Glossary

Ki uta ki tai (from mountains to sea) 

Ki uta ki tai is a concept that refers to the interconnectedness of the natural world, including the relationships of water and land, from the coast up to the hills and mountains.

Environment Southland, in partnership with Te Ao Mārama, seeks to manage water and land resources in a way that reinforces the Ngāi Tahu philosophy of ki uta ki tai (from mountains to sea). This integrated approach refers to the belief that all things are connected in the natural world and need to be managed that way. It is part of the foundation of regional planning in Southland, recognising the need to manage catchments as an integrated whole. This approach recognises the commitment of Environment Southland, in partnership with Te Ao Mārama, to manage the connections between people, water and land. This includes the impacts we have on the health of all types of waterbodies, including estuaries and coastal lagoons.

Ki uta ki tai involves standing on the land and considering the effects of human activities, both positive and negative, in every direction.

Activities on farm can have positive or negative effects on waterbodies, both upstream and downstream. A positive example of this would be improved fish presence and abundance as a result of the protection of a spawning habitat in a lower catchment tributary that runs through farmland. In a negative example, if fish passage is impeded due to poor culvert design or installation on farm, this will reduce the presence and abundance of fish found upstream.

Te Mana o Te Wai

Te Mana o Te Wai is the fundamental concept that underpins all freshwater management.

Te Mana o te Wai recognises the fundamental importance of water in that protecting the health of freshwater protects the health and wellbeing of the wider environment. It is an approach that protects the Mauri (life-force) of the water.

Protecting mauri as a priority is already a foundation of regional planning in Southland.

It is compulsory to provide for the values of ecosystem health and threatened species when managing freshwater, as well as human contact with waterbodies. A change to the regional plan that is being developed, Plan Change Tuatahi, will guide what is needed to support these values. Communities will have opportunities to contribute to this plan change.

When actions are taken on farm that are designed to recognise the importance of water and what waterbodies need to be healthy, whether it is a spring, aquifer, wetland, drainage channel, stream, river, pond, lake, or downstream coastal lagoon or estuary, this respects the fundamental concept of Te Mana o te Wai.

Hauora

Hauora means a state of health that could be described as fit and well. It reflects a level of healthy resilience we all want for our waterways. In other words, a waterway can take a knock and bounce back and still provide for uses that support people’s health.

Users of water and land need to provide for hauora and in so doing, acknowledge and protect the mauri of water. This is a foundation of regional planning in Southland.

Environment Southland and Te Ao Mārama have identified a range of attributes that in combination provide for hauora, the health and wellbeing of waterbodies.

A change to the regional plan that is being developed, Plan Change Tuatahi, will guide what is needed to support healthy waterbodies in the catchments of Waiau, Aparima, Ōreti, Mataura and Waituna.

When taking actions on farm to address priority contaminants, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and E. coli, it is possible to support other aspects of hauora. For example, choosing to use indigenous vegetation suited to the location when designing actions is a way to support hauora outcomes. Certain actions may be able to address a range of priority contaminants and provide for other benefits to the waterbody, for instance by restoring wetlands in locations that will filter contaminants and also provide for additional habitat for indigenous species.

Mahinga kai

Mahinga kai refers to the customary gathering of food and natural materials, and the places where those resources are gathered by tangata whenua.

For Ngāi Tahu mahinga kai is about places, ways of doings things, and resources that sustain the people. It includes the work that is done (and the fuel that is used) in the gathering of all natural resources (plants, animals, water, sea life, pounamu) to sustain well-being. This includes the ability to clothe, feed and provide shelter.

Mahinga kai is a value that must be provided for when managing waterbodies.

When taking actions on farm that provide for the health and wellbeing of waterbodies, this has the potential to improve the presence and abundance of mahinga kai species within a catchment. For example, a species like īnanga (whitebait) has different needs at different stages of its life cycle so there needs to be a range of habitat provided low down in a catchment and high up in a catchment, and across connected waterbodies, including through areas of farmland, in order for the species to be able to thrive.

Values

When we do a good job of managing freshwater then we provide for a range of values that matter to the communities of Southland.

When managing freshwater we must provide for certain kinds of values; including ecosystem health (water quality, water quantity, habitat, aquatic life and ecological processes), threatened species, mahinga kai, Māori freshwater values and human contact. These are compulsory values.

There are additional values that must be considered as well, and a range of values that have already been identified by Southlanders. Many of these values informed the current regional plan, and further values are being considered as part of Plan Change Tuatahi.

Actions on farm can help provide for the compulsory freshwater values of ecosystem health, threatened species, mahinga kai and human contact. This may be by making sure the priority contaminants of nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and E. coli are prevented from reaching waterbodies, or significantly reduced as outputs from the farm. Actions that protect or restore habitat for threatened indigenous species and mahinga kai species make a particularly important contribution to the values of a catchment.