About us

Whakamana te Waituna Charitable Trust

In 2018 the Whakamana te Waituna Charitable Trust was formed following years of collaborative work by the farming community, agencies, iwi and others to reduce impacts on Waituna Lagoon/Waipārera.

Members of the Trust include Awarua Rūnanga, Ngāi Tahu, Southland District Council, Environment Southland, Department of Conservation, Fonterra and an independent community representative.

Together, the Trust partners secured $13.6 million of funding through partner contributions and the Ministry for the Environment Freshwater Improvement Fund (FIF), to complete a significant five-year programme of work (2018-2022) to restore the mana of Waituna Lagoon and wetlands. This included:

• Purchase and retirement of 584 hectares of farmland to create a buffer around Waituna lagoon, with 403 hectares returned to Awarua Rūnanga to establish a mahinga kai pā
• Trialling a range of tools to reduce contaminants reaching the lagoon
• Completing a significant demonstration on Waituna Creek to reduce erosion and improve the quality of instream habitat for native freshwater fish.

The Trust is continuing to build on this work to improve the health and wellbeing of Waituna Lagoon, its catchment and community, for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

The Trustees are:

• Cr Jon Pemberton - Environment Southland (Co-Chair)
• Riki Nicholas - Te Rūnanga o Awarua (Co-Chair)
• Cr Julie Keast - Southland District Council
• Dean Whaanga - Te Rūnanga o Awarua
• Robb Stevens - Fonterra
• John McCarroll - Department of Conservation (Advisor)
• Maarten van Rossum - Independent Trustee

A Project Steering Group (Cain Duncan, Fonterra; Sue Corby, Ngāi Tahu; Pat Hoffmann, Department of Conservation; and Ella Lawton, Environment Southland) supports the work of the Trust. A Project Office with a full-time Project Manager runs the administrative and operational matters for the Trust.

Vision

The Trust has a long-term vision and intergenerational aspirations. The vision for Waituna is:

Mana oranga: Mana Tangata: Mana ki uta: Mana ki tai: Mana Waituna

Ensuring the wellbeing of the people, the land, the waters, the ecosystems and the life-force of the Waituna catchment and lagoon, now and for future generations through a partnership approach.

Key Focus Areas

We have a clear plan of how we can achieve our vision centered around five key objectives:

• Restore wetlands and lowland forest
• Redesign drains and waterways to reduce sediment and weed growth
• Reduce nutrient (N & P) losses through on-farm mitigations
• Reconnect iwi with the whenua
• Realise the benefits of biodiversity and carbon for sustainable financing

Long-Term Goal

Central to our key focus areas is repurposing approximately 10% of the catchment (2,000 hectares) into others uses that support water quality and biodiversity improvements but are also profitable and self-sustaining*.

*The Waituna catchment has had the benefit of a number of studies and research to determine what needs to happen to maintain and improve the health of the Lagoon.