Sign In / Register
Five years after its formation, Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) says its work is showing that investing in the environment can also strengthen communities, businesses and the economy.
That was the message KMR catchment remediation manager Lisette Rawson took to the Sustainable Business Network’s Nature and Business Symposium in Auckland last month.
Rawson joined senior representatives from the Climate Change Commission, Zespri and Beca for a panel discussion exploring how businesses can take action for nature, including through partnerships, te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori.
Rawson said healthy businesses ultimately depended on healthy ecosystems, with KMR’s work across the Kaipara Moana catchment demonstrating the benefits of taking a long-term approach.
“In te ao Māori, people are part of nature, not separate from it. If the whenua is healthy, eventually our communities and economies will feel that too,” Rawson said.
“Through KMR’s journey since signing our memorandum of understanding in 2020, we have seen first-hand many times that when organisations start seeing nature as a core dependency, they move from short-term thinking to long-term stewardship.”
KMR acting pou tātaki Emma Doré said the symposium reflected growing recognition that investment in nature was not simply an environmental responsibility, but increasingly important for businesses.
“Healthy ecosystems underpin resilient communities, productive landscapes and long-term economic prosperity,” she said.
KMR is a 10-year programme aimed at reducing sediment flowing into Kaipara Moana, New Zealand’s largest harbour, through planting, fencing, wetland protection and other remediation work.
In its first five years, almost 1000 projects have been completed across the Auckland and Northland Kaipara Moana catchment, with more than 161,000 hectares managed under KMR plans.
Around three million plants have either been planted or contracted for planting, while close to 2000 hectares has been planted or is regenerating into native forest. More than 1000 kilometres of fencing has also been completed to protect waterways, wetlands and erosion-prone hillsides.
Rawson said one of KMR’s key lessons had been the importance of collaboration between mana whenua, farmers, landowners, councils and communities.
“When we invest in the health of the whenua and moana, we’re not only reducing risk, but we’re also strengthening communities, supporting productive land use and creating opportunities for future generations.”
