The meaning of rivers in Aotearoa New Zealand—Past and future

Abstract

This paper examines how attitudes towards rivers in Aotearoa New Zealand have evolved since the country's settlement by Europeans, two centuries ago. For most of our postcolonial history, rivers have been viewed as something to be controlled and managed—even “improved.” But today, rivers are increasingly being recognized as embodying a broad range of values from the ecological to the spiritual—not simply as a “channel of water” that can be exploited for human ends. Although much of this evolving understanding stems from the advance in scientific knowledge, much too has its roots in our collective past.

Integrating multiple aquatic values: Perspectives and a collaborative future for river science

“…Te Aho (2019) illustrates how in this worldview, people, rivers, and their constituent parts, such as catchment, tributaries, lakes, wetlands, river beds, and banks, are not seen as separate but as parts of the whole. In contrast to this worldview, European settlers valued rivers primarily for particular functions and practical uses, such as their ability to provide navigation corridors, assimilate and transport waste, and produce electricity via hydropower stations (Knight, 2019). As such, New Zealand's rivers were seen as inferior in many regards, lacking desirable sports fish and being largely unsuitable for navigation.…”

“…As such, New Zealand's rivers were seen as inferior in many regards, lacking desirable sports fish and being largely unsuitable for navigation. Indeed, many waterways were legally treated simply as sewers for industrial and municipal waste (Knight, 2019). Looking to the future, there is increasing demand and recognition to incorporate traditional knowledge into decision‐making frameworks to manage freshwaters more effectively, and concepts, such as kaitiakitanga and Te Mana o te Wai (the integrity of water), have gained increasing traction in New Zealand governance and resource management (Te Aho, 2019).…”

“…How, then, can scientists best acknowledge, and work alongside, different forms of knowledge to view and manage rivers as social‐ecological systems? Five papers in the special issue examine this challenge and recommend methods for integrating different forms of knowledge (Brierley et al, 2019; Kauffman, 2019; Knight, 2019; Langhans, Jähnig, & Schallenberg, 2019; Parsons, 2019).…”

“…There is a growing movement to reflect the “rights of the rivers” in management decisions, which can be supported by both scientific and community values; indeed, the historical perspective of Knight (2019) concludes that it is perhaps time for us to not only let rivers speak for themselves but for us to listen. Brierley et al (2019) present a comparison of geomorphological and tangata whenua values relating to the Whanganui River, and its new status as a legal person (Te Aho, 2019), that emphasises the connectedness of human and non‐human elements of the river and its catchment.…”

“…This is further reflected by the increasing incorporation of such approaches Rivers shape and are in turn shaped by human societies (Parsons et al, 2017)-they are social-ecological systems. However, communities often attempt to force rivers into fixed or stable states, physically and conceptually (Knight, 2019), a view based upon a limited appreciation of biological, chemical, and physical processes. Many values of rivers have historically been under recognised because their economic values can be hard to assess (Kauffman, 2019).…”