Revitalise te Taiao

A mātauranga led, science informed

te taiao inspired research programme

The principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi are foundational in guiding land stewards and agribusinesses in moving from te taiao in thinking to te taiao in action.

Taiao Manawa Ora

Working to revitalise te taiao

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The Taiao Manawa Ora model guides this research programme. Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the inter-relationship of values, knowledge, and worldviews of tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti are at the centre. The outer ‘wings’ highlight the differences, and show connection across cultures to gather and share information as we move along our te taiao pathway.

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Eleven key insights

How was Taiao Manawa Ora implemented?

Together these insights are the ingredients necessary to bring communities and people together to strengthen their connection to each other and the place they live, work, and play. These connections enable land use, value chain, and market opportunities that revitalise place. Nga Kaiurungi Taiao (place-based pilots) are demonstrating what these 11 insights look like in practice in hapū, farming communities, and agribusiness.
1
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is foundational to the design of place-based initiatives
2
Te taiao as a basis for change
Te taiao is a primary concern for communities making change
3
Respecting all knowledge
Respecting and drawing from diverse knowledge systems is crucial for success
4
Tikanga and values
Tikanga and shared values are crucial for effective collaboration
5
People and community-led change
Place-based change is driven by communities
6
People and place
Place-based change begins with peoples' connections to place, belonging, and well-being
7
Collaboration and participation
Collaboration and participation involves working together and participating in direction setting
8
Leadership and management (mana rangatira/mana whakahaere)
Leadership and management emphasise diverse skills and experiences toward shared goals
9
Broader measures of success
Broader measures of success prioritise multiple values as well as economic ones
10
Interconnected solutions
Interconnected solutions being with an holistic view of people and place
11
Access to resources
Access to funding, partnerships, and skills to enable the other insights

The 11 insights for successful placed-based initiatives

In 2020, a group of 25 individuals from agribusiness, community, government, and industry came together to draw from te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā to investigate the question “What enables people to unite to explore opportunities to revitalise communities and environments in Aotearoa-New Zealand?” This was posed in response to urgent calls from industry, government, and research for land use, management, value chain, and market opportunities to meet legislation and sustain market access by tackling global and local environmental degradation from biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and water pollution. There is an opportunity for a uniquely Aotearoa-New Zealand response to these challenges by meaningful inclusion of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tangata whenua through protection, participation, and partnership in decision-making.

Revitalise te Taiao was co-designed and co-developed by 25 individuals from across Māori agribusiness, mātauranga Māori practitioners, scientists, researchers, community leaders, government and industry representatives. The research programme was established under terms that prioritised the inclusion of Māori agribusiness and land management case studies.

The Revitalise te Taiao working group, along with programme leads Dr James Turner, Simon Stokes and Richard Te Hurinui Jones, held their first official gathering in April 2021 at Te Mānuka Tūtahi marae in Whakatāne. A series of hui followed with members collectively tasked with designing and developing the Revitalise te Taiao research programme in 2021 through to 2022.

Participants from Māori business and community members had a diverse range of skills and experience including kaupapa Māori, Māori-centered and Māori-led initiatives, research, and mātauranga Māori with respect to land and freshwater-based sustainable business options.

“Right from the start, the programme has incorporated a number of elements from te ao Māori that are underpinned by Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles of partnership, participation and protection,” says co-lead Richard Te Hurinui Jones.

For more information on how Revitalise te Taiao was implemented, Taiao Manawa Ora model provides insight to the design and development and guiding principles and values of the research programme.

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Ka pēhea e whai take ai te rangahau?

How can the research be used?

