$4.95m will be spent but how will the restoration of mauri in waterways be measured – and who will do the measuring?

Millions will be spent – but who will measure whether the objective is achieved and mauri is restored to waterways around Gisborne?

We ask because a $4.95 million project intended to significantly enhance the urban stream networks that drain into the Tūranganui estuary – including the Taruheru, Waikanae, and Waimata waterways – was announced on Friday by the Gisborne District Council. 

This followed the Ministry for the Environment announcing it will grant $2.25 million for the project, called Restoring the Mauri and Ora of the Tūranganui Estuary System.

The council will contribute the balance through existing budgets.

The project involves (a) the melding of science and spirituality and (b) council/iwi partnership.

Council Chief of Strategy and Science Joanna Noble says, “We are delighted that MfE has agreed to support this project, which will use mātauranga Māori and western science to help restore the mauri and ora of the Tūranganui estuary system.”

And:

Council partnered with the KIWA Group (tangata whenua technical reference group) to make a joint application to MfE’s Freshwater Improvement Fund (FIF) last year.

The project will be completed by the end of June 2026, which implies that within four years the mauri will have been restored to those waterways.

Point of Order notes that journalist Maxine Jacobs encountered mauri when she visited Whakarewarews.  She wrote for Stuff:

You can feel the mauri (lifeforce) of Whakarewarewa from the second you pass through the archway of the bridge and into the village.

A week or so later Jacobs was writing about hearings in the High Court  involving claims to  customary rights and coastal and marine title.

Ngāi Tamahaua representative Tracy Hillier detailed several wāhi tapu (sacred places) over which hapū sought protective rights.

She said any restrictions, rāhui or otherwise, were underpinned with Ngāi Tamahaua’s worldview and its mātauranga (knowledge) that had been passed down over generations to maintain the mauri of the area.

“You cannot have tapu if you do not have the mauri, they are connected,” Hellier told the court.

“The mauri is the life force and tapu is about maintaining the integrity of that relationship and the balance of that relationship, so anyone coming into that space, whether they are the ahi kā [people of that land] or not, have a level of protection and also the site is protected for all time.”

The Ministry for the Environment raised questions about mauri – and about the Treaty partnership – when it released a discussion paper titled Kia kaha ake te tiakina o ngā puna wai-inu – Improving the protection of drinking-water sources.

The discussion paper says

“Protecting water upholds our Treaty partnership.”

But the question of whether there is a “Treaty partnership” and the obligations it might impose is open to discussion and debate.  Dame Anne Salmond (for example)  in a recent article published by Newsroom observed:

The logic of Three Waters governance seems to arise from this neo-liberal rewriting of Te Tiriti, rather than the original agreement itself. In Te Tiriti, there is no mention of ‘races,’ or ‘partnership,’ or ‘fiduciary principles.’ It speaks of taonga, not ‘assets.’

The discussion paper also refers to the concept of “mauri”.

The amendments are expected to enhance Māori customary activities such as mahinga kai (gathering food), and the centrality of freshwater’s mauri (vital essence).

It further says:

Scenario 4: Wastewater discharges Wastewater discharges contain bacteria and pathogens that can make people sick if they source water. Wastewater discharges can also affect the mauri of a water body if they enter the water body

Point of Order asked the ministry about the Treaty partnership and about the concept of mauri, explaining our understanding that it is an integral part of the Maori belief system and is a life force which provides the connection between the wairua (as it exists in our physical body) and all things seen and unseen.   

Here are the questions and the ministry’s responses:

• For the purposes of the discussion paper on water quality, why has the Ministry for the Environment accepted the disputed assertion that there is a Treaty partnership and on what or whose authority has the Ministry based its position? 

The National Environmental Standard for Sources of Human Drinking Water (NES-DW) was created under the Resource Management Act 1991 (the RMA).

Section 8 of the RMA maintains that:

In achieving the purpose of this Act, all persons exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources, shall take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi).

Partnership as a Treaty principle is well established in Treaty jurisprudence, frequently referred to by the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal to describe the relationship between the Crown and Māori established through Te Tiriti.

You can find more information on the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi here: https://waitangitribunal.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/WT-Principles-of-the-Treaty-of-Waitangi-as-expressed-by-the-Courts-and-the-Waitangi-Tribunal.pdf

• Is the Ministry’s understanding of mauri the same as mine? 

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) 2020 uses Te Mana o te Wai (TMotW) as a key concept. TMotW has been part of the NPS-FM since 2014 and refers to the vital importance of freshwater and the protection of its life-supporting capacity, which includes mauri as the essential quality and vitality of freshwater.

The amendments to the NES-DW that the Ministry is currently consulting on are designed to align with Te Mana o te Wai obligations towards freshwater management. These obligations require regional authorities to ensure their regional policy statements and plans reflect tangata whenua values, including mātauranga Māori, through engaging with tangata whenua.

You can read more about Te Mana o te Wai here: https://environment.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Files/shared-interests.pdf

• If so, what measure does the Ministry apply to determine whether the mauri of fresh water bodies (or anything else in the environment) is being maintained, degraded or enhanced?
• Who does the measuring – can it be done only by Māori or can non-Māori scientists be taught to do this work?

Regional councils will be responsible for monitoring, reporting and enforcement under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM). Regional councils must engage with iwi and hapū to understand what Te Mana o te Wai, and mauri as a component of it, means for their respective areas.

To give effect to the NPS-FM, regional councils must develop a long-term vision through discussion with communities and tangata whenua. Establishing a long-term vision for a water body means capturing the needs and aspirations of tangata whenua and the wider community in each region. The long-term vision needs to be based on historical and current pressures on local water bodies and catchments.

You can find out more about the NPS-FM here: https://environment.govt.nz/acts-and-regulations/national-policy-statements/national-policy-statement-freshwater-management/#requirements-of-the-freshwater-nps

And further guidance on monitoring under the NPS-FM here: https://environment.govt.nz/publications/a-draft-guide-to-monitoring-under-the-national-policy-statement-for-freshwater-management-2014-as-amended-2017/

• Does the ministry have reports on the extent to which wastewater discharges have affected the mauri of a water body, and if so where can I find them?

The Ministry commissioned the following report on wastewater discharges, including consideration of cultural values in relation to wastewater solutions: https://environment.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Files/wastewater-sector-report.pdf

A Maori freshwater scientist (in private correspondence) gave this answer to a question about whether non-Maori can measure mauri:  

Because mauri has a non-physical element to it, many feel it cannot be measured using western science techniques (i.e. through assessment of water quality, biota, etc) and instead it requires mana whenua (those with authority of the land) to assess the state of mauri.

There have been Māori tools developed to assess mauri – such as the cultural health index (http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/cultural-health-index-streams-and-waterways-feb06) that has been applied in case studies around the country. 

But really it is up to local iwi and hapū to decide how to assess mauri.

This suggests none of the non-Maori scientists we know can be trained to measure mauri for the Gisborne District Council, the Ministry for the  Environment – or for anyone else who will be spending public money on  its restoration.  We must put our faith in the expertise of tribal elders.