Enabling mātauranga-informed management of the Kaipara Harbour, Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACTThe Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group (IKHMG) promotes the integrated management, inter-agency coordination and kaitiakitanga of the Kaipara Harbour and its catchment. Led by the hapū (subtribe) Te Uri o Hau, the group is a collective of stakeholders and community. In 2013, the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) and Te Uri o Hau examined the IKHMG to understand what enables and hinders mātauranga-informed management of the Kaipara Harbour. A review of literature relating to mātauranga and environmental resource management found a myriad of issues in integrating indigenous knowledge with science, or with indigenous knowledge holders working with scientists and/or resource managers. Our cross-cultural collaborative research examined to what extent the IKHMG overcame these issues and incorporated mātauranga into planning and decision-making. We make the case that the challenge facing cross-cultural integrated catchment programmes should not be so much ‘how to integrate in...