ENGLISH
TE REO MĀORI
  • Inspiring and practical examples of communities and agribusinesses moving along the pathway to revitalise te taiao will be highlighted. The research will provide evidence to guide actions to enable other communities and agribusinesses to take a similar journey.
  • Agribusiness entrepreneurs and innovators will work side-by-side with scientists to progress te taiao pathways, understand these journeys, and create change beyond the programme.
  • This programme aims to understand what land use, management, value chain and market opportunities can be identified if agribusinesses and communities begin with te taiao. The work of the three pilots will be connected with value chains that are willing to put te taiao at the centre, to explore whether this resonates with consumers and enables producers to gain a premium for their products.
  • The research team will develop principles for land-use change that enable agribusinesses, mana whenua, farmers, growers, and communities to take collective responsibility for revitalising te taiao. External conditions that are needed to achieve widespread and significant change will also be identified.
  • The research will produce evidence of how specific markets respond to te taiao narratives based on connection to people, place, and indigenous knowledge.
  • The research team will gather data from interviews, surveys, observation, and participation to understand the values, beliefs, and practices that underpin collective understanding, motivation, and action to revitalise te taiao.
  • Ka miramirahia ngā tauira whakahihiko, ā-tinana hoki o te ahunga atu o ngā hapori me ngā pakihi ahuwhenua ki te ara hei whakahaumanu i te taiao. Ka tukuna e te rangahau te taunakitanga hei ārahi i ngā mahi ki te whakaahei i ētahi atu hapori, i ētahi atu pakihi ahuwhenua hoki kia whāia ai te ara ōrite.
  • Ka mahi ngā rakahinonga me ngā kaiauaha ki te taha o ngā kaipūtaiao ki te koke whakamua i ngā ara o te taiao, ki te mārama ki aua haerenga, ki te whakarite i te huringa kei tua atu i te hōtaka.
  • E whai ana tēnei hōtaka kia mārama ki ngā āheinga o te whakamahinga whenua, o te whakahaerenga, o te meka uara, o te mākete hoki ka taea te tautuhi mēnā ka tīmata ngā pakihi ahuwhenua me ngā hapori ki te taiao. Ka tūhonoa te mahi o ngā whakamātau e toru ki ngā meka uara e pai ana ki a rātou te whakatū i te taiao ki te pokapū, hei torotoro atu mēnā rānei ka reretahi tēnei ki ngā kiritaki me te whakaahei i ngā kaiwhakaputa kia whiwhi i te utu tāpiri mō ā rātou hua.
  • Ka whakawhanake te rōpū rangahau i ngā mātāpono mō te huringa whakamahinga-whenua e whakaahei ai i ngā pakihi ahuwhenua, i ngā mana whenua, i ngā kaipāmu, i ngā kaiwhakatipu, i ngā hapori hoki kia tū ngātahi hei haepapa i te whakahaumanu i te taiao. Ka tautuhia hoki ngā āhuatanga rāwaho e hiahiatia ana hei whakatutuki i te huringa e horapa whānui ana, e hira ana hoki.
  • Ka whakaputaina e te rangahau te taunakitanga mō te urupare a ētahi mākete ake ki ngā tāhū o te taiao i runga i te hononga ki te tangata, ki te wāhi, ki te mātauranga taketake hoki.
  • Ka whakaemi te rōpū rangahau i te raraunga mai i ngā uiui, i ngā tirohanga, i te mātakitaki, i te whai wāhitanga hoki hei mārama ki ngā uara, ki ngā whakapono, ki ngā tikanga mahi e noho ana hei pūtake o te māramatanga ngātahi, o te whakahihikotanga ngātahi, o te mahi ngātahi hei whakahaumanu i te taiao.
Tangata whenua, tangata Tiriti
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Tangata whenua, tangata Tiriti
Relationships and connections
Mana motuhake
Relationships and connections
Sustainable business
Whairawa
Sustainable business

Ngā Kaiurungi Taiao

Place-based pilots

Working to revitalise te taiao
Rere Ki Uta Rere Ki Tai
Rere Ki Uta Rere Ki Tai
Te Kāhui Rau
Te Kāhui Rau
Knowledge into Action for Te Taiao
Knowledge into Action for Te Taiao

Ngā puna taiao

Our work to revitalise te taiao

ENGLISH
TE REO MĀORI

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, nau mai piki mai kake mai ra ki te waka taiao e toia nei ngā ohāki kia toitū te whenua, kia toiora te wai. Ko ngā tikanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi e paihere i te kaupapa whakarauora taiao, kia eke panuku, kia eke tangaroa, te kaupapa rangahau o Revitalise te Taiao. Whai oranga mauri ora.

