MANIAPOTOFRESHWATERCULTURALASSESSMENTFRAMEWORK

Maniapoto Māori Trust Board (MMTB) and NIWAhave been working collaboratively over the past twoyears to support Maniapoto whānau with threeobjectives in mind:

Engaging and exciting Maniapoto whānau intoreconnecting with their freshwaters.

Developing a framework to assess the state oftheir freshwaters that reflects the unique valuesof Maniapoto whānau.

Building the capability and capacity of Maniapotowhānau to participate in the assessment of theirwaterways according to their freshwater values.

The goal of this project was to work alongsideManiapoto whānau to develop a first draft ManiapotoFreshwater Cultural Assessment Framework (CAF).

OVERVIEWOF THE

PROJECT

A CULTURALASSESSMENTFRAMEWORK

Acknowledges whānauas place-based experts

Recognises andempowers whānau as

co-leaders, co-governors,researchers, knowledge

holders and teachers

Enables Māori to sharewhat is known, felt andunderstood by whānau(their mātauranga) in a

way that helps tocommunicate their story

Specifically respondsto the needs andaspirations of whānau involved (e.g. to support indecision-making andinfluencing action inothers), and iswhānau-led and/orco-developed

Creates outcomes(not just outputs) thatare useful and benefitthe participatingcommunity and futuregenerations

GUIDINGDOCUMENTS

Ngā Wai o Maniapoto(Waipā River) Act 2012

The purpose of the Act is torestore and maintain the qualityand integrity of the waters thatflow into and form part of the

Waipā River for present and futuregenerations, and the care and

protection of the mana tuku iho oWaiwaia. This Act has been the

most recent catalyst for much ofthe freshwater focussed work

across the Maniapoto rohe.

Maniapoto have been strategic and proactive inprogressing their freshwater management andrestoration priorities. The Maniapoto Priorities for theRestoration of the Waipā River (2014), ManiapotoFish Plan (2015) and Iwi Environmental ManagementPlan (2016) serve as guiding documents forfreshwater objectives. Other projects (e.g. Ngā Repoo Maniapoto, Tūhonohono, Mangaokewa StreamCultural Health Index, Taonga Register, Upper WaipāRiver Integrated Management Plan, Healthy RiversWaiora Project) all share an overall objective, that:

MANIAPOTOFRESHWATERMANAGEMENTPRIORITIESAND PLANNING

Ngāti Maniapoto whānau are activelyparticipating in monitoring and assessment

of freshwater within their rohe

In 2018-2019, MMTB and NIWA worked collaboratively to deliver freshwater assessment training wānanga for kaitiaki.

Three two-day wānanga were held at Maniapoto maraeintroducing kaitiaki to a number of assessment tools including the NIWA Stream Health Monitoring Assessment Kit (SHMAK) methods, E.coli testing, invertebrate identification, as well as fish and tuna monitoring methods.

Maniapoto sought to invest in enthusiastic kaitiaki who wereboth endorsed by their whānau and connected to their marae.These wānanga enabled us to excite and engage kaitiaki withpractical, hands-on freshwater assessment experiencesbefore exploring the development of a Maniapoto FreshwaterCultural Assessment Framework.

FRESHWATER ASSESSMENT TRAINING

WĀNANGA

A MANIAPOTO FRESHWATERCULTURAL ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK

is a framework derived from NgātiManiapoto values, that incorporates NgātiManiapoto ways of assessing the state ofthose values, as well as assessment tools

and approaches that draw on mātaurangaMāori, community and scientific knowledge

HOW DID WE DO IT?

a literature review,wānanga kōrero, andsemi-facilitated breakoutsessions.

Developing the frameworkinvolved multiple methods,including:

These different methods thenallowed us to collate our findings,identify the frameworkcomponents and visualise whatthe Maniapoto FreshwaterCultural Assessment Frameworkmight look like.

ln order to ensure that we built from the foundation ofprevious work completed by MMTB and whānau, weinitially reviewed important Maniapoto literature andplanning documents.

LITERATUREREVIEW

TunaSwimmingKōuraSites of Significance

Through this review, we were able to identify four of the mostconsistently discussed freshwater values:

An initial draft frameworkconcept was presented with theliterature reviewed to whānau atour first framework developmentwānanga held at Kahotea Maraein 2019 (Figure 1).Figure 1 Initial draft concept of four potential values.

