Te Tiriti o Waitangi Principles Help Revitalise te Taiao

Revitalise te Taiao, a mātauranga-led, science-informed, te Taiao-inspired research programme, aims to understand what opportunities are identified if we begin with te Taiao. The programme is developing foundational principles that enable us to galvanise collective responsibility for the environment and draw on multiple knowledges to take action.

The principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi will assist in guiding land stewards and agribusinesses in moving from te Taiao in thinking to te Taiao in action. “The Treaty provides a framework for connecting world views and communities of knowledge in ways that are mutually beneficial,” says co-lead Richard Te Hurinui Jones.

Ngā Kaihoe, a support team assigned to work closely alongside three selected place-based pilots, has helped to move the Revitalise te Taiao research programme forward into an exciting new stage of development-in-action. The place-based pilots have been collectively named Ngā Kaiurungi Taiao, a Māori navigation term that refers to those leading or steering a pathway forward for others to follow.

“An example of the insights for Revitalising te Taiao will come from weaving knowledges – mātauranga Māori, agribusiness and community know how, and modern science.”

— Revitalise te Taiao co-lead Dr James Turner (AgResearch)

The ultimate goal of Ngā Kaihoe and Ngā Kaiurungi is to revitalise te Taiao through changes in land use, management, values chains, and markets. Research and engagement activities are needed to support this. Data, information, and knowledge is then needed to help us know if we are making progress toward this goal.

Our Land and Water programme co-lead and social scientist Dr James Turner (AgResearch) says, “An example of the insights for revitalising te Taiao will come from weaving together knowledges – mātauranga Māori, agribusiness and community know-how, and modern science – to provide evidence for industry and government to guide actions they take to enable other communities and agribusinesses to take a similar journey.”

We look forward to announcing Ngā Kaiurungi Taiao, the three place-based pilots. From the research examples selected, you can expect healing of whenua and people, a bringing together of Māori and Pākehā for a serious cause, and testing whether values chains and markets have a belief in, and will support, what is being undertaken.

Tūhono Mai – We invite you to stay connected to Revitalise te Taiao. You can read more about Revitalising Te Taiao here.

Photo: Revitalise te Taiao team and Ngā Kaihoe support team, taken at Te Arawa Group Holdings in Rotorua, April 2022. Front left: Jessica Wholey, Oriwa Tamahou, Roxanne Henwood, Heather Collins, Dr James Turner. Back row far left: Richard Te Hurinui Jones, Renee Kahukura Iosefa, Simon Stokes, Helen Percy.