Rivers, lakes, estuaries, wetlands and other waterbodies continue to be a critical element in Ngāi Tahu’s way of life and identity. Historically, there was a direct correlation for Ngāi Tahu between the state of the water, what it was used for, and peoples’ associations and values with that water. For generations, concerns have been raised by rūnanga about the changing shape and quality of the waterways. As the mauri and wairua of Murihiku waterbodies have declined, there has become a disjunct between state, use, association and value. Various legislative mechanisms require that tāngata whenua values are protected by freshwater management processes occurring at national, regional and local levels. However, in general, Aotearoa-NZ freshwater management approaches are struggling to recognise and protect cultural values/uses in a climate of multiple conflicting demands.
A mixed methods approach was used to gather knowledge about historical and contemporary Murihiku uses, values and associations with specific sites along the Te Ara Koroka pounamu trail. In the first instance members of the project team focussed on reviewing historic and contemporary literature sources to elicit Murihiku cultural values and mātauranga Māori associated with specific Te Ara Koroka sites. Conceptualisations of the dependencies (or attributes) of selected Murihiku values/uses/associations were developed through several wānanga with our rūnanga advisory group. These conceptualisations were then used to identify potential attributes and the selection of methods to assess the current state of Murihiku values. These values included tuna (eels), pounamu (jade), and nohoanga (camping sites). Indicators of current state include whānau satisfaction with the presence of the resource, whānau satisfaction with the state of the habitat where the resource can be found and whānau satisfaction with their ability to access the site and safely access the resource.