Tūtapa ki runga, Tūtapa ki raro, Tū mai rā te pito o te ora kia māhorahora te pito whenua - New name and new approach for PKW's land management plan

A ‘deep dive’ re-assessment of how its 360 parcels of land are being utilised will be an important step in charting the future for Parininihi ki Waitōtara (PKW).

Richard Buttimore, Te Rau Whakahono Pito / General Manager Property, has been engaged with the organisation’s Land Management Plan for well over a year, and says it should be ready for implementation by the end of the year.

A draft whenua policy statement has been prepared which will be put before the Audit and Risk Committee and the Committee of Management for approval.

“The process is drawing to an end,” says Richard. “There are a few formalities and a few things to finalise with possibly some amendments to shape the final plan.”

The mahi has involved a significant workload for Richard and has seen him out and about across PKW’s 21,000 hectares of land. He has also made use of online tools as he assessed how various areas can be developed to provide the best outcome for the organisation.

While the final plan will be a high-level strategic document, he has done ‘a deep dive on each individual parcel’.

A classification matrix has been used to assess each section, but for Richard it is about asking the fundamental question of ‘What is the best use for this land? What could it become?’

The Land Management Plan has been named Whakahonoa te Pito to reflect the responsibility of PKW to restore and preserve the connection between shareholders, their whānau and their whenua tūpuna.

“This builds off the tradition of burying the whenua (afterbirth) to strengthen whakapapa links to the land, so the name aspires to regenerate and revitalise the shareholders’ connection through whakapapa kōrero and whakapapa tangata.”

The original Land Management Plan – which is still operative, though with some adjustments over the years – was put together in 1998.

“That plan was premised on dairy farming which was the key area of business growth at the time. Of course, we still do that, and we are good at it, but now we are looking at a number of alternative options for land use.”

Diversification has become a significant focus for PKW with forestry, horticulture, apiculture and alternative sources of energy – solar and wind power – all on the radar.

An important aspect of Whakahonoa te Pito, says Richard, is identifying priority leasehold parcels of land to buy.

“We are looking at future acquisitions and which leasehold parcels should be prioritised for acquisition that will add material value to the Incorporation in the medium to long term.”

“Owning all of the leasehold interests over our Corpus Whenua is still the intergenerational goal, but we have limited capital and cannot buy them all in the short to medium term.”

Environmental factors have a major part to play.

“Sustainability is an important lens. We are assessing what is the best use for the land … what it can sustain; what purpose each parcel of land can best support.”

“As an Incorporation, we are also working through a climate change resilience plan and that could influence which land use direction we take.”

“And, of course, we consider what income the land will generate, so the commercial viewpoint is a key focus.”