Standard Presentation 2024 Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting combined with NZMSS

Retaining Sovereignty of Indigenous Knowledge in Marine Planning (#477)

Kimberley Maxwell 1
  1. Te Kōtahi Research Institute, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

In New Zealand, councils must take into account any relevant planning document recognised by an Iwi (tribal) authority. Therefore Iwi and Hapu (sub-tribe) Management Plans provide an avenue for Māori community aspirations to be supported by the government authorities who are responsible for managing our environment. However, articulating matters of significance to Iwi and Hapū often requires the sharing of mātauranga-a-Iwi (Tribal knowledge), which poses potential risks alongside the benefits, such as use or implementation without consent. Biocultural and Traditional Labels (TK) have been developed as a form a protection for Indigenous Knowledge. Through the development of a coastal and marine plan for Whakatōhea Iwi, Biocultural Labels were applied. The Biocultural Labels act as a means of protecting the mātauranga-a-Iwi which was analysed and shared in the plan. This form of metadata attached to the mātauranga-a-Iwi identifies who the knowledge belongs to and how it may be considered for future uses. Tribes can register at the Local Contexts website, https://localcontexts.org/, develop their unique labels, and then apply them to tangible and intangible Knowledge. Researchers and organisations can register with Local Contexts to engage with registered tribes regarding their Knowledge in a way which protects the treasure being shared.