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Kaitiakitanga
Kaitiakitanga is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship of the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as kaitiakitanga.
The concept and terminology have been increasingly brought into public policy on trusteeship or guardianship—in particular with the environmental and resource controls under the Resource Management Act.
The long-established Māori system of environmental management is holistic. It is a system that ensures peace within the environment, providing a process for preventing intrusions that cause permanent imbalances and guarding against environmental damage. Kaitiakitanga is a concept that has "roots deeply embedded in the complex code of tikanga”. Kaitiakitanga is a broad notion that includes the ideas of guardianship, care, and wise management. However, while kaitiakitanga is a proactive and preventative approach to environmental management, this traditional management system has not always had an opportunity to address large scale environmental degradation.
Traditionally all Māori trace their whakapapa (ancestry and relationships) to the beginning of existence, the single entity that became Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Ranginui became the sky and Papatūānuku the mother earth, with their children taking the form of the various physical elements that humans eventually emerged from. This genealogy is a bond between humans and the rest of the physical world both "immutable and inseparable". Papatūānuku, embodied in the physical form of the earth continues to provide sustenance for all. Accordingly, Māori read more into the interpretation of kaitiakitanga than just the surface meaning of the words translated into English.
A number of government acts provide for recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi and kaitiakitanga, including the Conservation Act of 1987, though perhaps most importantly is the Resource Management Act of 1991 (RMA) and its amendments. Under Section 7 of the RMA all individuals exercising functions and powers in relation to managing the use, development and protection of natural and physical resources are required to “have particular regard” to kaitiakitanga amongst others. Through the RMA the concept of kaitiakitanga has been given a statutory definition. This definition of kaitiakitanga was given within the RMA in section 2(1) as “the exercise of guardianship; and in relation to a resource, includes the ethic of stewardship based on the nature of the resource itself”. However, opposition to this definition and interpretation resulted in this being amended in the Resource Management Amendment Act 1997 to “the exercise of guardianship by the tāngata whenua of an area in accordance with tikanga Māori in relation to natural and physical resources; and includes the ethics of stewardship”. Despite this definition in RMA, it is the rūnanga holding manawhenua tribal authority over a particular area or resource that will be able to determine the characteristics of kaitiakitanga and how this will be expressed. In addition to the RMA, the New Zealand Fisheries Act 1996, Part 9, provides for customary fisheries management, without directly identifying this management as kaitiakitanga.
Further, there is the role of Tangata Tiaki who are chosen by iwi and hapū groups and appointed by the Ministry of Fisheries to act as guardians for a specific area. Tangata Tiaki are responsible for issuing permits to catch fish in their area for customary use and must report these catches to the Ministry of Fisheries so that the following year’s catch limits can be set allowing for customary use beyond the recreational fishing bag-limits. Tangata Tiaki/Kaitiaki may decide to develop management plans for the fisheries within their rōhe for approval by the local tāngata whenua. For the purposes of the RMA these plans are called "Iwi Planning Documents", there being requirement for these plans to be considered in any resource management planning. Under the Fisheries Act, plans can also be used for the development of sustainability measures for those fisheries in the rōhe of the tāngata whenua. Moreover, a kaitiaki has a dual responsibility: firstly, the aim of protecting the mauri; and secondly, the duty to pass the environment to future generations in a state which is as good as, or better than, the current state.
Under the RMA all those exercising power have a mandatory obligation to recognise and make provision for Māori cultural values in all aspects of resource management when preparing and administering regional and district plans, this includes the mandated Coastal Policy Statement. There is a requirement within the RMA for at least one New Zealand coastal policy statement to be in effect at all times. Thus, with consideration of kaitiakitanga in New Zealand legislation, the practical significance of kaitiakitanga in coastal resource management can be explored. In particular, Policy 2 of the 2010 New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement This calls for coastal managers to take into account a number of aspects regarding tāngata whenua concerns regarding the coastal environment. This includes providing tāngata whenua opportunities to exercise kaitiakitanga “over waters, forests, lands, and fisheries in the coastal environment”. This includes among others to provide opportunities for Māori involvement in decision making, such as to “take into account any relevant iwi resource management plan and any other relevant planning document recognised by the appropriate iwi authority or hapū”. Any iwi resource management plan needs to be lodged with a relevant regional or district council. Further, councils are also required to consider practical assistance to those iwi or hapū who have indicated a wish to develop iwi resource management plans.
The Fisheries Act 1996, under Part 9 and in particular Section 186, and South Island Customary Fisheries Regulations 1999 provides for a number of legal tools derived from traditional kaitiakitanga methods for sustainability that may be applied by local iwi in relation to customary fishing rights and assist local iwi in the sustainable management and protection of their traditional mahinga kai gathering sites.