The first wānanga was attended by eight kaitiaki who hadbeen involved in the 2018 freshwater assessment trainingwānanga. These kaitiaki represented a number of maraeand whānau throughout the Waipā River catchment.

We utilised wānanga as a forum for discussions withwhānau and to ground truth the initial framework valuessuggested based on the literature reviewed.

WĀNANGAKŌRERO

SEMI-FACILITATEDBREAKOUT SESSIONS

What is the current state of your value (e.g., tuna)?How do you assess this?

Two questions were used to prompt whānaudiscussions facilitated by a project team member:

1.2.

This discussion enabled whānau to talk freely throughwhat the current state of a value was and how theymight go about assessing it 'Ko tā Maniapoto'(according to Maniapoto). We used mind maps andpost-it noting to capture the kōrero shared (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Example of a mind mapping product from the breakout sessions.

In addition to the values exploredin this first wānanga, we askedkaitiaki to identify any values notcaptured by the initial framework.

These included drinking water, birds,watercress, as well as culturally andecologically important plants (e.g.,rongoā and riparian) (Figure 3).

In the first instance, three valueswere chosen to explore in depth:tuna, swimming and drinking water.The additional values identified havenot yet been developed, but areincluded to demonstrate theirimportance and highlight potentialfuture developments needed.

Figure 3 Values to be included in the ManiapotoFreshwater Cultural Assessment Framework.

COLLATINGWĀNANGA

DATA

The project team then undertook atwo-step process in exploring andcollating the information sharedduring our wānanga.

The three values common to all ofthe whānau (tuna, swimming anddrinking water) were the focus ofcollation and visualisation.

Ko te mauri, ko te waiora o teWaipā ko Waiwaia. Ko Waipāte toto o te tāngata! Ko Waipāte toto o te whenua, koia hokihe wai manawa whenua! KoWaipā tētehi o ngā taonga o

Maniapoto whānui.— Ngā Wai o Maniapoto (Waipā River) Act 2012

TE MAURI O WAIWAIAIn our wānanga, whānau discussed the importance of

being able to connect with their freshwaters and describedthe feeling of wellness and sense of belonging coming

from their connection with Waiwaia. Waiwaia is thetaniwha, the protective essence, that resides in the Waipā

River and it is the mauri of Waiwaia that the whānauultimately want restored.

The name for the framework 'Te Mauri o Waiwaia'encompasses a range of values and the restoration of thehealth and wellbeing of freshwater and people across theNgāti Maniapoto rohe. The name of this framework pays

tribute to this intention and overall aspiration of NgātiManiapoto whānau.

IDENTIFYING THE FRAMEWORK

COMPONENTS

The ways in which each whānauassessed the state of tuna, swimming

and drinking water in their respectiverohe were explored in more depth.

First, we used the mind maps andpost-it noting products from the

wānanga to develop an initial idea ofthe key attributes (e.g., health of the

tuna) assessed by whānau whenconsidering the state of each of their

values (e.g., tuna).

Secondly, for each attribute, weidentified the multiple indicators

discussed by whānau thatdemonstrated a healthy state for that

value (e.g., tuna are available insufficient numbers to support

whānau harvest).

Our approach allowed us toincrementally build theframework. Figure 4 is anexample of how thediscussions captured werevisualised for the tuna value,and how kōrero about tunawas mapped through toattributes, and then on to theindicators of state.

We underwent the sameprocess for both theswimming and drinkingwater values.

VISUALISINGVALUES

VALUE ATTRIBUTES INDICATORS

Figure 4 Example of the tuna value mapped to attributes and potential indicators.Indicators in green highlight where a tool/approach needs to be developed by whānau.

SAFE TO ACCESS FOR

HARVEST

MANIAPOTOTRADITIONAL

PRACTICES

TUNA SIZE,CONDITION AND

SAFE TO EAT

TUNA SPECIESABUNDANCE AND

DISTRIBUTION

HEALTH OFECOSYSTEM TOSUPPORT TUNA

TUNA

Whānau are using traditional practices (e.g. pā tuna)Traditional fishing resources are available Whānau observing migrations up/downstream

Tuna are in good conditionTuna are parasite freeA range of sizes are presentTuna are safe to eat

Longfins are present at whānau fishing sitesTuna are available in sufficient numbers to supportwhānau harvest

No barriers to tuna migrationHuman activities are not impacting tunaPlenty of kai to support tuna populationsWhānau are satisfied with riparianvegetation, water flow and quality

Whānau are satisfied that riparianvegetation is not impacting accessWhānau are satisfied that surroundingland ownership is not impacting accessWhānau are satisfied that regulationsare not impacting access

CONNECTING TOOLS ANDAPPROACHESWITH THE FRAMEWORKFigure 5 Maniapoto whānau utilising nutrienttesting kits from the SHMAK at Kahotea marae.

