The 2020 Taupo-nui-a-Tia Project was a three-year project originally initiated by the Lakes and Waterways Action Group. In July 2001, the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board and Environment Waikato signed a “Sustainable Management Fund” contract with the Ministry for the Environment, to develop an integrated sustainable development strategy to protect Lake Taupo-nui-a-Tia and the surrounding catchment.

The 2020 Taupo-nui-a-Tia Project was the first of its kind in Aotearoa/New Zealand, since it was the first time a sustainable development strategy had been developed jointly by tangata whenua and the community alongside Local and Central Government agencies. It also heralded the new direction of the Local Government Act, in particular the need to define community outcomes and develop Long-Term Council Community Plans, as both these processes require strong integration and liaison between different agencies.