The contents of an iwi management plan (IMP) will depend on the priorities and preferences of the iwi/hapū preparing the plan. IMPs are often holistic documents that cover more than resource management issues under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Some IMPs will address economic, social, political and cultural issues in addition to environmental and resource management issues.
Much like council plans, IMPs may include issues, objectives, policies and methods relating to ancestral taonga, such as rivers, lakes, seabed and foreshore, mountains, land, minerals, wāhi tapu, wildlife and biodiversity, and places of tribal significance. IMPs may address a single issue or resource such as aquaculture or freshwater, or provide a regional assessment of resource management issues of significance.
IMPs are often used by iwi/hapū to express how the sustainable management of natural resources can be achieved based on cultural and spiritual values. They often detail how the iwi/hapū expect to be involved in the management, development and protection of resources, and outline expectations for engagement and participation in RMA processes.
At a minimum, an IMP should identify the area of interest (rohe) to the iwi/hapū preparing the plan and state the resource management issues of significance to tangata whenua within that area.
