After decades of Treaty settlement discussions, a new group overseeing the Bay of Plenty's Rangitāiki River and its catchments has been formed.

The establishment of the Rangitāiki River Forum, a new group comprising 50 per cent iwi and 50 per cent council members, is being deemed a milestone which signifies a new relationship between council and iwi who, through this forum, now share the responsibility of managing and protecting this river.

The Rangitaiki River in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

The Rangitāiki River Forum is the first Treaty settlement in the Bay of Plenty to involve co-governance of a river.

It has been established through Treaty settlements for Ngāti Manawa and Ngāti Whare (based around Murupara, Galatea and Te Whaiti, and whose traditional tribal areas include the middle and upper reaches of the Rangitāiki River).

Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa are also members on this forum as they also have relationships along the reaches of the Rangitāiki River.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whare chairman Bronco Carson was appointed Chair of the Forum at the group's inaugural meeting in Whakatāne.

Bronco says the Forum brings iwi to the decision-making table for the management of the Rangitāiki River.

'This forum is important because it gives iwi active participation in the decisions that are made over the river.

'The forum's main focus is working together with the underlying goal of looking after the health and wellbeing of the river and its catchments.”

The Forum will create a document to oversee the protection of the river and its catchments, the Rangitāiki River Document, which is expected to be completed in 2013.