Once attributes and indicators were identified, welooked for readily available tools (including those thatthe whānau had been trained to use, e.g., SHMAK, E.coli, invertebrate and tuna monitoring) and approachesthat would support whānau in the collection of thedata required to populate their framework.

Two types of assessments were found to beapplicable to the framework according to whānau. Thefirst included a broader look at some of thebiophysical indicators of each attribute usingcommunity science tools like the SHMAK (Figure 5).

The second type ofassessment was based on a cultural healthindicator (CHI) approach.

For each of the culturalhealth indicators, whānauwere provided withquestions that asked themto explore how satisfied they were with thatindicator by responding on a scale of 1 – 5 where1 was not satisfied, and 5satisfied (Figure 6).

CULTURALHEALTH

INDICATORS

Figure 6 Example CHI survey form.

Once the appropriate tools andapproaches were identified foreach indicator, and in order totest that the draft CAF wouldprovide the data that whānauwere seeking, we developed adraft assessment protocol anddata collection forms.

These were tested by whānauat a second wānanga held atTe Hape Marae. During areflections session, whānau wereable to identify if any indicatorswere missing and if changes were needed to the data formsand assessment protocol.

TESTING THE TOOLSAND DATA FORMS

NEXT STEPS ANDIMPLEMENTATIONAlthough some initial testingoccurred, work still remainsto implement and furtherrefine the protocols, data collection forms andframework. Future activitiesinclude site selection,regular and longer-term data collection, collation ofresults, analysis, as well asinterpretation, visualisation,and communication of that data within the CulturalAssessment Framework.

In October 2019, the MMTBin collaboration with NIWAwere successful insecuring further funding toundertake the worknecessary to progress thenext phases of frameworkdevelopment.

This includes thedevelopment of a datamanagement approach,data analysis and datavisualisation tools.

MMTB (2015) He Mahere Ika - Maniapoto Upper WaipāFisheries Plan. MMTB (2016) Ko tā Maniapoto Mahere Taiao - ManiapotoEnvironmental Management Plan.

Ratana, K., Herangi, N., Rickard, D. (2020) ManiapotoFreshwater Cultural Assessment Framework - Developing theFramework. NIWA Client Report 2020189HN. 28p.

Tipa, G., Williams, E., Herangi, N., Dalton, W., Skipper, A., Iti, W.(2014) Maniapoto priorities for the restoration of the WaipāRiver catchment. NIWA Client Report, WEL2015-3.

Maniapoto Māori Trust Board Contact - Tramaine MurrayTramaine.Murray@maniapoto.co.nz

Project Coordinator - Ngahuia Herangingahuia@kaawatea.nz

NIWA Contact - Kelly Ratanakelly.ratana@niwa.co.nz

FURTHERREADING

GET IN TOUCH

E kore ngā tai o mihi e mimiti ki ngā kaitiaki o NgātiManiapoto, koutou e whakapau kaha ana ki ngātōpito katoa o tō tātou rohe. We acknowledge andthank all of the Ngāti Maniapoto whānau that haveparticipated in the development of this frameworkand all those who contributed in years past. It isthrough our collective effort that we have come sofar, and through which we will continue to moveforward for the benefit of our waterways, whenuaand people. We would like to acknowledge the Waikato RiverAuthority for their continued support and ongoingfinancial assistance to complete this work. Wealso want to thank both MMTB and NIWA staff and students who have contributed, mentored and reviewed the work completed to date. This mahi has also drawn on the experiences ofwhānau and researchers involved in the Ngā Kete oTe Wānanga: Mātauranga, Science and FreshwaterManagement research programme (MBIE Contract No. C01X1318).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Kaitiaki Contributors, Ratana, K., Herangi, N., Rickard, D. (2020) Maniapoto Freshwater Cultural AssessmentFramework. Science Communication Summary Report prepared for Maniapoto Māori Trust Board. Publishedby National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Ltd, Hamilton, New Zealand. ISSN 1174-264XNIWA Information Series 96

Maniapoto Māori Trust Board, Ngahuia Herangi, Stuart McKay (NIWA)

August 2020

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