Te Apiti Conservation Management Plan

The following sections identify a significant resource management issue for Te Apiti, and focuses on a site area of approximately 5 kilometres out from each side of the saddle road. Objectives, policies, methods and outcomes have been developed in response to the following issue:

Since geotechnical instability along the Manawatu Gorge closed State Highway 3 (SH3) in 2017, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has proposed the construction of a new 11.5 kilometre Highway over the Ruahine Range. Earthworks and vegetation removal to complete the highway’s construction will have the potential to negatively affect sites of cultural significance to Rangitane.

• Ecosystem based natural resource management

An ecosystem is a dynamic network of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit. An ecosystems management approach identifies ecosystem services to consider the full range of environmental, social, economic and cultural benefits humans get from natural environments and healthy ecosystems. Fish (2011) notes that an ecosystem-based approach to natural resource management takes a strategic perspective of the different ecosystem services that may be impacted by political decisions, and designs management responses that reflect the values and use of natural resources. An ecosystems approach has been incorporated into this plan because it utilises the concept of ecosystem services to organise the potential environmental, social, economic and cultural changes that may positively or negatively affect the Te Apiti landscape.  

• Community-based natural resource management

A community-based approach is all about the bottom-up management of natural resources and land by multiple groups of people, rather than professional or technical experts who lack a deeper connection with the landscape. Bridge and Wyeth (2019, p. 256) notes that collaborative management seeks to include local knowledge into resource governance that lie beyond formal scientific and technical expertise. Participatory and collaborative strategies also tend to focus on value-based questions as management guides such as who benefits and who carries the risk associated with management decisions, and who should be part of making those decisions. A community-based approach has been incorporated into this plan because of its inclusionary governance structure which is better suited to local-scale projects, and its value-based objectives that consider who benefits and who is directly affected by resource management.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) have proposed the construction of a new 11.5 kilometre Highway over the Ruahine Range to replace SH3. Earthworks and vegetation removal to complete the highway’s construction will have the potential to negatively affect sites of cultural significance to Rangitane.

There are a variety of natural resources found at Te Apiti that hold social, cultural, economic and environmental significance to local communities. Te Apiti Wind Farm holds the most economic value at this site. Wind passing over the Ruahine Range is unimpeded from the Tasman Sea and naturally funnelled through the Manawatu Gorge, making it the perfect location for turbines. Meridian Energy owns and operates 55 turbines, and generates enough renewable energy to power 30,000 homes (Meridian Energy, 2021). The Saddle Road is a 10 kilometre stretch of road between Ashhurst and Woodville, and is a significant travel route for road users, especially for freight service providers. The permanent closure of the Gorge Road in 2017 has increased traffic volumes on Saddle Road from 150 to 5100 vehicles per day because it is now the main transit link between the Manawatu, Wairarapa and Hawks Bay regions, (NZTA, 2019).

The geography of Te Apiti has also restricted human activity taking place in the area. Te Apiti holds cultural value to Ngati Rangitane because more than half of the original vegetation is untouched by European settlement. Te Apiti also holds many taonga that are sacred to Rangitane descendants, such as Te Au Nui a te Taonga (a waterfall), Te Ahu a Turanga (a red coloured tapu rock) and Kouka (Cabbage Trees) (Horizons, 2020). Te Ao Maori also carries a deep spiritual connection between Rangitane and the natural landscape. This means that Te Apiti significantly shapes Maori identity and sense of place. The management of Te Apiti’s natural resources is currently under the jurisdiction of Horizons Regional Council, Manawatu District Council, and Tararua District Council.

A cultural impact assessment for Te Ahu a Turanga; Manawatū Tararua Highway Project that was prepared for NZTA found that direct impacts to the site are most likely to be caused by earthworks, operation of machinery, works within the riverbed/bank, modification to natural waterways and vegetation clearance (Horizons, 2020). The identified activities are likely to impact cultural and ecological resources that hold spiritual value to Rangitane. Concerns have been expressed by local Maori that the placement of bridges and roads may sever the connections between sites of cultural significance. The design of a bridge crossing the Manawatu River was amended in partnership with Rangitane to include only one pier in the riverbed. This is intended to minimise and negative impacts on the awa and the connection between Parahaki Island and the Manawatu Gorge (Horizons, 2020). A long-term goal that this plan seeks to achieve within the next 20 to 50 years is the sustainable completion of the Tararua Manawatu Highway, which continues to promote the economic, environmental, social, and cultural wellbeing of Te Apiti it’s local communities. 

