Kāpiti streams and lakes were degraded, rivers made unswimmable and full of sediment.
“Our programme aligns the management of freshwater with the fundamental concept of Te Mana o te Wai, to restore the balance between the environment and the needs of the community.”
Committee member and Kāpiti Coast regional councillor Penny Gaylor said the programme responded to an urgent cry for help and action.
“This programme aims to restore the waters of Kāpiti to once again nurture the land and people, as it flows from the mountains to the sea,” Gaylor said.
“We are united in our desire for clean waterways that sustain our lives and livelihoods.”
Gaylor said restoring the district’s waterways was vital for maintaining the identities of mana whenua and the community’s connection with the environment.
Kāwanatanga house taurite and former Kāpiti Coast district vmayor Jenny Rowan said a collaborative spirit was brought to the Whaitua Kāpiti process to address community concerns.
‘Drinkable and swimmable’
“Three hundred responses from local residents to a 2022 survey helped to shape the programme, with their desire for waterways from which we can drink and swim in,” Rowan said.
“In this programme, western science and mātauranga Māori were interwoven, bringing community and mana whenua together to share a vision for freshwater management.
“Greater Wellington will now move to an implementation phase to carry the programme’s recommendations forward, as we continue to work closely with the Kāpiti Coast District Council, community, and mana whenua.”
The programme’s recommendations include:
- upholding and achieving the committee’s expression of Te Mana o te Wai in Kāpiti;
- developing a revised monitoring framework in partnership between mana whenua and Greater Wellington, including cultural and mahinga kai practices;
- reconnecting the wider community with their wai,
- habitat restoration and the protection of wetlands and estuaries; and
- addressing water allocation and setting environmental flows and limits.
