Wai is a taonga tuku iho, entrusted to us by
our tūpuna for current and future generations.
We are kaitiaki, and we use water for customary and commercial purposes to sustain our businesses and way of life. We aspire to be leaders in water stewardship, with practices that encourage healthy ecosystems and sustainable water management.
Manaaki whenua, manaaki tāngata, haere whakamua
If we take care of the land and take care of the people, we will take care of the future
To achieve this long-term goal, we have developed a policy on water outlining our aspirational state,
and key principles and practices we will adhere to.
We have developed a Kaitiaki Wai Framework to help us measure and monitor our progress toward more sustainable water management practices. We have identified indicators to help us understand the health of the water under our authority and control, and what we need to focus on to improve the health of the water.
The health and wellbeing of the wai means:
Wakatū whānau can eat kai and drink safely from the surrounding wai and from Wakatū whenua all the time.
Wakatū whānau can exercise their tikanga and customary practices with Wakatū whenua and surrounding wai to the extent desired all the time.
Water flows sustain te mana o te wai of all ecosystems and are seasonally appropriate all the time.
Any Wakatū whenua and surrounding wai are free from contaminants all the time
The valued features (waahi tapu, waahi tupuna, taonga and unique properties of the waters) are maintained all the time.
Access to the wai and Wakatū whenua is managed by Wakatū all the time.
We are at the beginning of implementing our Kaitiaki Wai Framework. Our first step is to understand the current state of how we interact with water, including how and where water is withdrawn, consumed, and discharged and any water related impacts caused or contributed to, or directly linked to our activities, including our products or services. This data will inform the projects we will do to achieve our goals.
WHAT WE’RE DOING
We are actively engaged in assessing our water footprint, which involves:
Operationalising our wai (water) policy by conducting a comprehensive assessment and gap analysis, comparing our current operational methods with our best practices outlined in the wai policy.
Conducting audits on solid waste and three waters (wastewater, stormwater, and waste intake/consumption) at Kono Horticulture and Hop Federation. These audits aim to gain insights into our current practices and identify strategic improvements that align with our Whenua Ora goals.
