New strategic approach for kaitiaki role

PKW’s commitment to its role as kaitiaki of the awa and whenua is taking a more focused approach with the development of a Kaitiakitanga strategy.

The organisation has always been proud to care for its lands by ensuring it complies with environmental legislation, and now plans to use that work as a platform to launch a focused operational framework of projects that will enable the mauri of Papatūānuku to prosper.

“This strategic approach brings a progressive and forward-looking focus to our desire to reconnect our people with the land and the resources it holds while running an environmentally sustainable business with Māori tikanga at its heart,” says Mitchell Ritai, General Manager Shareholder Engagement. “Developed as a result of the kōrero with kaumātua and shareholders about what they felt needed to be done and what their expectations of us as kaitiaki were, this set of commitments lays down our areas of priority for the next 15 years so as to lay the foundations for the next 15 years after that.”

The strategy is not designed to be a quick-fix, short-term approach to perceived issues that may bring limited benefits. A more long-term view is being taken to ensure the health and vitality of the land, rivers and streams continues for many years, and generations, to come.

“One of the clear messages we received from the shareholders’ survey was the need for our people and their whānau to reconnect with the land through the cultural harvesting of taonga such as harekeke (flax),” says Mitchell. “But it’s not as easy as just opening the gates. We need to know what taonga we have on our land and in our waterways so we can identify where populations may need support or regeneration to ensure access will be sustainable in the future.”

In view of this, the first projects to be launched as part of the strategy will provide a baseline set of data that maps out the current situation.

Monitoring will be carried out along several waterways across the 27 PKWmanaged farms to measure water quality. The results will form a starting point to help determine what the next steps will be. An audit of culturally important flora and fauna will also take place, enabling data to be added to the anecdotal accounts of where taonga species are, or used to be.

The data collected will give a clearer picture of what is happening and help identify what needs to be measured over time, so any changes – good or bad – can be monitored.

“We are hopeful that we will find those really important species such as īnanga (whitebait), piharau (lamprey), kōura (freshwater crayfish) and kākahi (freshwater mussels), which will tell their own stories of the ecosystems where they live,” says Mitchell.

The practical aspects of carrying out the data collection are being explored now so work can begin in October one of the identified months for environmental monitoring. A second survey will be carried out in March 2020.

The identification of historical and significant wāhi tapu is the focus of another project beginning this year.

“The aim is to find out where these culturally important places are and collect as much information about them as possible to share with our whānau,” says Mitchell. “We want to be a repository of the kōrero about these places so that they do not become lost or forgotten. Some sites will be well-known, others will be part of a whānau whakapapa, and all are important.”

Knowing where wāhi tapu are, and the stories behind them, will help our owners forge a reconnection with these sites of significance and with the whenua.

“The importance of the whenua and the taonga that live there is a vital aspect of our culture and so plays a major part in defining who we are as a people,” says Mitchell. “We stand proud in our role as kaitiaki and look forward to the benefits that the projects will produce.”