Mātauranga & the RMA

This research project is about to tackle some of the frustrations Mäori have experienced with the Resource Management Act process. In resource consent situations, traditional knowledge (matauranga) is often not recognised as being as ‘real‘ or as legitimate as scientific knowledge, and hearings can be uncomfortable and frustrating for tangata whenua.

The research aim is to develop practical ‘tools’ for both tangata whenua and council staff, so that a safe and respectful situation is created for sharing and hearing matauranga, and so that councils are better prepared to respond appropriately to this knowledge.  (By ‘tools’ we mean ways of doing things, not spanners!).  The research will focus particularly on the role of matauranga in the management of freshwater and marine resources.

The Cawthron Institute and University of Otago have teamed up to deliver this project.  Led by Jim Sinner (Cawthron), it also involves Marg O’Brien (Cawthron), Janet Stephenson (CSAFE, Otago) and Lisa Kanawa (CSAFE, Otago), with support from the national roopu of Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai.  Jim, who is Cawthron’s Group Manager of Sustainable Business, will oversee the project and with Marg will ensure that outcomes can work practically in the resource management context.  Janet will provide academic support, help with networking and with the final product.  Lisa, who has considerable experience working with Maori and the RMA, will be the main public ‘face’ for the project and will spend much of her time talking with iwi, hapu and council representatives about the issues. Marg is experienced in consultation, participation and community development, and support Lisa at the coal-face and work with Janet on the conceptual development of the project.

The three-year project is funded through FRST’s Te Tipu o Te Wānanga (TTW) fund.  We also have strong support from the Ministry for the Environment.

 Research objective:

To develop a framework for creating a safe and respectful interface for presenting, hearing and responding to matauranga (Maori knowledge) in Resource Management Act processes.

Year 1 - Determine the extent and nature of the problem.  

Concentrating on 3 case study areas, we will interview iwi/hapu representatives, council representatives, hearing commissioners and others, to get first hand accounts of the problems, barriers and success stories.  We’ll look at past resource consents to see where some of the problems are arising, and will review what work has already been done in this area, both in Aotearoa and overseas. 

Year 2 – Start to develop tools

First, we’ll hold hui/meetings in our case study areas with iwi and councils to check that we’ve got the right message from all the people we’ve talked to in Year 1, and also present our findings so far to a national forum.  We’ll talk to scientists about situations they’ve come across where science and matauranga can either support each other or seem to be at odds with each other.  With feedback from all these groups, we’ll start to develop some ‘tools’.  If the right situations arise, and where tangata whenua wish to do so, we may do a test-run with some of the tools to see how well they work.

Year 3 – Refine tools, finalise ‘toolbox’

In this final year we will go back to the groups we’ve been consulting with, and see what people think about the tools, and how they can be refined even further, or whether there are new ideas out there.  We’ll also present the ideas to a second national hui.  After this, we’ll finalise the toolbox and publish it in various ways so that it is easily accessible to iwi and hapu, as well as to councils.