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Healthy water, healthy communities - Te Mana o te Wai

Te Mana o te Wai is about putting the health of water first and thinking about it in a holistic way. Protecting the health of freshwater protects the health and wellbeing of the wider environment and our communities.

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A key concept from national direction on freshwater management is Te Mana o te Wai.

Te Mana o te Wai: Introduction and overview - YouTube(external link)

This refers to the fundamental importance of water and recognises that protecting the health of freshwater protects the health and wellbeing of the wider environment and our communities. This same thinking can be applied to the health of our coastal environments.

Te Mana o te Wai is about putting the health of water first and thinking about it in a holistic way. This is reflected in the NPS-FM objective and hierarchy of obligations: to ensure that natural and physical resources are managed in a way that prioritises:

  • first, the health and well-being of water bodies and freshwater ecosystems
  • second, the health needs of people (such as drinking water)
  • third, the ability of people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being, now and in the future.

Te Mana o te Wai also has six principles which inform its implementation:

  • Mana whakahaere: the power, authority, and obligations of tangata whenua to make decisions that maintain, protect, and sustain the health and well-being of, and their relationship with, freshwater
  • Kaitiakitanga: the obligation of tangata whenua to preserve, restore, enhance, and sustainably use freshwater for the benefit of present and future generations
  • Manaakitanga: the process by which tangata whenua show respect, generosity, and care for freshwater and for others
  • Governance: the responsibility of those with authority for making decisions about freshwater to do so in a way that prioritises the health and well-being of freshwater now and into the future
  • Stewardship: the obligation of all New Zealanders to manage freshwater in a way that ensures it sustains present and future generations
  • Care and respect: the responsibility of all New Zealanders to care for freshwater in providing for the health of the nation

Further information on Te Mana o te Wai

Further information on Te Mana o te Wai can be found in this Essential Freshwater: Te Mana o te Wai factsheet | Ministry for the Environment(external link) and on Our Land and Water(external link) - which has the outputs from a 2021 research project on implementing Te Mana o te Wai - including this factsheet for consent applications(external link).

Implementing Te Mana o te Wai in Tasman

Council is working in partnership with eight iwi from across Te Tauihu/the Top of the South and and Ngāti Waewae from the West Coast to develop a local understanding of how we can apply Te Mana o te Wai in our region. The outputs of this process so far are available here(external link).

In alignment with the NPS-FM, the Land and Freshwater Plan (LFPC) will adopt an integrated management approach and recognise the interconnectedness of the whole environment - from the mountains to the sea, the connections between waterbodies and between land and water, and the relationships people have with their local places.

Implementing the National Objective Framework (NOF)

The National Objectives Framework in the NPS-FM sets out the process for councils, with communities and tangata whenua, to manage freshwater in their regions. It involves six steps:

  1. Identify the catchments in each Freshwater Management Unit (FMU) across Tasman
  2. Define a long-term visions and freshwater values for each FMU
  3. Set environmental outcomes for each freshwater value
  4. Identify freshwater attributes for each value - and their baseline, current and target states
  5. Set rules (in the LFPC), including limits for land and water uses to achieve the outcomes
  6. Take other actions to achieve the environmental outcomes and long-term visions

Community discussions have so far focused on steps 1 and 2 (check out these discussions here(external link)). Steps 3-6 will be discussed in future rounds of community consultation. You can subscribe to get updates on this process on Shape Tasman here(external link).

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