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Ōhiwa Harbour Strategy
Strategy review workshop, 2014.
Image: BOPRC
Care > Ōhiwa Harbour Strategy
Ōhiwa - Together we’re keeping it special
He taonga tuku iho kē, ko tātau rā ngā uri e
It’s all about action. Te Rautaki mō Ōhiwa, the Ōhiwa Harbour Strategy (OHS) is essentially an action plan to maintain the well-being of the Ōhiwa Harbour and its catchment and improve its health where needed.
Priority areas are the catchment, the harbour itself and the people and communities living by this great taonga.
The Ōhiwa Harbour Strategy has been in place since 2007. It was originally put together by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) on behalf of the partner organisations and as a result of extensive consultation with the local community. In 2014 the Strategy was reviewed as many actions had either been completed or were ongoing. The public was invited to several workshops and the information collected was used to update the issues and actions in the strategy to better reflect what is going on in the catchment now.
The Ōhiwa Harbour Strategy partner organisations are:
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Ngāti Awa
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Te Ūpokorehe
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Te Whakatōhea
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Te Waimana
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Bay of Plenty Regional Council
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Whakatāne District Council
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Ōpōtiki District Council
Ōhiwa Harbour Implementation Forum
The Ōhiwa Harbour Implementation Forum (OHIF) leads the direction of the partnership and makes the big decisions. Its members are elected from the seven partner organisations every three years following local government elections. OHIF is a committee hosted by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and meets twice a year.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Cr Toi Kai Rākau Iti (Chair)
Ōpōtiki District Council
Dean Petersen
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa
Charlie Bluett
Te Ūpokorehe
Ngaire Ngamoki
Te Waimana
Hori Hillman
Whakatāne District Council
Cr Andrew Iles (Deputy chair)
Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board
Karen Mokomoko
Representatives of the Department of Conservation, the Ministry of Primary Industries and farmers of the harbour’s water catchment area regularly attend and contribute to the meetings of the Implementation Forum. Meeting venues rotate between the partners.
The ‘hands on’ work is done collectively and individually by the partner organisations, landowners, land managers, iwi and care groups.