About Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai
Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai is a national coalition of Tangata tiaki / kaitiaki (Māori environmental guardians), fishers, coastal and river managers and researchers. They have come together to support the establishment and management of customary fishing areas including mātaitai and taiāpure (local reserves), and temporary area closures. 'Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai' means 'guarding the customary food gathering areas', but it also signals a wider agenda of sustainable environmental management through the application of kaitiakitanga (Māori environmental stewardship).
Mātaitai and taiāpure are quickly becoming the main vehicle for local Tangata Whenua and Pākehā communities to take ownership of and manage their local coasts, rivers and lakes and the kai (food) they provide. Recent applications may swell the number of mātaitai from the six already established to more than twenty five, while eight taiāpure currently exist and others are under consideration.
Our beginnings
A steering group of kaumātua and researchers worked to establish the project from early 2006 until July 2007. The specific concept grew from concerns
expressed in 2002 by kaitiaki from Ōraka-Aparima Rūnaka that Tangata Whenua were not fully able to apply kaitiakitanga (environmental stewardship) through existing legislative provisions like mātatitai and taiāpure, and that kaitiaki had insufficient resources and time to realise their vision. Researchers supported the initiative in part to fulfill a promise made in 1994 to Rakiura Māori that they would use the lessons from Kia Mau te Tītī Mo Ake Tōnu Atu to assist fellow kaitiaki to assert rangitiratanga and kaitiakitanga to re-establish and maintain customary use of other mahinga kai throughout Aotearoa. Our project was formally launched at an inaugural national hui at Kāti Huirapa Ki Puketeraki Marae, Karitāne on 26 and 27 July 2007. Around 75 delegates helped to set the initial governance and direction of the project. Check back with us as the project grows!
Our vision
Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai's vision is for sustained enhancement of the cultural, economic, social and environmental well being of Māori and New Zealand as a whole through the application of mātauranga and science associated with mahinga kai to modern customary fisheries practices
Outcomes
- better management, more kai on the table
- increased capacity and well-being within local communities
- harnessing the best of science and mātauranga in partnership
- more support for customary and recreational fisheries through improved planning and lobbying.
Mātauranga and science in partnership
Mātauranga (Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Māori), and local knowledge that has been ‘learned by doing’ will take centre stage to guide Te Tiaki Mahinga kai. It will be supported by “book learnt” formal research approaches of the Universities and wānanga, especially science, but including law and 'humanities' and business disciplines. Great care will be taken to protect the mātauranga of the participating members so that application of scholarship from researchers enhances rather than undermines the mana of the kaitiaki.
Our values and structure
Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai is situated in the environment – whenua/moana – and is populated by the people of the land: iwi through to tangata.
Governance at a glance
- Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai Forum (Membership): The 'flaxroots' members of Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai
provide its main momentum and direction. Membership is open to all
customary fishers, managers of mātaitai, taiāpure and areas where temporary closures
have been imposed. As well, researchers and advisers may attend Forum gatherings but voting on all decisions is only made by tangata whenua. The Forum will meet at least twice a year to direct the project.
- Rōpu Mahinga Kai . Tangata Whenua have appointed a roopū of mātaitai and taiāpure managers to direct the overall project on a week by week basis. They act on behalf of a much wider group of participating tangata tiaki / kaitiaki who will gather regularly to guide the rōpu and set larger group decisions.
- Technical Advisory Group. Researchers, senior Maori research manager (Rau Kirikiri), Kaumātua, iwi customary fisheries management (Nigel Scott, from Toitū te Whenua of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu) and representatives from the Ministry of Fisheries' Pou Hononga (Joseph Wakefield) and Pou Takawaenga (Carl Barker) provide strategic and technical advice to the Forum and Rōpu Mahinga Kai.
- Research Team - staff. Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai is supported by ten professional researchers so far, including staff from Manaaki Whenua (Landcare Research Co. Ltd.), Lincoln University, University of Canterbury and University of Otago. We hope that researchers from other Universities within New Zealand, and from other countries, will join the project. Wānanga (Māori Universities) would be especially welcome to join us!
- Research Team - students. So far four students are contributing by doing their masters or PhD theses on topics requested by Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai. New BSc or BA (Honours), Postgrad. Dipl., Masters or PhD students are all welcome to join the team. It may be that staff members already associated with the project can help supervise new thesis work, but prospective students could also invite other supervisors to join in. Some project ideas are described in the Student Invitation to Join Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai but the Rōpu Mahinga Kai is open to suggestions of all manner of topics that will help realize the Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai vision. Contact Henrik Moller if you are not sure where to begin inquiries.
Funding
So far the main funding to establish Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai has come from the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and from Te Rūnanga o Ngai Tahu. The FRST grant is from its Te Tipu o te Wānanga programme, and will last for 4 years from 1 July 2007. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu has co-funded the participation of Ngāi Tahu kaitiaki in establishing the project and are co-funding research to establish a marine Cultural Health Index. The Ministry of Fisheries have contributed funds for work on toheroa population restoration to be directed by Ōraka-Aparima Rūnaka; and for pāua population restoration in the Akaroa Taiāpure, under the direction of Wairewa and Ōnuku Rūnanga. The Dunedin City Council and University of Otago's Division of Sciences provided seeding grants to enable the researchers to meet the kaitiaki and form a relationship to establish the project.
The kaitiaki consider that at least 20 years will be needed to make significant progress towards their vision - indeed, the need for Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai may be indefinite! Therefore the project team will continually seek funds for projects approved by the Rōpu Mahinga Kai, and where possible experienced team members will help participating communities mount their own applications for management, education and research of their local areas. Contact the Roopū if you want help or advice about funding.
Donations and grants from members of the public, environmental conservation agencies, corporations or project members will very welcome. Donations will be accepted and held in trust by the University of Otago and distributed to best meet national project priorities by the Rōpu Mahinga kai (alternatively you can stipulate how you want your contribution to be spent within the project if you so wish). Contact mahingakai@otago.ac.nz or Kā Rakahau o te Ao Tūroa, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, NZ if you want to donate. We will then contact you to let you know what the funds were spent on.
Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai Network
To date, the majority of tangata tiaki/kaitiaki come from Ngāi Tahu Whānui including Awarua, Ōraka-Aparima, Puketeraki (Karitāne), Horomaka (Banks peninsula) and Kaikoura. The project also has representation from Te Atiawa, Te Tai Hauauru Forum (representing 13 iwi), Rongomaiwahine, Tauranga Moana Customary Fisheries Committee and Ngāpuhi. Researchers participate from the University of Otago (Kā Rakahau o Te Ao Tūroa, Departments of Marine Science and Botany) and the University of Canterbury. The Ministry of Fisheries and The Department of Conservation may wish to participate in some capacity as well.
To facilitate this diverse and dispersed network, the project will host national hui each year, and provide opportunities for travel and dialogue between areas. This will partly be facilitated through a suite of online networking tools.
For example, the website is maintained and updated directly by members using Plone, an Open Source Content Management System (CMS). The website allows mātaitai tangata tiaki/kaitiaki to maintain individual area pages, contribute to shared resource databases, post news and events, and participate in Whiriwhiri Whakaaro online discussion forum from their own computer simply by accessing the internet. The networking tools page has resources including guidelines and resources for website managers and editors and the research team will provide trainings for those who want to do more.
Please check back regularly to check our progress!