• To protect, preserve and, where practicable, restore areas of significant and unique indigenous biodiversity and the natural ecosystems of Te Apiti that may be affected by the construction and maintenance of Te Ahu a Turanga.

• To recognise the contribution of matauranga/traditional Maori knowledge and practices to the protection of customary use of indigenous flora and fauna, as partners in Te Ahu a Turanga.

• To organise and present the potential impacts to ecosystem services to Te Apiti’s environmental, social, economic and cultural wellbeing, and collaborate with a range of local groups in consultation and decision-making processes.

Participatory and collaborative strategies focus on value-based questions about management goals, who benefits and who carries the risk associated with management decisions, and who should be part of making those decisions. An ecosystems management approach uses the concept of ecosystem services to consider the full range of ecological, social and environmental benefits from the environment to people by addressing a set of key questions. The following actions are derived from an ecosystem-based management strategy and a community-based management strategy:

• Recognising the holistic nature of rural peoples lives and placing local communities whose livelihoods depend on the natural resources, and positioned them at the centre of management. This is to enable a diverse range of affected groups to participate in site assessments, decision making, and project implementation. 

• Adopting a partnership approach that pools technical, cultural, and local knowledge so planners can build on the strengths of different groups. This enables planners to design Te Ahu a Turanga in a meaningful way that acknowledges and accommodates the interests of those directly affected by the highway’s construction by amending bridge designs or the shape of the road or planting trees to regenerate areas of bush that may be damaged or removed during the construction sequence.

• Explicitly identifying and classifying the benefits that people derive from Te Apiti ecosystems, including market and non-market, use and non-use, tangible and intangible benefits (eg. cultivating indigenous plants, maintaining genetic biodiversity, and cultural stimulation). In addition to identifying what the critical levels of ecosystem services for economic, environmental, social, cultural and institutional welfare are, and the possibilities and implications that Te Ahu a Turanga may cause. This is to develop a dynamic measuring stick for any negative effects this project may have on the current landscape.

• Affected individuals feel that they have been thoroughly consulted, and their interests in the management of Te Apiti’s natural resources have been acknowledged by planners.

• Local/cultural knowledge of Te Apiti has been taken into consideration and incorporated into Te Ahu a Turanga. Any modification to the natural environment has not damaged the ecological/spiritual value of sites that hold cultural significance to Rangitane, or slopes/riverbanks that are prone to geotechnical instability and erosion that may damage the life-supporting capacity of the Manawatu River.

• Interested parties are aware of the environmental, social, economic and cultural effects that decision making may have on the current state of Te Apiti. The completion of Te Ahu a Turanga aligns to resource consent conditions agreed upon by Horizons Regional Council, Manawatu District Council, Tararua District Council and other environmental legislation (eg. Resource Management Act, Horizons One Plan, National Policy Statement for Freshwater).

Value systems that organise and classify ecosystem services discussed in the ecosystem-based resource management approach primarily represent Western philosophies. In contrast, the community-based approach that prioritises local and indigenous knowledge reflects a Kaitiakitanga perspective. Kaitiakitanga refers to a deep relationship between the spiritual realm, humans and the natural world. It includes protecting and guarding Papatūānuku, or mother earth/the land, and the organisms that live on her. Under a kaitiakitanga approach is the concept of tangata whenua, the people of the land. Local Maori who are affiliated with Rangitane O Manawatu have inherited genealogy and deep ties with Te Apiti as a kaitiaki (or guardian) (Te Ahukaramū, 2007). Kaitiakitanga has been integrated into this conservation management plan by promoting local and cultural knowledge as a method to ensure that the mauri (life force) of significant ecosystems, native bush, and taonga (treasure) remains healthy and strong.