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Ko aku waka whakairo ko Takitimu, ko Uruao
Kei runga ko Ōparure
Kei raro ko Mataura e rere ki te moana o te Ara a Kiwa
Ko Māruawai taku whenua taurikura e takoto nei
Takoto mai ko Matamata, te mōkai tapu o Rakitauneke,
te taniwha
Ko Te Au-nui Pihapiha Kanakana te rere
Ko Hoka-nui, Kowhaka-ruru, Tarahau-kapiti ngā puke
Ko Tūtemakohu raua ko Te Rakitauneke ngā tīpuna
Tū mai ko Ō Te Ika Rama, te whakaruruhau o te mano
Tēnei te reo o Waitaha, Ngāti Mamoe, Ngāti Kurī,
Ngāi Tahu ngā iwi
Kia taurikura ai. Kia haumako ai ko te taiao mo te apōpō
Let the land be prosperous and fertile for future generations
Sustainably support the growth of Hokonui Rūnanga Kaupapa Taiao by enhancing self-determination to manage, restore, and provide for te ao tūroa (the natural world).
We will develop leaders and connect ngā tangata to the whenua through teaching and knowledge sharing as kaitiaki.
We will uphold the mana and rangatiratanga of e taiao in the realm of Rakinui and Papatuānuku.
In 2020, the Kaupapa Taiao Team was awarded ‘Jobs for Nature’ funding to deliver 12,000 ha of predator control over three years with the Catlins Biodiversity Project via the Department of Conservation and predator control for three years for Hokonui Hills Biodiversity Project via LINZ (Land Information New Zealand).
In 2021, they won the Environmental Action in Water Quality Environment Southland Community Award. The following is from the Environment Southland website.
“Hokonui Rūnanga’s environmental arm is seriously impressive. The Hokonui Rūnanga Kaupapa Taiao programme started in December 2020. The purpose of this programme was to ensure the rūnanga increased capacity across the Mataura catchment with a focus on Mātauranga Māori. They identified a need to develop a specialist set of skills to support the delivery of their environmental projects…”
In 2022, the Kaupapa Taiao Team gained research funding from the BioHeritage National Science Challenge | Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho as part of the Freshwater for our Taonga investment to co-lead Freshwater for our taonga: the voice of taonga species, using an indicator species (kanakana/piharau) for reversing the decline of mahinga kai through which they have been able to co-develop and implement an innovative captive breeding and translocation initiative for kanakana. The team drew from local and international expertise – including knowledge exchange with First Nations communities overseas to create a novel roadmap that traverses cultural, legislative and ecological considerations. Hokonui actively implemented this initiative as it was being developed, setting into motion an intergenerational vision for thriving kanakana. This research led to the conceptualisation of Taonga Research, spearheaded by Hokonui Rūnanga and supported by other kaimahi and whānau, and investigating options for a dedicated freshwater research facility in Murihiku.
The team have been funded to lead two Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund projects, Kā Ara Tīpuna and Contemporary kaitiakitanga of freshwater taonga in Aotearoa. They are embedded in the research teams of two Endeavour MBIE-funded research projects, Emerging Aquatic Diseases (Cawthron Institute), which has a focus on kanakana, and Fish Futures (Cawthron Institute), which is developing fish management strategies that are holistic and just. They have also contributed to the success of MBIE-funded research programmes Ngā Kete o Te Wānanga: Mātauranga, Science and Freshwater Management Research and Habitat Bottlenecks for Freshwater Fauna with NIWA.