Te Arawa Lakes Cultural Significance
For generations Te Arawa have lived in the embrace of the land surrounded by water, be it thermal, natural or for bathing. The question must be, how can we reciprocate? We must be cognisant of the origins and the significance of water, we must allow the water to flow and contribute to the environment as a whole, we must build a pathway that ensures that the relationship we have with water and that water has with us endures.
The fact that Te Arawa Lakes are culturally significant is evidenced by statutory acknowledgements for each of the lakes and the vesting of the lake beds to the Te Arawa Lakes Trust (TALT). The Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC), as consent authority, has responsibilities under both the Resource Management Act 1991 and Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Act 2006 to have regard to the statutory acknowledgements and the associated cultural values with these lakes. TALT also has responsibilities as owner of the lake bed to safeguard places of cultural and/or spiritual significance to Te Arawa.
The following documents provide excellent background information.
(Click on the links which follow to view the documents).
Te Arawa Cultural Values Framework
TALT Lake Structure Policy 2017
Principles for effectively co-governing natural resources
Controller & Auditor General
Appendix 4: About the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Strategy Group
The co-management of the Te Arawa Lakes
Julia Kahu Harper-Hinton A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Laws Victoria University of Wellington 2015
Te Arawa Lakes Deed of Settlement Summary
NZ Government
Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Act 2006
NZ Legislation
Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Strategy Group
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
TALT Cultural Mapping report for Lake Rotoiti
Prepared by Te Arawa Lakes Trust May 2019
