Te ao Māori values associated with the environment

June 2021

Awarau-Morris W. 2021. Te ao Māori values associated with the environment. Report for BioHeritage Challenge. 12 p.

BACKGROUND

The complexity of Māori values around environmental matters is specifically known at the iwi and hapū level and over successive generations Māori have developed thorough knowledge of the environment and useful conservation practices that iwi and hapū have used to manage the environment in Aotearoa New Zealand. Therefore, each iwi has responsibilities and obligations for environmental management within its own rohe (area). The mana (authority or prestige) of tangata whenua (people of the land) is related to how well highly valued resources or objects are managed, and how successfully mauri (lifeforce) is preserved. These customs continue to outline Māori approaches to environmental management today where every river-awa, gully and maunga-mountain has its own mauri and therefore associated values around these. For Māori all living things including natural and physical resources, possess mauri. This paper provides an overview of values from a Te Ao Māori perspective followed by an outline of operational practices and frameworks relative to environmental systems.