The Guardians of Lakes Manapouri, Monowai and Te Anau (the Guardians) celebrated their 50th anniversary last weekend (20-21 May 2023).  

The Guardians have worked hard over the past 50 years to protect the major fresh water reservoirs of Fiordland and Southland to ensure the quality and quantity of the water is sufficient to satisfy all its users, including farmers, recreational users, and energy producers.

The Guardians’ goal is to preserve the natural beauty of these environmentally and culturally significant sources of water in the South of New Zealand and thus protect the many indigenous species of flora and fauna they support.

However, there are many challenges that restrain the Guardians’ ability to perform this role, such as lack of funding, difficulty in retaining their members, and the ever-changing environment.

The original Guardians of the Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau were established in 1973 following protests related to the Government plan to raise the levels of these two lakes by 30m and 3.6m respectively, a proposal which would have damaged the lakeshores irrevocably.

A petition opposing the development collected over quarter of a million signatures and forced the change of the government from National to Labour.

(L-R) Darryl Sycamore (Guardians chair), Sacha Jugum (Guardian), Sir Alan Mark (Original Guardian and chair), Madeleine Peacock (Guardian), Dr John Moore (an original Guardian) and Ailsa Cain (Guardian and Ngai Tahu rep) at the summit of Wilmot Pass. Photo: Supplied

The incoming government appointed the Guardians to monitor the use of the lakes by the Manapouri power station to make sure the water levels of the two lakes remained within their natural boundaries. 

The initial guardians – Alan Mark (chairman), Ron McLean, Jim MacFarlane, John Moore, Wilson Campbell and Les Hutchins –  were recruited from the main activists in the campaign to save the lakes. In 1987 the group incorporated similar responsibilities for Lake Monowai and the rivers that flow in and out of these three lakes. 

Today there are eight Guardians, each contributing different skills and knowledge to the group, from environmental scientists and intellectuals to members of the local iwi.

Current members are Madeleine Peacock – chairperson (Te Anau), Darryl Sycamore – deputy chair (Dunedin), Dr. Jane Kitson – Ngāi Tahu (Otatara), Dr. Sue Bennett (Te Anau / Rakiura), Bill Jarvie (Te Anau), David Barnes (Lower Hutt), Sacha Jugum (Auckland), and Ailsa Cain, Ngāi Tahu (Queenstown).

Madeleine Peacock, granddaughter of Les Hutchins, one of the original Guardians, is proud to continue her grandfather’s legacy of working to preserve these special places for future generations of New Zealanders, but says that things are different now to what they were at the beginning.

“Initially there was a lot of energy and support for the Guardians. Later the focus has shifted from saving the lakes to ensuring that the guidelines developed by the Guardians are still fit for purpose. We are now interested in a more wholistic approach, as in how the individual parts affect the entire system, hence including the Waiau catchment in our area of interest,” Peacock says.

Some important changes that affect the work of the Guardians include:

• climate change and rising occurrence of extreme weather events causing extreme highs and lows of river and lake levels,

• changes to land use leading to increasing demand for electric power generation, irrigation and human consumption, 

• establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal (1975) resulting in the addition of two Ngai Tahu members of the Guardians,

• introduction of the Resource Management Act (1991),

• building of the second tunnel for the Manapouri Power Station (2002). 

The challenges the Guardians face in the coming years are multiple.

“Climate change is one of them. As the climate continues to warm the weather patterns that affect the catchment will be different again and we need to always be mindful of whether or not the Guidelines [developed by the Guardians] are fit for purpose to meet these changes,” Peacock explains.  

“The state of the Lower Waiau River is a serious concern for the Guardians, as it is for many communities and other interest groups. Meridian consents are due for renewal in 2031 and we are actively working towards understanding what the consenting process will look like and what we would like to achieve through this process for improved health of the whole catchment, but the Lower Waiau River in particular.”

Trying to raise their profile within the community with limited resources is another challenge.  

“The Guardians of the Lakes have a massive legacy and understand the importance of the work we do for not only our local communities but for all the people of NZ to protect these special natural resources, and we would like to raise our profile to help people understand the work we do and why it is important,” Peacock says. 

However, lack of resources limits their options. The Guardians get a small payment for attending two meetings per year and get reimbursement for transport to and from meetings, but other than that they work voluntarily.

As a chair, Peacock estimates she spends 20 hour per week on Guardians duties. Some resource consent conditions require approval by the Guardians and investigating those takes a lot of time.

It seems that the Guardians position is like being between a rock and a hard place.

The rock being the Department of Conservation (DOC) on whom the Guardians are leaning for support, and the hard place are the demands of the power generation coming from both the consumers and producers of electricity.

Although the Guardians report to the Minister of Conservation (MOC), they don’t get national funding but are financed from the Fiordland area DOC office, who have their own budgetary restraints. 

Asked to comment on the cooperation between DOC and the Guardians, and their ability to provide the Guardians with the support needed, DOC Te Anau Operations Manager John Lucas stated “The Department has and continues to work closely with the lake Guardians on various matters related to their mandate. The Guardians are appointed by the MOC and have an important statutory function with respect to the Monowai, Manapouri and Te Anau lakes. The Te Anau office of the Department of Conservation provides the Guardians with an annual operational budget along with administrative support and technical advice to fulfil their statutory function.”

But Peacock feels that the Guardians are under-resourced to be able to effectively fulfil their role and mandate. 

“Having technical support through DOC is very helpful. However, secretarial support is needed and a budget that allows us to do our job. There is goodwill at DOC, and we are working with them to address this.” 

As for the Guardians’ relationship with Meridian, she likens it to “an arranged marriage”.

“Our children are the lakes and the rivers. We both love them, but sometimes disagree on how to treat them, but we are committed to working together.”

“It’s a constructive relationship, quite healthy at the moment. Sometimes we have difficult conversations, but we have a good way of working through them,” she says.

The 50th anniversary celebration was held in Te Anau and Manapouri last weekend (20-21 May).