Community aspirations at the table

The forum’s early work focused on developing as a team and building knowledge to understand the issues Southland faces. Since then, it’s been working to understand the community and iwi values and objectives for freshwater, and getting to grips with the current state of Southland’s environment.

Now it’s down to the business end – advising on the options available to achieve the community's values and freshwater objectives by considering the impacts, timing, targets, limits, methods, and policy context.

There’s a lot to grapple with in reflecting the community’s view when there’s a complex web of national policies and regional plans to distil into action and real change.

But Phil sees the timing of the forum’s work as fortuitous.

“There is a dynamic element to this. We are fortunate that we were midway through our work when the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management was updated.”

Continuing to bring the community’s perspective to the table is critical to the forum’s work.

“Community input in our next phase of work is essential. We’ll be sharing ideas with the community and seeking feedback as we work towards solutions.

“We also see there is an opportunity to create a better understanding around Māori perspectives of freshwater management. The fundamental concept of Te Mana o Te Wai shifts us to a slightly different space. We need to understand what it means to weave this into our work.”

There’s no shortage of things to be getting on with in a multi-layered, challenging environment.

The forum’s diverse membership reflects a cross-section of Southland interests and knowledge.

Phil hails from a farming family who originally settled in the Waikaka Valley in 1875. He’s spent most of his working life in the NZ Army before returning to Southland in 2015. He now contracts in leadership development, strategic change, innovation, and design thinking.

He says the forum is a worthwhile endeavour that’s important for Southland.

“It excites me to have this opportunity to make a difference to water quality and biodiversity outcomes.”

You can read the full Envirosouth magazine as a PDF online here.