Our Purpose and Objectives
Our Purpose
The Purpose of Te Waiau Mahika Kai Trust is to promote and restore mahinga kai resources in the Waiau catchment and conduct research and projects to meet this end for the benefit of Te Ngā Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
We aim to promote and enhance the active relationship of Ngāi Tahu people with mahinga kai resources of te Waiau awa, reconnecting the people back to the land.
Our Objectives
The Trust objectives are:
To provide an accessible mahika kai resource within the Waiau catchment by acquisition, restoration and creation of habitats suitable for this purpose;
To act to promote, restore and enhance the social, cultural and economic relationship of Ngāi Tahu with the mahika kai resources of the Waiau catchment
To undertake any research that furthers the objects of the Trust including (but not limited to):
Study of the migration of habits of spawning adult eels (heke) in the Waiau catchment and Lake Manapouri, and appropriate means of mitigating any loss that might be found to occur;
Study of the habitat requirements, breeding habits and appropriate harvesting methods of native fisheries, mahika kai plants and wildlife;
Study of the traditional and contemporary relationship between Ngāi Tahu and mahika kai resource of the Waiau catchment, and appropriate means of promoting, restoring and enhancing this relationship.
To identify and evaluate areas of the Waiau catchment worthy of protection, restoration, improvement, creation or procurement primarily as fisheries, mahika kai plant and wildlife habitat.
To negotiate, where appropriate, the protection, restoration, improvement, creation or procurement of mahika kai plant, fisheries and wildlife habitat with landowners.
To disburse by way of grants such proportion of its funds each year as it considers in it sole discretion appropriate for the purpose of carrying out its functions.
To fund such measure as may be needed to sustain native fisheries, mahika kai plant and wildlife species and habitat, including (but not limited to) funding the implementation of any trapping and transporting measures found necessary to sustain the eel fishery.
Our Strategy
The Trust has been granted ongoing funding which has allowed the Trust to engage a contractor to implement a new strategic direction.
The Trust has developed a programme of works for the next three years and this will be implemented as funding becomes available. A strong focus will be on expanding the work of the Trust within the Waiau Catchment and collaboration with Rūnanga and other stakeholders to enhance the mahinga kai resources, control weeds and pests and to promote biodiversity.
