Whaitua committees
https://archive.gw.govt.nz/whaitua-committees
Whaitua committees
Whaitua committees are groups of local people tasked with recommending ways to maintain and improve the quality of our fresh water. Whaitua is the Māori word for space or catchment.
Get involved! Find out how you can speak for water in Ruamāhanga, Porirua, and Wellington Harbour/Hutt Valley catchments.
What are whaitua committees?
Whaitua committees are responsible for developing a Whaitua Implementation Programme (WIP) together with their communities. A WIP describes community aspirations for water and helps set a platform for collective effort to improve the health of waterways. The WIP is implemented through new regulations and actions on the ground.
Committees are made up of local community members, iwi representatives, local authority representatives, and Greater Wellington Regional Council representatives.
From mountains to sea, ki uta ki tai video
This video explains the whaitua concept in more detail.
Five whaitua committees
The Wellington Region has been split into five whaitua with a committee in each making decisions on the future of land and water management in that whaitua.
The following whaitua committees have been established:
- Ruamāhanga Whaitua – established December 2013
- Te Awarua-o-Porirua Whaitua – established December 2014
- Te Whanganui-a-Tara – established November 2018
The following two committees to be established are:
- Kāpiti Coast Whaitua
- Wairarapa Coast Whaitua
What’s happening with the Kāpiti Coast and Wairarapa Coast whaitua committees?
The Kāpiti Coast whaitua committee will be established in early 2022 and Wairarapa Coast will follow.
Whaitua Committees achieve a community vision for water by combining mātauranga Maori, citizen science, community knowledge, and expert information to fulfil the requirements of the Essential Freshwater package.
