FRESHWATER IN
NEW ZEALAND

Anja Morrell
April 14 2020

The question “Ko wai au?” in Māori is asking about identity but directly translates into
“Who are my waters?” (Ruru, 2018). This question highlights the importance of water to the
Māori people of New Zealand. Water is sacred and a key part of their identity, helping to define
their tribe’s origins. In my paper I will look at the cultural importance of water to the Māori, their
struggle to protect their water sources and their water rights, the Whanganui River settlement,
and the importance of the Māori’s water struggles globally.

The Māori are the Indigenous Peoples of New Zealand who are made up of many
different groups. There are about forty different tribes and hundreds of subtribes throughout the
country (Ruru, 2018). Although the groups differ from one another, they do share some
similarities, such as the significant role that water plays in their culture. All of the tribes have
geographical identity markers connected to water and “many rivers and lakes throughout the
country are culturally important for tribal identity” (Ruru, 2018). The Māori view water as a
“means of transport, livelihood, tradition, and identity” (Martin, 2019, p57) and as a living being
with mauri or life force (Ruru, 2018). Water is part of the Māori’s cosmovision, which influences
their conceptions of water. To the Māori, water is sacred and is something that they are related
to, and that sustains their people. Part of their identity is derived from bodies of water, such as
rivers and lakes, that are important to their tribes. To these people water is much more than a
resource for survival or profit. New Zealand was colonized by the British in the mid-1800s,
which had major impacts on the Māori, particularly on their culture and natural resources
(Harmsworth et al., 2016, p2). Many of New Zealand’s natural resources, including water, were
exploited by the colonizers. Since then, the New Zealand legal system has treated water as being
unownable (Johnston, 2018, p41) and regularly does not recognize Indigenous ownership. The

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Māori have been forced to fight against the privatization of water, to protect their water from
pollution and large corporations, and to have their water rights recognized.

The way that the Māori and non-Māori people view water differs substantially, resulting
in very different relationships with, uses, and treatment of water. “The common law views
freshwater as a fugitive resource: incapable of ownership until it is captured. It
compartmentalises bodies of water, such as rivers and lakes, into components” (Johnston, 2018,
p40). An example of a component is the banks which are considered ownable while the actual
flowing water is not. So, if you have the land the river is on, or beside you, have access to that
water. This compartmentalization allows for bodies of waters to be broken down into separate
pieces to be sold and profited from. But to the Māori, water’s value is much more than economic.
Culturally water is sacred and even to this day the basic tenets of traditional society are still
strong and influence how the Māori live (Harmsworth et al., 2016, p2). In New Zealand the
Resource Management Act, or RMA, manages the use of all New Zealand air, water, and land,
putting day to day decision making under local governments’ control (Ruru, 2018). The RMA
and associated policy provides Māori interests with a legal base to be considered in decision
making about water use, but it has not done much to significantly protect Māori interests (Ruru,
2018). New Zealand’s settler state does not recognize Māori ownership over freshwater,
claiming that no one owns water or that we all own water (Ruru, 2018). The Māori have been on
the land far longer than the settlers but are denied control over their water, only getting some
power in decision making over what the Māori consider as rightfully theirs. The RMA has failed
to protect water ecosystems that are currently declining (Martin, 2019, p55) and “the Crown’s
position that ‘no one owns water,’ the assumption of water as a commons, is based on a weakly

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founded precedent in English common law” (Martin, 2019, p56) and completely ignores Māori
law. Legislation has been developed to weigh the economic advantage against environmental
values and in a capitalist system economics trump the environment.

On August 5, 2014, the Whanganui Māori and the New Zealand government signed a
deed of settlement to legally recognize the Whanganui River as a living being with its own
rights, placing the river in a new relation with human beings (Salmon, 2014). This river has
incredible importance to its people. This importance is highlighted by the Whanganui people’s
saying, “Ko au te Awa, Ko te Awa ko au” or “I am the River, the River is me” (Salmon, 2014).
This settlement does not mean the end of the Māori’s water struggles but it is undoubtably a
victory and a step in the right direction. The Crown and Whanganui tribes mutually picked two
people to be the human face of the river and to act in its name and interests and to administer the
Te Korotete, a $30 million fund to support the river’s health and well-being (Salmon, 2014). As
well, an $80 million payment was made to the Whanganui tribes for “breaches of their rights in
relation to the river under the Treaty of Waitangi” (Salmon, 2014). This deed of settlement
reflects Māori beliefs and their relationship with the river and recognizes the Whanganui as a
people.

