He korowai o Matainaka / The cloak of Matainaka: Traditional ecological knowledge in climate change adaptation – Te Wai Pounamu, New Zealand

Abstract

Auheke: Ko ngā mahinga kai o ngā whenua puta noa i whakaingoatia, kia mōhio tōtika ai he aha ēnei taonga, kei hea, ā, nā wai. Ka tuituia ēnei ingoa ki nga tātai mātauranga taiao, hei whakarangatira ia iwi, ia hapū, ia whānau hoki. I ara ake tēnei tuhituhinga mai tētahi mahi rangahau mo ngā wāhi mahi inaka o Kāi Tahu i ngā tau kua pahure. Ko te awa o Waikōuaiti, o roto o te rohe o te Rūnaka o Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki, te wāhi i mahia ai tēnei mahi. Na rātou ngā kōrero, me te mōhiotanga e pā ana ki te īnaka; ka tiritiria ki to te mātauranga Pākeha, kia kitea ai mehemea he hua ka puta mai hei tiaki i ngā kōhanga o te inaka mo āke tonu atu.Abstract: In the New Zealand landscape, the mahika kai sites (resource gathering areas) are marked through place names, which act as central reference points (whai take) for a wider ecosystem catchment area and indicate changes over time. The traditional ecological knowledge, awakened through place names, informs and influences the way Māori realise cultural, social, environmental, and economic aspirations and practices (past and present). This paper will draw from a research project in Te Wai Pounamu (South Island), New Zealand that utilises traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) surrounding the place name, Matainaka, which indicate places where Kāi Tahu (South Island Māori tribal group) gathered whitebait (īnaka, Galaxias maculatus): an important fresh water species. A major focus of the research project is the knowledge around socio-cultural tipping points that will impact directly on the future cultural, social and economic sustainability within a specific catchment location, the Waikōuaiti River. The river has spawning and fishing sites for the īnaka mahika kai and comes under the mana whenua (recognised traditional authority) of the Māori tribal group, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki. Traditional ecological knowledge kōrero (speech) explains the importance of Matainaka and its contribution to the surrounding catchment area, and -in contemporary times -works alongside that of scientific knowledge. The project merged TEK and science to find ways to improve future planning and adaptation for habitat restoration and modification, and to lessen impacts on īnaka spawning sites from the expected impacts of climate change.

Current knowledge and potential impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biological heritage

“…The first is biocultural relationships with ecosystems, particularly with respect to access and monitoring of Māori food (mahinga kai) and other resources. Examples of climate change impacts on culturally significant biotic resources include Lyver et al (1999), MacDiarmid et al (2012 and Bond et al (2019) but there are likely further vulnerabilities (Carter 2019). Second, impacts of climate on ecosystem processes (particularly carbon uptake and storage of forests, other vegetation, and marine systems) are largely unknown.…”

Habitus, mobilized

“…Third, Indigenous habitus plays a critical role in resilience, the continuity of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and the protection of biodiversity (Carter 2019; Ramos 2018; Tang and Gavin 2016; Tomasini 2018). Addressing TEK through the lens of Indigenous habitus could promote a more creative, sustainable form of resource management based on local, emplaced relationships.…”

Ngā Mātāpono e Rua: Stories of co‐creation for bicultural spatial governance in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…Indigenous ontology recognises the collective nature of humans and environments within spiritual and temporal realms and their influence in creative processes (Hunt, 2014; Peyrefitte, 2019; Randerson & Yates, 2016; Sundberg, 2014). Considering ethics and justice in spatial governance, practices of care can enhance place‐based knowledge systems, which is increasingly relevant in the context of geography and place (Carter & SMPIS, 2019; Puig de la Bellacasa, 2017). In te ao Māori, cultural values such as kotahitanga (coming together), āko (reciprocity of learning), whanaungatanga (relationships), and manaakitanga (the ethic of care) are interrelated and can enhance collective learning and co‐creation (Pihama, 2010; Smith, 2015; Smith et al, 2019).…”