Food producers all over the world are facing connected challenges: the health of soil and water, climate change, and changing customer expectations. We can respond to these challenges in a uniquely Aotearoa way by implementing Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles in all efforts to help revitalise te taiao – the land, water, climate, and biodiversity that contains and surrounds us all.

This research has pilots in three locations, working alongside agribusinesses and communities as they progress land-use change, work with value chains and connect with markets to revitalise te taiao.

  • Wānaka-based project Knowledge into Action for Te Taiao, led by WAI Wānaka, has research goals that include expanding traditional farm plans beyond tools of regulation, to enhance the vitality of te taiao.
  • Taranaki-based Te Kāhui Rau, led by Ngāti Tāwhirikura, aims to revitalise hapū whenua and whānau.
  • Based in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, Rere Ki Uta, Rere Ki Tai is testing farming methods that aim to enhance the mana and mauri of the soil across 10 dairy farms, led by AgriSea New Zealand.

Agribusiness entrepreneurs and innovators will work side-by-side with scientists to revitalise te taiao. Respecting that all knowledge starts as local knowledge, solutions will be tailored to fit the local context of production, economy, community, and environment.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles of partnership, participation and protection are central to this research.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, nau mai, piki mai, kake mai rā ki te waka Taiao e tōia nei ngā ōhākī kia toitū te whenua, kia toiora te wai. Ko ngā tikanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi e paihere i te kaupapa whakarauora Taiao, kia eke panuku, kia eke tangaroa, te kaupapa rangahau o Revitalise te Taiao. Whai oranga, mauri ora.

Kei mua i te aroaro o ngā kaiwhakaputa kai huri noa i te ao ngā wero e honohono ana tētahi i tētahi: arā, te hauora o te oneone, o te wai, te panoni āhuarangi, me te huringa o ngā kawatau a ngā kiritaki. Ka taea e tātou te urupare ki ēnei wero i runga i te āhua ahurei nō Aotearoa tonu mā te whakatinana i ngā mātāpono o Te Tiriti o Waitangi ki ngā mahi katoa hei āwhina ki te whakahaumanu i te taiao – arā, i te whenua, i te wai, i te āhuarangi, i te kanorau koiora, e noho ana tātou ki roto i a ia, e karapoti ana ia i a tātou anō hoki.

Kei tēnei rangahau ngā whakamātau kei ngā wāhi e toru, e mahi ana ki te taha o ngā pakihi ahuwhenua, o ngā hapori hoki i tā rātou koke whakamua i te huringa whakamahinga-whenua, i tā rātou mahi ki ngā meka uara, i tā rātou tūhono ki ngā mākete hei whakahaumanu i te taiao hoki.

  • Kei te kaupapa i Wānaka, arā kei Knowledge into Action for Te Taiao, e ārahina ana e WAI Wānaka ngā whāinga rangahau i roto rā ko te whakawhānui i ngā mahere pāmu tūturu ki tua atu i ngā taputapu o te waeture, hei whakapiki ake i te hau o te taiao.
  • E whai ana a Te Kāhui Rau, i Taranaki, e ārahina ana e ngā uri o Ngāti Tāwhirikura, ki te whakahaumanu i te whenua nō te hapū, i ngā whānau hoki.
  • Kei Te Moana-a-Toi, kei Waikato hoki a Rere Ki Uta, Rere Ki Tai, e whakamātau ana i ngā tikanga mahi pāmu e whai ana kia whakapiki i te mana, i te mauri hoki o te oneone puta noa i ngā pāmu miraka kau 10, e ārahina ana e AgriSea New Zealand.

Ka mahi ngā rakahinonga me ngā kaiauaha ki te taha o ngā kaipūtaiao hei whakahaumanu i te taiao. I runga i te whakaute i te whakaaro nei ka tīmata ai te mātauranga katoa hei mātauranga nō tētahi wāhi, ka āta hangaia ngā otinga kia pai ai ki te horopaki pātata o te whakaputanga, o te ōhanga, o te hapori, o te taiao anō hoki.

Kei te iho o tēnei rangahau ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti o Waitangi o te houruatanga, o te whai wāhitanga, o te matapopore hoki.

