For immediate release:

Kaipara Moana – ‘Looking Back Thinking Forward’

The Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group (IKHMG) is hosting an inaugural event showcasing and celebrating community and stakeholder partnership focused on the Kaipara Harbour.

The event -­ Kaipara Moana – ‘Looking Back Thinking Forward’ is being held on the 15-­16 of November 2014 at the Te Ao Marama Māori Cultural Centre in Te Hana, north of Auckland.

The IKHMG is a unique partnership led by Kaipara hapū, drawing together a range of stakeholders, landowners and decision makers to network, share knowledge, and best practice for the restoration and preservation of the Kaipara and its catchment, NZ’s largest estuarine ecosystem.

“IKHMG is a collaborative partnership. Its effectiveness and impact occurs by its ability to influence policy change, regulation, practice or investment, through knowledge, inspiration, good ideas, connections, and demonstrably effective solutions." says Willie Wright, chairman of the group for over 10 years.

The inaugural event being is a celebration of the IKHMG’s achievements and a showcase of 10 years of community partnership.

In this time the IKHMG has spearheaded a number of initiatives, including extensive research and environmental monitoring, establishment of a ‘flagship farm’ program and engaging in an ambitious program of riparian tree planting throughout the Kaipara catchment.

“There is a wealth of knowledge and expertise and this event is a chance to learn more about our harbour from scientists, experts and our community. By coming together we can share our knowledge and pool our resources”, says Willie Wright.

The IKHMG event is nationally significant and will engage Kaipara communities in catchment and harbour health.

The event will offer something of interest to all -­ from farmers to environmental managers, industry to hapū, government agencies and community groups.

The general public are welcome and encouraged to attend.

“Healthy productive communities need a healthy and productive harbour." says Leane Makey, IKHMG coordinator.

“The IKHMG is bringing our community together to celebrate the work we have achieved to raise the profile of the plight of the Kaipara moana”.

To register for the event you can visit www.kaiparaharbour.net.nz/kaiparamoana or call and email us using below details.

Find the Integrated Kaipara Hrbour Management Group online:
www.kaiparaharbour.net.nz

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Background Information:

Key Facts

The Kaipara Harbour is New Zealand’s largest esturine ecosystem at 94700 ha.

The harbour receives run-­off from a 6,400km2 catchment of which 53% supports highly productive pasture and a 9,000km river network.

Most of the natural world of the Kaipara was exhausted by the 1920s, through deforestation and subsequently through land management that has contributed to soil erosion, silted-­up streams, rivers and estuaries, poor water quality and bio-­ diversity loss (60-­80%), eutrophication (oxygen depletion due to over nutrification) and loss of productive land.

Today the Kaipara contains five broad ecosystems: forest, freshwater, scrublands, dunelands and estuaries.

It also contains some of the rarest ecosystems in New Zealand: sand dunes, seagrass and freashwater and estuarine wetlands.

The harbour is a well-­known and important snapper and shark nursery.

Research suggests this nursery provides most the North Island’s West Coast snapper population.

The Kaipara suffers ongoing, cumulative stress from sedimentation and eutrophication with high rates of sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen and E. coli bacteria.

The Wairoa River delivers the greatest sediment and nutrient loads into the harbour, which is transported throughout the Northern and into the Southern sections of the harbour, through to the harbour entrance.

The IKHMG – 10 years of partnership

IKHMG is a collaborative partnership.

It is unable to compel its membership to implement or change policies, regulation, practice or investment.

Its effectiveness and impact instead depends on its ability to influence these things through knowledge, inspiration, good ideas, connections, and demonstrably effective solutions.

Its management programmes are established to foster influence in as many different ways that are affordable, practical and have powerful impact.

IKHMG is unique in a number of respects: It was established and is led by manawhenua.

Their leadership and kaitiakitanga is a critical identifying component of this partnership.

It draws from both mātauranga Māori and western science in its programme development.

It is ambitious in scope, covering 640,000 hectares of land and New Zealand’s largest estuary, and engaging over two dozen committed partners and members from iwi, government, non-­government, community and business organisations.

It is strongly connected to the local community – farmers, fishers, business owners, local residents and hapu.

To bring practical effect to its vision, it designs and implements on-­the-­ ground projects and programmes as well as seeks to influence policy, regulation and practice of its partners.

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