TheWaikato River
and its catchment
The Waikato River and its region has been populated for at
least the past 700 to 800 years. The river provided physical and
spiritual sustenance for large populations of Maaori living along its
catchment. Throughout that time it was a source of food, including
eels, fish and plants. It was also an important waka route.
With the arrival of European settlers in the 1840s and 1850s the Waikato River was the main
access route inland for traders and missionaries.
The last hundred years have seen sweeping changes to the region’s landscapes and where
people have settled, used and created resources. Over time, the human activities along the
Waikato River and the increasingly intensive land uses through its catchments have degraded
the Waikato River and reduced the relationships and aspirations of communities who identify
with the Waikato River.
This degradation of the Waikato River and its catchment has severely compromised Waikato
River Iwi in their ability to exercise kaitiakitanga or conduct their tikanga and kawa.
Through the Treaty Settlement process between Waikato-Tainui and the Crown the Guardians
Establishment Committee was formed with the support of other Waikato River Iwi. In 2009 the
Guardians Establishment Committee finalised its Vision and Strategy for the Waikato River. That
Vision and Strategy, “to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River”,
has been incorporated in the settlement legislation for the Waikato River Raupatu Claim - the
legislation under which The Waikato River Authority is constituted. The Authority assumed
guardianship of the Vision and Strategy at the time of its formation in 2010.
The Vision and Strategy incorporates the objectives sought by Waikato-Tainui and other
objectives that reflect the interests of Waikato River Iwi and of all New Zealanders. In 2012 the
Nga Wai o Maniapoto legislation was enacted to include the upper catchment of the Waipa River
through to its junction with the Waikato River. The Vision and Strategy now applies to the whole
of the Waipa River catchment.
These objectives encompass all people of the Waikato River and their relationships with it -
through their communities, industries, recreation, social and cultural pursuits.
Restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River
6
