A review of te ao Māori perspectives of marine scales and where these are impeded by contemporary management

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Ecosystem-based management (EBM) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi are central to realising the overall objectives within the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge. Understanding ‘scales’ and ‘scale-dependencies’ across EBM is a complex issue, which improvement has long-been advocated by Tangata Whenua.

This review explores the attributes implicit in four interrelated scales and describes four areas where Māori environmental management outcomes are being undermined by a complexity of issues, including (but not limited to) jurisdictional boundaries, inequitable power sharing, misuse of tikanga Māori, perceived inferiority of mātauranga, requirements for conventional science, legacy impacts/effects, and lengthy bureaucratic processes.

EBM provides an opportunity to address deficiencies in marine management for the benefit of our environment, Tangata Whenua and future generations. Anchored by Te Tiriti, including people as part of the environment, reflecting mātauranga over multiple temporal/intergenerational scales, and the connectivity and interdependencies of ecosystems and the multiple species they support, are key attributes to better reflect te ao Māori perspectives of scales in future visualisations/tools.