An evaluation of Māori values in multiscalar environmental policies governing Kaipara Harbour in New Zealand

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge and values are increasingly found in watershed management to engage important stakeholders in the development of modern resource management practices and policies. This paper explores the integration of Māori values in water and land policies governing Kaipara Harbour in New Zealand as a case study for this approach. Multijurisdictional documents were analysed for the inclusion of nine well-established Māori values that have applications to land, water and natural resource management. The results of this study identified the most and least commonly mentioned values in policy documents, and a scalar trend in which integration of Māori values increased as the geographic scale and jurisdiction of the respective governing policies decreased.