The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

How Te Mana o te Wai will affect farmers

The Country
18 Nov, 2020 10:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Photo / File
Photo / File

Photo / File

Te Mana o te Wai underpins the National Policy for Freshwater Management which was announced in August.

This concept puts the highest value on the health of freshwater ecosystems throughout New Zealand and will have a significant impact on farmers.

Te Mana o te Wai refers to the mana of water and emphasises the need for waterways to be kept healthy for their own sake.

The policy states that by protecting and prioritising the health of water - the wellbeing of the wider environment is protected.

A specific hierarchy is established in the policy where the health and wellbeing of water bodies and freshwater ecosystems are placed first, followed by the health needs of people (i.e. – drinking water) and third, the ability of people and communities to provide for their social, economic and culture wellbeing now and in the future.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In this system, water is prioritised over all the other pillars of development.

Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL) environmental manager Paul Reese said prioritising water was a paradigm shift from the previous four pillars - environmental, cultural, economic, and social being - which were considered in parallel.

It represented a massive shift in how water was managed, and this flowed through to the positive action farmers will need to demonstrate on-farm.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's a huge change with water being put first above everything else. In terms of what we need to do on farm, we will have to prove that we are making positive improvements to our waterways and these cannot be offset or delayed. Every action taken by farmers will have to put water first."

"It will add cost and time to our scheme, FEPs (Farm Environment Plans) and audit processes. Whether we like it or not this is the reality we are dealing with and we must make sure that everything we do aligns with the new policy. Some of the actions identifying in the FEPs which could previously be worked on over time will have to be prioritised."

However, Reese said it was important to note that the new policy also provided an opportunity to create an expanded and interconnected view of the entire network and district, which built upon the work already completed by WIL biodiversity lead Dan Cameron.

"We can also view this as an opportunity to lift up the helicopter and create a vision for our district where we work together with other groups to drive the improvement of all of the waterways which run through our catchment.

Discover more

Opinion: Why freshwater regulations need a fresh start

18 Nov 02:45 AM

Freshwater rules won't work for West Coast - Regional councillor

16 Nov 02:45 AM

Farmers continue protest momentum with group, petition

17 Nov 02:30 AM

Feds high country chairman says freshwater policy 'unworkable'

05 Nov 02:30 AM

"It's an opportunity for WIL to engage with the broader community and create a positive narrative through our engagement and actions."

Reese said there will be plenty of support available to WIL shareholders and that the current focus was on upgrading FEP templates to ensure that these captured the essence of Te Mana o te Wai.

"We have some workshops coming up which will provide an opportunity to learn more from a cultural aspect and we'll also be working with farmers to see how this new policy impacts them on an individual farm level and also as a collective."

GET THE BEST RURAL NEWS. SIGN UP FOR THE COUNTRY NEWSLETTER
Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Vege tips: Daikon radishes and pickled vegetables

The Country

From school caretaker to blueberry farmer

OpinionGlenn Dwight

Glenn Dwight: No Wi-Fi, no worries - remembering holidays of old


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Black Caps hold on in thriller, defeat Proteas to claim T20 Tri-series
Black Caps

Black Caps hold on in thriller, defeat Proteas to claim T20 Tri-series

Last-gasp Lions try sees Australia surrender test series in Melbourne
Rugby

Last-gasp Lions try sees Australia surrender test series in Melbourne

Lawson takes top-10 finish in Formula 1's Belgium sprint race
Formula 1

Lawson takes top-10 finish in Formula 1's Belgium sprint race

Fire crews extinguish blaze at smoke-logged Mitre 10 Westgate
New Zealand

Fire crews extinguish blaze at smoke-logged Mitre 10 Westgate

Auckland Lotto player wins $1m, Powerball jackpots to $12m
New Zealand

Auckland Lotto player wins $1m, Powerball jackpots to $12m

How a prison guard's phone favour for an inmate led to a brutal attack
Crime

How a prison guard's phone favour for an inmate led to a brutal attack



Latest from The Country

Vege tips: Daikon radishes and pickled vegetables
The Country

Vege tips: Daikon radishes and pickled vegetables

OPINION: If you haven’t tried daikon radish in your pickles, you're missing out.

26 Jul 05:00 PM
From school caretaker to blueberry farmer
The Country

From school caretaker to blueberry farmer

26 Jul 05:00 PM
Glenn Dwight: No Wi-Fi, no worries - remembering holidays of old
Glenn Dwight
OpinionGlenn Dwight

Glenn Dwight: No Wi-Fi, no worries - remembering holidays of old

26 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search