From the Editor

Jul 14, 2012

Nga hau e whamarkr2
Mark Revington

One of my first impressions of the Canterbury countryside when I moved to Ōtautahi earlier this year was of the giant irrigation units perched like big metal crows on fields. It was a small inkling of the part water played here.

I knew something of the history of water disputes; enough to realise that the consensus achieved through the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) is a major breakthrough.

How do you ensure farming can provide economic growth without ruining waterways? Call me a cynic, but from the outside, that could seem like one river too many to cross (literally). However, somehow it has been achieved; as our story on page 16 makes clear. And not just on a local scale — the Land and Water Forum has managed to find common ground at a national level.

Ngāi Tahu representatives have spent many hours in meetings of the CWMS geographic zone committees across Canterbury. We owe a huge mihi to them. The committees have provided a forum for Ngāi Tahu to talk to other stakeholders, says Te Marino Lenihan, who represents North Canterbury Ngāi Tahu on the CWMS regional committee.

“Our people have been the quiet corner of the community, and it seems people either don’t know about us, don’t want to know about us, or are straight out ill-informed about who we are and where the heart and soul of our culture lies.”

In telling Ngāi Tahu stories, others around the table have gained a better appreciation of Ngāi Tahu, he says. As Te Marino says, it is only a first step. But it is an important first step, and hopefully our communities will find a way to promote economic growth that does not degrade the environment for the generations after us.

Nā Mark Revington

MANAGING EDITOR
Phil Tumataroa

EDITOR
Mark Revington

SUB EDITOR
Faumuinā F. M. Tafuna’i

SUB EDITOR
Diana Leufkens

WEB EDITOR
Simon Leslie

CONTRIBUTORS

Tremane Barr
Tom Bennion
Tony Bridge
Diana Clement
Gerry Coates
Keri Hulme
Howard Keene
Koa Mantell
Matt Philp
Adrienne Rewi
Geoff Shaw
Mara Te Kahika
Kāhu Te Whaiti
Rob Tipa
Phil Tumataroa
Fern Whitau

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Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
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