Waiora Aotearoa (Water New Zealand) is proud to tautoko (support) Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) – 14-20 Mahuru (September) 2020.
For the third year, Waiora Aotearoa has produced a bilingual water-focused poster to celebrate this year’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. The theme for this year’s poster is ‘Te Mana o te Wai’.
“Te Mana o te Wai is a concept that refers to the fundamental importance of water and recognises that protecting the health of freshwater protects the health and well-being of the wider environment. It protects the mauri of the wai. Te Mana o te Wai is about restoring and preserving the balance between the water, the wider environment, and the community.” - National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM 2020)
Te Mana o te Wai encompasses six principles that inform the implementation of the NPS-FM 2020, and relate the roles of tangata whenua and other New Zealanders in the management of freshwater;
Te Mana o te Wai provides a clearly defined hierarchy of obligations, prioritising (NPS-FM 2020):
This poster puts the health and well-being of wai (water) in the centre. It incorporates concepts introduced in previous posters including Te Hurihanga Wai (The Water Cycle, 2019) and Ngā Momo Wai (Types of Water, 2018). It is intended to expand on these concepts to illustrate the different stages of water, and corresponding mauri (lifeforce) and hauora (health). The holistic nature of ‘Te Mana o Te Wai’ is further demonstrated through the interconnectedness of water;
“Mai i te Rangi, ki te Nuku o te whenua.
From the sky/Ranginui, to the embrace of the land/Papatūānuku.
Mai i uta, ki tai.
From the land, to the sea.
The poster also includes Ngā Wai-o-rangi (Waters of Ranginui/sky) and Ngā Wai-o-nuku (Waters of Papatūānuku/earth), connecting the physical realm to the spiritual, and demonstrating the requirement that waters, especially those whose mauri has been diminished, are returned to and connected to the earth and sky for cleansing and for their mauri to be enhanced.
Although Te Mana o te Wai has been developed for freshwater management, it has relevance for all interconnected water including for the three infrastructure waters: stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water.
The NPS-FM 2020 requires all regional councils and local authorities to ‘give effect to Te Mana o te Wai’. Further, Taumata Arowai, the new water services regulator (in process of establishment), is also required to give effect to Te Mana o te Wai as part of its objectives.
This has relevance for all water practitioners involved in the planning, design, construction, and operation of three waters infrastructure. It ensures that a holistic catchment framework is applied and the rights of water are put first. Ngā Wai Manga (the Urban Water Principles)are 10 principles developed by the Urban Water Working Group (MfE, 2018) and recommended to protect and restore Te Mana o Te Wai in urban contexts. The principles are another resource to help guide decision-making at all levels and promote the creation of water sensitive urban spaces by drawing on mātauranga, the lessons of the past and international best practice, the needs of our present communities, and a vision of a sustainable, resilient future.
Ka ora te wai, ka ora te whenua, ka ora ngā tāngata
If the water is healthy, the land is healthy, the people are healthy