The Whanganui River settlement was the result of years of struggle by the Māori against
colonial views and legislation. This victory is a reward for their hard work as this settlement is in
line with Māori culture and beliefs as well as recognizing them and their relationship with the
Whanganui River. What has been granted to the river is called fluvial personhood, which is the
inherent rights of certain elements such as rivers. This personhood has not only been granted in

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New Zealand but also in Canada with the Magpie River in Quebec. This river is in the territory
of the Innu First Nation, whose members also have a spiritual connection with water. Fluvial
personhood is very important because it provides these bodies of water with a new kind of
protection and recognizes them in a new way. Instead of just being a resource, they are persons
with rights which garners them more respect. Fluvial personhood in general, and the Whanganui
River settlement in particular, are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP, article 26 point 2, “Indigenous peoples have the right to
own, use, develop, and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of
traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as those which they have
otherwise acquired,” and article 29 point 1, “Indigenous peoples have the right to the
conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands or
territories and resources. States shall establish and implement assistance programmes for
Indigenous Peoples for such conservation and protection, without discrimination” (Manuel and
Derrickson, 2015). Both UNDRIP articles outline Indigenous rights to their traditional natural
resources and protections for those resources.

Like the Indigenous Peoples of New Zealand, other Indigenous groups worldwide also
have a spiritual and cultural connection with water, have spent years fighting to protect their
water, and to have their water rights respected. There are many different Indigenous groups of
water defenders. One example is the Lenca people in Honduras. Water is also sacred to them,
and they have been fighting for their “mandatory rights as Indigenous peoples to their cultural
and spiritual identity, habitat, food, water, self-government, control over territories and natural
assets, respect and inclusion” (Lakhani, 2020). The Lenca and the Māori are only two examples

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of Indigenous groups who are water defenders with cultural and spiritual ties to water. There are
many more around the world who face similar struggles. This is why the Māori’s fight and
victories are important and go beyond New Zealand. The Māori’s wins are significant for all
Indigenous Peoples as they set a precedence, showing what is possible. Debates around resource
management in New Zealand had led to exploring new styles of governance and collaboration
such as asserting Indigenous rights which have led to positive legislative change (Harmsworth et
al., 2016, p3). Internationally New Zealand stands out for having signed an overarching treaty
between the government and Indigenous Maori groups that crosses agencies, communities, and
jurisdictions to acknowledge and recognize Indigenous rights (Harmsworth et al., 2016, p5)
proving that this can be done. The Māori’s water fight has global relevance, and their successes
bring hope to others fighting the same fight abroad.

Water is important to every culture and human being but the reason for that value differs
greatly. For the Māori, water is considered to be sacred and a part of their identity as a people
that believes water is a living being they must respect and care for. Many other Indigenous
groups around the world have similar connections to and views about water, which is why they
are fighting similar battles to the Māori. But no matter what your relationship with water is or
what your beliefs are, water is crucial to your survival. There is only a finite amount of
freshwater in the world, and it must be respected and protected.

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Bibliography
-Harmsworth, G., Awatere, S., & Robb, M. (2016). Indigenous Māori values and perspectives to
inform freshwater management in Aotearoa-New Zealand. Ecology and Society, 21(4).
http://www.jstor.org/stable/26269997

-Johnston, A. (2018). Murky Waters: The Recognition of Māori Rights and Interests in
Freshwater. Te Mata Koi: Auckland University Law Review, 24, 39–65
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-Lakhani, N. (2020). “Chapter 2 The Indigenous Awakening.” Who Killed Berta Caceres.
Verso Books. 39-50

-Martin, B. (2019). Water Law: A New Statute for a new Standard of Mauri for Fresh Water.
Policy Quarterly. 15 (3): 55-61
https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/pq/article/view/5688/4997

-Ruru, J. (2018). Listening to Papatūāuku: A Call to Reform Water Law. Journal of the Royal
Society of New Zealand. 48 (2-3): 215-224
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03036758.2018.1442358

- Salmond, A. (2014). Tears of Rangi. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 4(3), 285–309
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.14318/hau4.3.017

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