Weaving mātauranga into environmental decision-making - Jones, Doug; Hikuroa, Dan; Gregory, Erica; Ihaka-McLeod, Hana; Moko-Mead, Te Taiawatea (New Zealand Science Review, 2020)
Ko te pūtaiao me te taunaki te tūāpapa o ā Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) whakataunga. Kua whakataurangi ake a EPA ki tētahi kaupapa mahi tau tini nei e aro pū ana ki ngā huarahi kia whītiki tauātia ai te mātauranga Māori taketake nei ki āna tukanga whakataunga. Mātua rā, me whai i te mārama kehokehotanga ki ngā kaupapa o roto, me ngā hīraunga ka pā ki ngā tukanga whakataunga a EPA. Ko te whāinga ia, kia tuia te māramatanga ki te mātauranga ki ā EPA mahi o te ia rā, me te whakakaha i ngā houruatanga Māori anō hoki. Kua whātoro atu a EPA i runga i ōna ake hiahia ki Ngā Kaihautū Tikanga Taiao – koia ko te kōmiti tohutohu Māori ā-ture nei o EPA, ki Te Herenga – koia ko te whatunga kaitiaki o ngā takiwā e hāpaitia nei e EPA, ki Ngā Parirau o te Mātauranga anō hoki – koia ko te kāhui kaumātua kua kōwhiria mai i te whatunga o Te Herenga. Ko tētahi tino wāhanga ā-mahi nei o tēnei kaupapa mahi o te mātauranga ko te waihangatia o tētahi mahere hei whakamahi mā ngā kaiwhakatau, kia aromātaihia te pono o te mātauranga ka whakatakotoria ana hei taunaki. Ka kōrero tēnei pepa i tā EPA haerenga kia rite ai ki te waihanga mai i tētahi mahere mātauranga. Science and evidence form the foundation of decision-making at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The EPA has committed to a multi-year mātauranga work programme that focuses on ways of weaving mātauranga, indigenous knowledge, into its decision-making processes. The first step is to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts involved, and their implications for the EPA’s decision-making processes. The aspiration is to weave an understanding of mātauranga into the daily work of the EPA, and to build on Māori partnerships. The EPA has engaged proactively with Ngā Kaihautū Tikanga Taiao, the EPA’s statutory Māori advisory committee; Te Herenga, the EPA-supported kaitiaki network centred in the regions; and Ngā Parirau o te Mātauranga, the kaumātua group drawn from the Te Herenga network. One of the most critical strands of work of the mātauranga work programme will be to create a mātauranga framework for decision-makers to use to examine the veracity of mātauranga when presented as evidence. This paper explores the EPA’s journey towards being ready to create a mātauranga framework.