Enhancing the mana and mauri of soil
Taiao oneone
Enhancing the mana and mauri of soil
Healing the whenua and healing the people
Taiao whenua
Healing the whenua and healing the people
Informing future land uses to increase the vitality of te taiao
Taiao roto
Informing future land uses to increase the vitality of te taiao

Ngā Kaihoe

Research support team

Research foundation
Kōkiri ki uta
Research foundation
Research in action
Kōkiri ki tai
Research in action
Research in collaboration
Tauhere mai
Research in collaboration

Transparency Reports & Impact Assessments

Publish annual transparency reports and impact assessments that document the social, environmental, and economic outcomes of value chain activities. This could include metrics on mana & mauri of soil, carbon emissions, water usage, biodiversity conservation, and community development indicators, providing stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of the value chain's performance and areas for improvement.

By incorporating these ideas into value chain development efforts, stakeholders can create cultural, transparent, ethical, and sustainable systems that honour the interconnectedness of te Taiao, people, place, and consumers.

Cultural Protocol & Respect

Incorporate cultural protocols and practices into value chain activities, ensuring that all interactions with the land, waterways, and natural resources are conducted with respect and reciprocity. This could involve consultation with mana whenua, knowledge holders, and cultural advisors to ensure that value chain activities align with cultural values and traditions.

Regenerative Agriculture & Land Stewardship

Promote kaitiakitanga and regenerative agriculture practices that prioritise mana whenua and landowner knowledge, soil health, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration. This could involve supporting whanau & hapu, and landowners in implementing agroecological techniques, reforestation projects, and habitat restoration efforts that enhance ecosystem resilience and vitality.

Consumer Feedback & Engagement

Engage consumers in dialogue and solicit feedback on their preferences, values, and expectations regarding transparency and sustainability. This could be tested through kanohi-ki-te-kanohi and digital surveys, focus groups, or interactive forums where consumers can voice their opinions and contribute to the development of more transparent

Environmental Monitoring & Reporting

Implement environmental monitoring and reporting systems to track the impact of production activities on local ecosystems and communities. This could include regular audits, data collection initiatives, and community-based research projects that assess the social, environmental, and cultural implications of value chain activities.

Supply Chain Partnerships

Forge partnerships between producers, processors, logistics providers, wholesalers and retailers to create transparent and mutually beneficial supply chains. This could involve direct sourcing agreements, fair pricing mechanisms, and collaborative decision-making processes that prioritise the well-being of producers and the environment.

Cultural Storytelling & Education

Use storytelling and educational initiatives to raise awareness about the cultural significance of products and the importance of preserving traditional knowledge and practices. This could involve hosting community events, workshops, or virtual tours that showcase the connection between te Taiao, people, place, and the products consumers purchase.

Maori/Community - Led Certification & Labelling

Establish a certification or labelling system that highlights products sourced from Maori-owned or environmentally sustainable enterprises. This could include labels indicating adherence to traditional land management practices, organic farming methods, or fair trade principles e.g. to take a step further the labels are printed with vegetable ink from a facility powered by renewable energy!!

Incorporating Maori knowledge & Practices

Value chains can integrate Maori knowledge and practices related to environmental stewardship, resource management, and cultural preservation. Local communities can be actively involved in decision-making processes, drawing on their deep understanding of the land, waterways, and ecosystems.

Digital Platforms for Transparency

Develop digital platforms or mobile applications that provide consumers with real-time information about the origin, production methods, and environmental footprint of products. This could include interactive maps showcasing the journey of products from farm to table, stories about local producers, and data on sustainability metrics.

Community-Owned Enterprises

Promote the establishment of community-owned enterprises that prioritise transparency, accountability, and equitable distribution of benefits. These enterprises could involve local farmers, artisans, and entrepreneurs working collaboratively to produce and market goods while respecting cultural and environmental values.

Developing a Transparent Value Chain

 

Value chains and markets with a te Taiao, people, and place perspective can operate by fostering sustainability, cultural resilience, economic empowerment, and community well-being. They recognise the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and cultural factors and strive to create inclusive and equitable systems that benefit all stakeholders.

Developing a transparent value chain from the perspective of te Taiao, people, place, and consumers can involve integrating Te Ao Maori knowledge and sustainable practices into every stage of the production and distribution process. Examples of this could be as follows:
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