A Statutory Acknowledgement is a formal acknowledgement by the Crown that recognises the particular cultural, spiritual, historical and traditional association of iwi with a site of significance or resource identified as a statutory area. Statutory Areas only relate to Crown-owned land and include areas of land, geographic features, lakes, rivers, wetlands and coastal marine areas. With respect to bodies of water such as lakes, rivers and wetlands, the Statutory Acknowledgement excludes any part of the bed not owned or controlled by the Crown.