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Download AudioWhanganui River iwi is confident private landowners will get in behind a plan to fence the 290 km river and its tributaries and plant the banks.
The four years, $7.8 million Te Awa Tupua project was signed off this week by Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allen.
Sheena Maru, the chair of post-settlement governance entity Ngā Tangata Tiaki o Whanganui, says more than 630,000 seedlings will be cultivated locally and planted to mitigate decades of soil erosion.
She says Ngā Tangata Tiaki o Whanganui will help hapū, landowners and river communities with resources and guidance.
“We know that our landowners adjacent to the river want this because their practices are changing over time and they want to ensure their land isn’t moving off it and they are taking care of their soil because if they can do that they can be more productive with their piece of land and all the operations that they hold,” Ms Maru says.
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