Environment - Whenua

• Launch of Taiao Taiora - Taranaki Iwi Environmental Management Plan

• Creation and implementation of Kaitiaki Whenua Ranger role

• Creation and implementation of Toa Taiao roles

• Mapping of 123 coastal sites of significance

• Development of Rautaki Tiaki Whenua - Taranaki Iwi Reserve Management Plan

• Responding to at least 100 resource consents and the development of numerous environmental submissions

• Development of Takutai title applications under the Marine and Coastal Areas Act

• DSP offer to Taranaki Uri members

Taiao Taiora

The term Taiao Taiora captures our traditional role of protecting our environment and our environment will sustain us. The Taranaki Iwi Environment management plan draws on our spiritual values that connect us to the land, the sky, the sea and the rivers and remind us of our responsibilities to care for our place.

Taiao Taiora was launched in July 2018 and was two years in planning and engaging with our on the ground kaitiaki. Perception Planning were contracted to lead this work as we developed the draft that focused on what were our priorities in protecting our environment. The cultural lens was based on Taranaki Iwi values and our Atua Māori framework.

The launch at Ōkurukuru was well attended by NPDC, STDC, TRC, DOC and other external agencies that manage activities that impact in our tribal rohe and Taiao Taiora has already proved to be effective for those agencies to understand our position on any environmental issues. We have used this to preface any submissions and circulated to appropriate stakeholders through the consents process.

As with any operational plan they require kaimahi. With the return of 23 cultural sites previously managed by DOC through our settlement package the opportunity to train one of our own in collaboration with DOC as a Kaitiaki Whenua Ranger came about. Wayne Capper was offered the role through our recruitment process in late 2018 and he has had a productive year learning a lot within that environment. After his two years of training he will then work full time for Taranaki Iwi.

Once the kaitiaki role was bedded in we then put in place the implementation of 3 Toa Taiao roles. These roles work in conjunction with our marae pā communities and will act as monitors within their respective marae pā boundaries so we can gather relevant on the ground data of what is happening in our waterways and coastline and across our whenua.

In September 2019 two Toa Taiao positions were recruited Taipuni Ruakere for Oākura and Puniho and Tihikura Hohaia for the Parihaka marae and coastal area and they have worked closely with Wayne Capper and the marae pā whānau that they represent.

The mapping of 123 coastal sites of significance was a huge undertaking for the team working with the Taranaki Regional Council. By identifying these sites we are ensuring that moving forward our marae pā and tribal voice will be taken into account in the consideration of any activities.

The development of the Rautaki Tiaki Whenua - Taranaki Iwi Reserve Management Plan alongside DOC is the plan that will help us manage the 23 cultural redress sites we received back from DOC through settlement and with the Kaitiaki Whenua Ranger Role now in place we feel we are better equipped to look after our sites appropriately. The development of Takutai title applications under the Marine and Coastal Areas Act has been a long slow process and we will be embarking on the next phase of the process in 2020 with the development of historical and tangata whenua evidence to record our traditional practises of mahinga kai on our pukāwa / coastal reefs.

Deferred Settlement Properties

Late in 2018 we offered 15 Deferred Settlement Properties (DSPs) to Taranaki Uri as a first right to purchase. These properties were part of our settlement redress that the TIHLP did not purchase back. Two properties were considered by Taranaki Iwi members and they are still currently working through the process to purchase.