Environment Canterbury is responsible for not only environmental outcomes, but also social, economic, and cultural outcomes in a 45,000 square kilometre area of the South Island. It is an area that includes many of New Zealand's iconic landscapes and majestic vistas, from north of Kaikōura to Waitaki in the South and inland as far as the Southern Alps, including the spectacular braided rivers and the mighty maunga Aoraki / Mount Cook. Ngāi Tahu, of course, are the original people and kaitiaki of much of that area, having had an intimate connection with it since the ancient migrations of Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe, and Ngāi Tahu. Generations later, the sense of kaitiaki responsibility that Ngāi Tahu has for the natural environment has not diminished. To the contrary, it remains vital and strong and increasingly relevant. Ngāi Tahu is increasingly recognised as a strategic partner in the Canterbury region.