Te Mana o te Wai
Restoring and preserving the balance between water, the environment and people
Te Mana o te Wai is a fundamental concept focused on restoring and preserving the balance between water (wai), the wider environment (taiao), and people (tāngata), now and in the future.
Ka tīkina e Te Mana o te Wai te tirohanga o te ao Māori ki te whai mōhio ki te huarahi pūnaha-katoa ki te wai, mai i ngā maunga ki ngā moana, ki uta ki tai rānei. Ko ngā wāhanga o te huarahi pūnaha-katoa ko ngā pūtaketanga o te tikanga, te mātauranga me te kaitiakitanga Māori, otirā he huarahi ahurei mō Aotearoa, me ōna tāngata katoa.
Te Mana o te Wai draws on a te ao Māori perspective to recognise the whole-of-system approach to wai, from maunga to moana, or ki uta ki tai. This all of system approach consists of the fundamentals of tīkanga, mātauranga and kaitiakitanga Māori, which is a unique approach for Aotearoa and all New Zealanders.
Ko tētahi whāinga matua me tētahi herenga o te Water Services Act 2021 kia whakamana a Taumata Arowai i Te Mana o te Wai, otirā kia uru tonu ki roto i ā mātou mahi me ngā haepapatanga. Ka pā tēnei takohanga ki ngā kaiwhakarato wai inu katoa e mahi ana i raro i te Ture.
I te mea he kaiwhakarato wai koe, ka taea e koe te whakararau i Te Mana o te Wai ki roto i ō āhuatanga mahi, mā ō mahere haumaru wai inu me ngā mahere whakahaere mōrearea puna wai, i roto i ngā kaupapahere, ngā tukanga me ngā tikanga. Ko tētahi mea motuhake ka taea e koe te whakawhiti kōrero me te mahi tahi wawe, whaihua hoki ki ngā whānau, hapū me ngā iwi Māori i tō rohe i te wā e whakawhanake ana i ō mahere. Mā te mahi i tēnei, ka ako, ā, ka kite koe i ngā tauira pai o ngā mahi whakatinana, whakamana hoki a ngā whānau, hapū me ngā iwi Māori i Te Mana o te Wai, i roto i ō rātou rohe, takiwā hoki, tērā pea ka āwhina kia whai mōhio koe ki te whakawhanake i ō mahere.
E tūhono ana a Te Mana o te Wai i ngā whakaritenga ā-ture rerekē, mā tētahi tirohanga kotahi me te huinga o ngā mātāpono. Ka rerekē tana pānga mai i tētahi wāhi ki tētahi atu, i tētahi hapori ki tētahi atu, i runga anō i ngā urupare paetata ki ngā mātāpono kei roto.
Ka whakarato tautoko me te ārahitanga Te Puna a Taumata Arowai ki a Taumata Arowai, tō mātou Poari, te Tumu Whakarae me te whakahaere mō ngā aronga Māori me te mātauranga hoki i te wā e whai pānga ana ki ngā whāinga, ngā mahi me ngā mātāpono whakahaere o Taumata Arowai. Ko tētahi wāhanga hira o tēnei ko te whakawhiti kōrero me te mahi whaihua ki ngā whānau, hapū me ngā iwi.
E whakararau ai i Te Mana o te Wai, me tata te hononga i waenga i a Taumata Arowai, ngā mana whenua me ngā kaitiaki e noho pai ana ki te tuku tohutohu mō ngā tikanga me te mātauranga e tūāpapa ana i Te Mana o te Wai me ngā aronga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
A key objective and a requirement of the Water Services Act 2021 is for Taumata Arowai to give effect to Te Mana o te Wai, to the extent it applies to our functions and duties. This obligation also applies to all drinking water suppliers who operate under the Act.
As a drinking water supplier, you can embed Te Mana o te Wai into your ways of working through your drinking water safety plans and source water risk management plans, and in policies, processes and procedures. A key thing you can do is engaging and working with whānau, hapū and iwi Māori in your rohe early and meaningfully when developing your plans. By doing this you can learn and see good examples of how whānau, hapū and iwi Māori implement and give effect to Te Mana o te Wai within their rohe and takiwā, which could help to inform how you develop your plans.
Te Mana o te Wai connects different regulatory regimes through a common vision and set of principles. Its application will vary from place to place and community to community, in accordance with local responses to the principles it embodies.
The Advisory Group, Te Puna, will provide support and guidance to the Water Services Authority - Taumata Arowai, our Board, Chief Executive and organisation on Māori interests and knowledge as they relate to the Authority's objectives, functions and operating principles. An important part of this will be to engage and work meaningfully with whānau, hapū and iwi.
Embedding Te Mana o te Wai will require a close relationship between the Au, mana whenua and kaitiaki who are best placed to advise on the tikanga and mātauranga which underpin Te Mana o te Wai and Te Tiriti o Waitangi interests.
Te Mana o te Wai
Ko te tiaki i te wai he rite ki te tiaki i te tangata
Looking after the water is looking after the people