Enhancing EBM practices

Led by Karen Fisher (University of Auckland)

Achieving ecosystem-based management (EBM) requires institutional, regulatory and other arrangements that are tailored specifically to Aotearoa New Zealand. In Aotearoa New Zealand we need to develop a widespread understanding of what EBM involves, and the adoption of EBM-supportive practices. 

Successfully implementing EBM requires evaluating existing policies, practices and regulation to determine the extent that they enable EBM and presenting options to support policy makers, iwi and stakeholders with any changes required adopt it.

Attention to the relationship between the Treaty of Waitangi and EBM and the obligations arising from the Treaty; and generating an understanding of how cross-scale interactions influence EBM in practice are critical components of this research.

This research will:

• Identify and analyse a range of legal and policy options to enable both progressive and transformative change across different scales and, the practice, policy, and legislative implications involved in transition to EBM
• Deepen our understanding of the relationship between the Treaty of Waitangi and EBM
• Consider the implications of, and for, Treaty rights, responsibilities and obligations for the practice and implementation of EBM
• The synergies, complementarities and divergences between EBM and Kaitiakitanga
• Exploring how mātauranga Māori and science can both inform decision-making whilst preserving the integrity of both