Linkages between cultural and scientific indicators of river and stream health

Figures & data

Table 1  Glossary of Māori words

Māori term	Meaning
Atua	God, deity, supernatural being
Hapu	Sub-tribe, extended family
Iwi	Tribe
Kaitiaki	Guardians or the agent who practices kaitiakitanga
Kaitiakitanga	To exercise guardianship or stewardship of the environment and tikanga
Mahinga kai	Cultivation sites, gardens, places of food harvest and collection
Mana	Prestige
Marae	Social cultural centre, village
Mātauranga Māori	Māori knowledge
Mauri	Life force, metaphysical component of all things
Ngahere	Forest
Noa	Free from tapu, unrestricted
Puku	Stomach, centre
Rahui	Restrictions
Ritenga/Kawa	Rules, guidelines
Rongōa	Traditional medicines and treatments, cure, heal
Tangata whenua	People of the land, having an ancestral link and authority to a given area
Tapu	Sacred, off-limits
Taonga	Something treasured, iconic, highly valued
Te Tau Ihu	Tribes of the northern part of the South Island (e.g. Ngāti Rarua, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Koata)
Tikanga	Customary values, rules, and practices
Wai	Water
Wairua	Spiritual dimension

Figure 1  Location of 25 study sites in the Motueka and Riwaka river catchments, South Island, New Zealand.

Table 2  Cultural monitoring assessment framework with key indicators organised into Atua domains.

Atua domains
Ranginui (sky father, immeasurable universe)	Key indicators
Tangaroa (sea, coast, waterways)	Riverbank condition*^1
	Sediment on riverbed*^1
	Water clarity*^1
	Water flow*^1
	Water quality*^1
	Shape and form of river*^1
	Insect life (method, no. & species)
	Fish (method, no. & species)
Tāne mahuta (forests, birds, animals)	Riparian vegetation*^1
	Catchment vegetation*^1
	Bird life (method, no. & species)
	Ngahere/taonga (no. & species)
	Pest plants/animals (no. & species)
Haumia tiketike (wild foods)	Mahinga kai (no. & species)
	Traditional mahinga kai site*^2
Rongomatāne (crops, peace, harvested resources)	Contemporary mahinga kai site*^2
	Rongōa (no. & species)
Tūmatauenga (human made/human activities and conflicts/war)	Use of river*^1
	Use of river margins*^1
	Access to river*^2
	Cultural site (descriptive)
Tāwhirimātea (air, wind)	Smell of river*^1
	Weather*
Ora—Overall health	Feeling in puku*
Papatuānuku (earth mother, planet earth)
*Indicators are assigned a score from 1 to 5. Scores are averaged to calculate a Cultural Stream Health Measure^1 and Mahinga kai score^2.

Table 3  Guidelines for freshwater science indicators measured as part of State of the Environment monitoring in Motueka and Riwaka catchments.

Value	Key parameters measured	Guidelines
Life-supporting capacity	Dissolved oxygen (DO)	Healthy: >80% saturation or >6.5 mg/l daily minimum
	Macroinvertebrate community index (MCI) Semi-quantitative macroinvertebrate index (SQMCI)	Healthy stream (MCI > 120; SQMCI > 6)
		Mild pollution (MCI 100–120; SQMCI 5–6)
		Moderate pollution (MCI 80–100; SQMCI 4–5)
		Poor—severe pollution (MCI < 80; SQMCI < 4)
	pH	Excellent: 7–8
		Satisfactory: 6–7 or 8–9
		Unsatisfactory: <6 or >9
	Dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP)	Excellent: <0.005 g P/m^3
		Satisfactory: 0.005–0.01 g P/m^3
		Unsatisfactory: >0.01 g P/m^3
	Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN)	Excellent: <0.07 g N/m^3
		Satisfactory: 0.07–0.44 g N/m^3
		Unsatisfactory: >0.44 g N/m^3
Acceptability for swimming or drinking water	Turbidity	Excellent: <0.5 NTU
		Satisfactory: 0.5–5 NTU
		Unsatisfactory: >5 NTU
	Escherichia coli (E. coli)	Contact recreation limits
		<260 cfu/100 ml (acceptable)
		260–550 cfu/100 ml (alert)
		>550 cfu/100 ml (action)

Table 4  Complementary monitoring approaches in the study of river and stream health (adapted from Harmsworth 2002).

Monitoring approach	Skill requirements	Examples
Māori knowledge or culturally based
Cultural impact assessment; iwi monitoring of cultural-heritage sites; iwi monitoring of contaminated sites; cultural health index; Māori wetland, ngahere and estuarine indicators; culturally based environmental indicators	Require in-depth Māori knowledge and understanding of particular environments and issues; understanding of Māori values, goals, and aspirations; good for problem definition	Māori values; cultural sites, mahinga kai, pā, kainga; cultural history; taonga lists; te mauri; uses and preparation of taonga; land management, development issues; cultural information systems; culturally based assessments of river and stream health; coastal survey and monitoring of marine environments
Community–scientific based
Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit; Waterway Self Assessment Form; community based environmental performance indicators; amateur surveys	Require moderate levels of technical input and skill but scientifically robust and part-value based; cost effective, relatively simple and short duration; good for problem definition.	Stream and river condition; community based indicators; community values; community coastal surveys; non technical assessments; school monitoring programmes
Professionally based
Scientific or technical assessments; river and stream water quality monitoring methods; coastal survey and monitoring; archaeological survey; scientific environmental indicators; laboratory analysis	Require higher levels of technical input and skill, robust sampling strategies, analysis and interpretation; may be expensive and/or time-consuming; good for providing insight to solutions	Water/sediment quality; biological sampling including fish, macroinvertebrates, macrophytes, riparian vegetation, ecosystem processes; bacterial counts, pathogens; geographic information systems; satellite imagery; hydrology; groundwater survey; archaeological survey

Figure 2  Relationship between the cultural stream health measure (CSHM) and A, percentage native vegetation in the catchment, B, semi-quantitative macroinvertebrate community index (SQMCI) and C, macroinvertebrate community index (MCI). Dotted line shows line of best fit. Solid line shows line of best fit observed by Townsend et al. (2004).

Figure 3  Relationship between macroinvertebrate community index (MCI) and A, percentage native vegetation in the catchment, B, semi-quantitative macroinvertebrate community index (SQMCI) and C, E. coli. Dotted line shows line of best fit.

Figure 4  The proportion of sites (n=25) in stream health categories as defined by scientific guidelines (Table 3) and for cultural indicators (unsatisfactory <2, satisfactory 2–4, healthy >4).

Townsend , CR , Tipa , G , Teirney , LD and Niyogi , DK . 2004 . Development of a tool to facilitate participation of Māori in the management of stream and river health . EcoHealth , 1 : 184 – 195 .

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