Partners delivering the work

The partners involved in delivering the Trust's programme are:

Department of Conservation

The Awarua-Waituna Wetland complex is part of Arawai Kākāriki, a large scale wetland restoration programme led by the Department of Conservation with the goal to protect wetlands and increase our understanding of these productive environments. There is a focus on three of New Zealand's most significant wetland sites: Awarua Waituna in Southland, Ō Tū Wharekai in Canterbury and Whangamarino Wetland in in the Waikato.
Awarua-Waituna (Waituna catchment) is also one of five key focus catchments in the Living Water partnership between the Department of Conservation and Fonterra, working with local communities, dairy farmers, iwi/hapū and other stakeholders to implement game changing and scalable solutions that demonstrate sustainable dairying in healthy freshwater environments.

Environment Southland
As a regional council, Environment Southland is responsible for the sustainable management of Southland’s natural resources – land, water, air and coast – in partnership with the community. Environment Southland aims to lead and involve the Southland community in managing these natural resources in order to protect and enhance the lifestyle and wellbeing of current and future generations. Staff from various different teams at Environment Southland are involved in a range of activities in Waituna, from providing advice and assistance to the community on sustainable land management practices and pest control, drainage management in the Waituna Creek catchment (as part of a special rate), to water quality, compliance monitoring and science investigations.

Fonterra
Sustainable nutrition begins on the farm and our Sustainable Dairying team helps farmers in the Waituna Catchment to identify and act on sustainability opportunities for the future benefit of their dairy businesses. We provide specialised regional knowledge, expertise and services to support best practice farm management, proactively stay ahead of regulatory requirements, and satisfy evolving consumer and market expectations. Our Tiaki programme offers tools and services tailored to each individual farm such as farm environment plans, consent support, nutrient budgets, nitrogen reports and farm mapping.

Awarua-Waituna (Waituna catchment) is also one of five key focus catchments in the Living Water partnership between the Department of Conservation and Fonterra, working with local communities, dairy farmers, iwi/hapū and other stakeholders to implement game changing and scalable solutions that demonstrate sustainable dairying in healthy freshwater environments.

Southland District Council

Southland District Council has an interest in the Waituna catchment and lagoon as a landowner with areas of reserve land along Waituna Creek, in the wider management of land use and how it relates to the lagoon and wetland, and as an administrator of the road and bridging network. While the District Council has statutory responsibilities under the Resource Management and Building Acts, it also supports initiatives that work with the community and other agencies such as the High Value Area Assessments (free ecological surveys of natural areas on properties), and the Waituna Partners Group.

Te Rūnanga o Awarua and Te Rūnanga Ngāi Tahu
The area is highly significant to Ngāi Tahu for food and natural resources. This significance was recognised by a Statutory Acknowledgement under the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998. Māori had considerable knowledge of whakapapa, traditional trails, tauranga waka (landings), places for gathering kai and other resources (taonga). They had, and continue to maintain, a strong relationship with Waituna. Through tikanga and understanding the proper and sustainable utilisation of resources the Waituna remains important to Ngāi Tahu today.