Ngāti Maru taku hau tapu, taku hau maru

Sharing the kaupapa to protect the taiao of mangaopa

As a young man, Anaru Marshall hunted with friends and members of his whānau in heavily forested Ngāti Maru whenua alongside the river and streams of the Upper Waitara catchment.

In those days it was not unusual to pull two thousand piharau (lamprey eels) out of the river a couple of times a year, with no impact on numbers, he recalls.

“Today you could put your nets out and you might get five. The way forestry was originally executed has contributed to the depletion. We can see where some of the streams have filled up with silt, damaging the piharau spawning grounds,” says Anaru, now the Tumu Wakarae o Te Kāhui Maru.

Paraninihi ki Waitōtara, now the sole owner of the 400-hectare Mangaoapa Forest, is working closely with Te Kāhui Maru to ensure damage is minimised and taonga species like piharau are protected.

“It’s great to engage with PKW and have a conversation that’s more than just about the commercial wellbeing of the balance sheet. We’re talking about the wellbeing of the whole forest environment,” says Anaru.

Ngāti Maru led an on-site blessing before work began on felling the radiata pine crop last November. And before that, they helped with the criteria for the logging tender.

PKW prioritised conditions like staying clear of waterways while the piharau were spawning. Another proviso for potential contractors was the protection of kiwi.

Richard Buttimore, Te Rau Whakahono Pito / GM Property for PKW, says New Zealand Forestry, the harvest manager, had to be on board with this kaupapa.

“We currently have six kiwi fitted with transmitters. They’re all partnered and forestry staff actively monitor their locations on our behalf as part of our Kiwi Project.”

The peak of nesting occurs through July to November with eggs usually taking 70 – 80 days to incubate.

“We don’t know how kiwi behave during harvesting so we’re monitoring them constantly. We assume they won’t move if they’re on an egg. But we just don’t know how close is too close, whether they’ll bunker down or try to hide,” Richard says, adding that all the research findings will be shared with the industry.

Once widespread, the numbers of Western Brown Kiwi have reduced over the last 40 years with the main populations found in Taranaki and Whanganui hill country across to Tongariro.

Ngāti Maru are committed to safeguarding the kiwi living in their rohe. They’ve been active in kiwi conservation for 25 years, particularly in partnership with the East Taranaki Environment Collective around Pūrangi and Pukemāhoe and, more recently, in an alliance with Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Mutunga.

“We’ve sent kiwi from here up to Maungatautari (Sanctuary Mountain in Pukeatua, Waikato). They’ve bred them and sent young ones out to repopulate areas where numbers drop off,” says Anaru. He is proud of their role in moving the kiwi off the endangered list.

Another way to protect taonga species is to improve the state of the taiao. With harvesting of the Mangaoapa Forest underway and expected to take another two to three years, PKW is already turning its mind to opportunities the next phase may offer.

“Come next year we’ll have to replant everything we’ve harvested up until Christmas this year. We want to develop a planting plan with Ngāti Maru, to achieve their outcomes too, then work with them on propagation and planting,” says Richard.

Some of the 300-hectare crop, planted in 1992, is on unpredictable soils, steep contours or close to waterways. Richard calculates about a quarter may not warrant a second rotation. What happens to that whenua will be part of the kōrero with Ngāti Maru.

“There are other ways of leveraging outcomes from the land without damaging it. It may be replanting native species, taking a more long-term view,” says Anaru.

Almost landless before their 2022 settlement which returned nearly 5000 hectares, a key kaupapa for Ngāti Maru is support for the taiao.

“When rangatahi are working on the whenua it’s not just the reward of planting. It’s working on the land that was once ours and was lost, knowing we’re still here and the land’s still here and we’re still connected.”

“It’s good to have a relationship with forest owners – PKW – who share the same kaupapa and vision for the whenua, awa and ngahere.”