Tāngata Whenua Water Advisory Group
Te Rōpū Mātanga Tohutohu Māori mō ngā Kaupapa Wai-māori (TWWAG)
The Tāngata Whenua Water Advisory Group (TWWAG) is made up of tāngata whenua technical experts with a wide range of freshwater kaitiaki expertise and experience.
TWWAG was established by council in 2020 on the recommendations of Te Taitokerau Māori and Council to provide advice to council from a tāngata whenua perspective.
TWWAG’s focus is on the recognition of and provision for tāngata whenua rights, interests and responsibilities in relation to the Freshwater Plan Change guided by te Tiriti o Waitangi and tikanga Māori.
The group has provided detailed advice and recommendations for developing the Freshwater Plan Change.
Reports and recommendations from Tāngata Whenua Water Advisory Group
A series of reports has been developed on behalf of TWWAG to guide and inform the development of the new freshwater plan for Te Taitokerau.
TWWAG have provided detailed feedback and comparison with their advice to council (See Ngā Roimata o Ngā Atua: The tears of Ranginui and Papatūānuku) on the draft Freshwater Plan Change and Action Plan that was endorsed by the iwi and hapū representatives of Te Taitokerau Māori and Council working party on 28 March 2024.
This report provides further advice from TWWAG on methodologies that might be used to determine baseline attribute states for the māori values included in the draft Freshwater Plan Change and to monitor those attribute states. The report also provides further advice on what a bottom-up approach to freshwater planning working with marae, hapū, iwi and local communities might look like.”
A recommendation report to support the implementation of Te Mana o Te Wai in Te Tai Tokerau.
Te Reo Māori summary - Ngā Roimata o Ngā Atua: The Tears of Ranginui and Papatūānuku (PDF 487 KB)
English Summary - Ngā Roimata o Ngā Atua: The Tears of Ranginui and Papatūānuku (PDF 491 KB)
Read the full report - Ngā Roimata o Ngā Atua: The Tears of Ranginui and Papatūānuku (PDF 4.45 MB)
Case studies focused on wai Maori, lessons learned and key themes, issues and opportunities identified by mana whenua in regards freshwater management.
A summarisation of the reviewed literature, mātauranga/knowledge, and kōrero of wai/water in Te Tai Tokerau.
When we allocate water, we need to provide for the wellbeing of the waterway and recognise the special relationship tāngata whenua have with water.
We are considering a new policy, the Targeted Water Allocation Policy. This policy would set aside 20% of unallocated water available for allocation to be used for environmental enhancement, marae and papakainga, or developing Māori land. The water could be used for other purposes with a contribution to a fund supporting Māori wellbeing.
The Targeted Water Allocation Policy was one of the recommendations made by the Tāngata Whenua Water Advisory Group.
While feedback has now closed, the Targeted Water Allocation Policy consultation document is available for your information. The document provides the background and rationale and describes how the policy could work.