Te Whaitua o Kāpiti presented its Whaitua Implementation Programme to Greater Wellington Regional Council at Raukawa Marae in Ōtaki yesterday.
The programme sets out its vision of healthy waterways and thriving communities using a combination of mātauranga Māori and Western science.
Te Whaitua o Kāpiti is a 12-member committee and was established in 2022. It is made up of six mana whenua representatives from Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki, Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, along with six community representatives, including councillors from Greater Wellington and Kāpiti Coast District Council.
Committee member and Kāpiti regional councillor Penny Gaylor said the programme is a response 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. We are united in our desire for clean waterways that sustain our lives and livelihoods. Restoring the district’s waterways is vital for maintaining the identities of mana whenua and the community’s connection with the environment.”
Kāwanatanga House Taurite and former Kāpiti mayor Jenny Rowan said a collaborative spirit was brought to the Whaitua Kāpiti process to address the community concerns.
“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 this programme, western science and mātauranga Māori were interwoven, bringing community and mana whenua together to share a vision for freshwater management.
Aroha Spinks.
“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.”
Rowan said Te Whaitua o Kāpiti recommendations are unique as they 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 descent, said developing the programme through the model’s Mana Whenua, Kawanatanga and Tiriti houses ensured “true partnership”.
“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. 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.
“Kāpiti streams and lakes are degraded – their mauri (life force) waning. Our rivers are un-swimmable, full of sediment, and their mana diminished. 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.”
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
Addressing water allocation and setting environmental flows and limits
The programme is also designed to give effect to the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management.
