Te Whanganui-a-Tara: “Tēnei te pānui atu nei, i runga anō i te manawareka, nō te rangi nei i tuwhera ai te pūtea o Te Mana o Te Wai, e $30 miriona te rahi. He pūtea tēnei ka pau ki te tautoko i a ngāi Māori mā ki te whakaora ake i ngā pūnaha wai māori i ō rātou rohe,” te kōrero a te Hēkeretari mō te Taiao, a Vicky Robertson.
“E arotahi ana te tahua nei ki ngā hapori, tae atu ki ngā hapū, ngā marae me ngā whānau. E whai ana ki te tautāwhi i ngā hapori ki te whakapai ake i te hauora o ngā wai māori, ki te whakatupu tūranga mahi ki te taiao, ki te wāhi wāhi anō hoki ki te whakatakinga o ngā wai māori.
“Ko te ariā o Te Mana o Te Wai, kia noho mātāmua mai te hauora o te wai māori, mā te whakaora ake, mā te rauhī hoki i tōna kaha hei puna ora mō ērā atu mea ora katoa o te ao. Koia hoki te mātāpono arataki o te mōkihi Wai Māori Mātuatua i whakaterea e te Kāwanatanga i tērā tau.
“Ko tā tēnei pūtea, he poipoi i a ngāi Māori kia pakari ake tō rātou raukaha me ō rātou pūkenga mō te whāi wāhi atu ki ngā mahi whakahaere i ngā wai māori i ō rātou rohe, tae atu ki ngā whakatau mō aua wai. Ā, he tautoko tonu tēnei i te whakatinanatanga o ngā mahi whakatika i ngā Wai Māori Mātuatua,” te whakakapi a Vicky Robertson.
Ko ngā Kupu Whakapuaki i te Aronui (arā, ngā EOI), he tono rānei mō tētahi kaupapa kua oti mārire te whakarite, he whakaaro kē rānei mō tētahi kaupapa. Ā, ki te angitū, ka mahi tahi ōna anō tāngata o konei ki ngā kaiwhakahaere o te kaupapa ki te whakawhanake i te whakaaro hei mahere e taea ana te tautoko ā-pūtea atu.
E akiakihia ana ngā kaitono kia mahi tahi ki ētahi atu hapū, marae, whānau i ō rātou rohe kia nui ai ngā hua o te kaupapa ki te rohe, kua puta ai hoki he hua ki te kaupapa i te tautoko tahi, tētahi i tētahi.
Kua huaki te ara tuku mai i ngā Kupu Whakapuaki i te Aronui, ā, ka noho tuwhera tonu tae noa ki te wā kua oti ngā moni katoa te tāpui.
He wāhanga te pūtea o Te Mana o Te Wai nō te mōkihi Mahi mō te Taiao a te Kāwanatanga me tōna $1.245 piriona kua tohua hei whakaputa hua nui ki te taiao, hei whakatupu mahi hoki mā te manomano tāngata i ō tātou rohe, kia tere ake ai tā tātou tū pakari anō i muri i te ngau a KORONA-19.
He pārongo atu anō, tae atu ki ngā paearu e āhei ai koe ki te tono, ngā aratohu me ngā puka EOI, kei te pae tukutuku a te Manatū mō te Taiao.
Wellington: “I’m pleased to announce that the $30 million Te Mana o Te Wai fund has opened today, a fund dedicated to supporting Māori restore freshwater systems in their rohe,” said Secretary for the Environment Vicky Robertson.
“The fund has a focus on local communities, including hapū, marae and whānau groups. It is aimed at supporting communities to improve freshwater health, create nature based-employment opportunities and participate in freshwater management.
“The concept of Te Mana o Te Wai is about putting the health of freshwater first by restoring and protecting its life support capacity. It is also the guiding principle of the Essential Freshwater package that the Government launched last year.
“This funding will support Māori to build capacity and capability to be involved in and make decisions for freshwater management in their rohe, which will support the implementation of the Essential Freshwater reforms,” concluded Vicky Robertson.
Expressions of interest (EOI) can be fully developed project applications, but project ideas are welcome too. If successful, officials can work with project partners to develop the idea into an investment-ready plan.
Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with other hapū, marae and whānau groups in their rohe to ensure that projects have a strong impact at a local level and that they can benefit from collective support.
Expressions of Interest are now being accepted and the fund will be open until it is fully subscribed.
The Te Mana o Te Wai fund is part of the Government’s $1.245 billion Jobs for Nature package that aims to create significant environmental benefits and employ thousands in our regions to help accelerate the recovery from the impact of COVID-19.
Find more information including eligibility criteria, guidelines and EOI forms on the Ministry for the Environment’s website.
ENDS
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