Mihimihi

KOTAHITANGA MŌ TE TAIAO LEADERSHIP ENGAGING WITH OTHERS AT WESTPORT WĀNANGA 2022 (LEFT TO RIGHT): DEBS MARTIN, MARTIN RODD, AND DAVE JOHNSTON | NOMAD AV

Ki a Ranginui e tū iho nei, ki a Papatūānuku e takoto ake nei, tae noa ki ā rāua tamariki maha, te whakatīnanatanga o tō tātou ao, kei te mihi!

Rātou te hunga wairua ki a rātou, tātou te hunga ora ki a tātou, Tīhei mauri ora! Ki ngā kaitiaki toa o tō tātou rohe o Te Tauihu o Te Waka ki o Te Tai Poutini, o te raki o Kawatiri, koutou e poipoi nei i tō tātou taiao hei oranga mō ngā uri whakaheke, e mihi ana. Ka tika me mihi ki a koutou i whakapau werawera ki te whakakotahi i ngā whakaaro, ki te kōkiri anō i ngā kōrero ki te rīpoata taiao nei hei painga mō te katoa.

"Ko Te Tauihu o Te Waka o Te Tai Poutini, o te raki o Kawatiri, he whenua taurikura, he rite ki te ao nō tua whakarere. Kua hau tōna rongo i te tapu, i te huhua o te taiao nei. He kainga motuhake a Te Tauihu mō ngā momo e hia rau nei e kore e kitea i wāhi kē." Tēnā koutou katoa. Ranginui who stands aloft, to Papatūānuku who lies below, and their many children who are the manifestation of our world, acknowledgements are given.

May the deceased stay with the spirits, and the living continue on, listen the life force is alive!

To the guardians of the top of the South Island to Kawatiri, northern Buller, those that nurture the environment so that it is prosperous for future generations, we give thanks. Acknowledgements are also given to those who have spent many hours collating information for this environmental report, an asset that will be useful for the days to come. ‘The top of the South Island to Kawatiri, northern Buller, is the most environmentally diverse and ancient part of New Zealand. It is home to hundreds of species found nowhere else in the world and these form unique natural communities.’ Acknowledgements to all.