Kaitiakitanga
Kaitiakitanga is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship of the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as kaitiakitanga.
The concept and terminology have been increasingly brought into public policy on trusteeship or guardianship—in particular with the environmental and resource controls under the Resource Management Act.
The long-established Māori system of environmental management is holistic. It is a system that ensures peace within the environment, providing a process for preventing intrusions that cause permanent imbalances and guarding against environmental damage. Kaitiakitanga is a concept that has "roots deeply embedded in the complex code of tikanga”. Kaitiakitanga is a broad notion that includes the ideas of guardianship, care, and wise management. However, while kaitiakitanga is a proactive and preventative approach to environmental management, this traditional management system has not always had an opportunity to address large scale environmental degradation.
Traditionally all Māori trace their whakapapa (ancestry and relationships) to the beginning of existence, the single entity that became Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Ranginui became the sky and Papatūānuku the mother earth, with their children taking the form of the various physical elements that humans eventually emerged from. This genealogy is a bond between humans and the rest of the physical world both "immutable and inseparable". Papatūānuku, embodied in the physical form of the earth continues to provide sustenance for all. Accordingly, Māori read more into the interpretation of kaitiakitanga than just the surface meaning of the words translated into English.
A number of government acts provide for recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi and kaitiakitanga, including the Conservation Act of 1987, though perhaps most importantly is the Resource Management Act of 1991 (RMA) and its amendments. Under Section 7 of the RMA all individuals exercising functions and powers in relation to managing the use, development and protection of natural and physical resources are required to “have particular regard” to kaitiakitanga amongst others. Through the RMA the concept of kaitiakitanga has been given a statutory definition. This definition of kaitiakitanga was given within the RMA in section 2(1) as “the exercise of guardianship; and in relation to a resource, includes the ethic of stewardship based on the nature of the resource itself”. However, opposition to this definition and interpretation resulted in this being amended in the Resource Management Amendment Act 1997 to “the exercise of guardianship by the tāngata whenua of an area in accordance with tikanga Māori in relation to natural and physical resources; and includes the ethics of stewardship”. Despite this definition in RMA, it is the rūnanga holding manawhenua tribal authority over a particular area or resource that will be able to determine the characteristics of kaitiakitanga and how this will be expressed. In addition to the RMA, the New Zealand Fisheries Act 1996, Part 9, provides for customary fisheries management, without directly identifying this management as kaitiakitanga.
Further, there is the role of Tangata Tiaki who are chosen by iwi and hapū groups and appointed by the Ministry of Fisheries to act as guardians for a specific area. Tangata Tiaki are responsible for issuing permits to catch fish in their area for customary use and must report these catches to the Ministry of Fisheries so that the following year’s catch limits can be set allowing for customary use beyond the recreational fishing bag-limits. Tangata Tiaki/Kaitiaki may decide to develop management plans for the fisheries within their rōhe for approval by the local tāngata whenua. For the purposes of the RMA these plans are called "Iwi Planning Documents", there being requirement for these plans to be considered in any resource management planning. Under the Fisheries Act, plans can also be used for the development of sustainability measures for those fisheries in the rōhe of the tāngata whenua. Moreover, a kaitiaki has a dual responsibility: firstly, the aim of protecting the mauri; and secondly, the duty to pass the environment to future generations in a state which is as good as, or better than, the current state.
Under the RMA all those exercising power have a mandatory obligation to recognise and make provision for Māori cultural values in all aspects of resource management when preparing and administering regional and district plans, this includes the mandated Coastal Policy Statement. There is a requirement within the RMA for at least one New Zealand coastal policy statement to be in effect at all times. Thus, with consideration of kaitiakitanga in New Zealand legislation, the practical significance of kaitiakitanga in coastal resource management can be explored. In particular, Policy 2 of the 2010 New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement This calls for coastal managers to take into account a number of aspects regarding tāngata whenua concerns regarding the coastal environment. This includes providing tāngata whenua opportunities to exercise kaitiakitanga “over waters, forests, lands, and fisheries in the coastal environment”. This includes among others to provide opportunities for Māori involvement in decision making, such as to “take into account any relevant iwi resource management plan and any other relevant planning document recognised by the appropriate iwi authority or hapū”. Any iwi resource management plan needs to be lodged with a relevant regional or district council. Further, councils are also required to consider practical assistance to those iwi or hapū who have indicated a wish to develop iwi resource management plans.
The Fisheries Act 1996, under Part 9 and in particular Section 186, and South Island Customary Fisheries Regulations 1999 provides for a number of legal tools derived from traditional kaitiakitanga methods for sustainability that may be applied by local iwi in relation to customary fishing rights and assist local iwi in the sustainable management and protection of their traditional mahinga kai gathering sites.