Enabling EBM

Aotearoa New Zealand has a complex set of laws and governance arrangements for the marine environment with different purposes and mandates. We looked at how EBM might be implemented under current legislation, and what changes might be needed to implement EBM in the future. 

Working across the Challenge, we developed tools and approaches to incorporate Māori and stakeholder values, and ecological modelling in marine management. We explored how bringing these approaches together can improve decision-making and support the implementation of EBM. We aimed to improve decision-making in the marine environment and the health of our marine ecosystems through an EBM approach. Our research findings were trialled in the Tasman and Golden Bays case study area.

Led by Janet Stephenson (University of Otago), this programme: 

• investigated whether Aotearoa New Zealand’s laws and governance arrangements for the marine environment are consistent with EBM 
• reviewed current EBM-like arrangements for managing the marine environment  
• worked with communities to explore how the tools and techniques we develop can underpin initiatives for improving marine ecosystem health 
• produced narratives about EBM that describe what it means in practice and how it will affect the lives of New Zealanders.