Water Stewardship

South Island iwi Ngāi Tahu are the tangata whenua of the area where our Manapōuri and Waitaki hydro schemes are located. We and Ngāi Tahu invest time and effort in understanding each other’s views and long term aspirations, particularly in regard to water management issues, including mahinga kai.

Ngāi Tahu play an integral role in the eel trap and transfer activities in the Waitaki and Manapōuri catchments.

We work constructively with the Government on any changes to fresh water management in New Zealand.

We have provided submissions on the 2014 amendment to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, which gave further direction on how regional councils manage fresh water in order to maintain and improve water quality.

We have also contributed to proposals to reform the Resource Management Act, the primary statute governing water management.

We work closely with the Canterbury Water Management Committees both at a regional and local zone level. 

The committees implement the Canterbury Water Management Strategy and work to harmonise a range of different regional priorities, including hydro electricity generation, irrigation, cultural, recreational and environmental interests.

We are a member of the national Land and Water Forum.

The forum includes primary industry groups, environmental and recreational non-government organisations, iwi and other interested parties and helps to inform government water policy. 

The forum has produced four reports containing recommendations on how New Zealand’s fresh water management could be reformed, and on which some of the Government’s reforms have been based.