Abstract
The ability of Māori to assert their own environmental framework is rooted in their exercise of tino rangatiratanga as guaranteed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Many Māori communities are already actively engaged in acts of tino rangatiratanga in the climate change space, but there is an imperative to enable Māori to engage in climate change adaptation that goes beyond the land they ‘own’ in the western sense of property and to be able to exercise kaitiakitanga over their rohe. Current legislation, such as the Local Government Act 2002 and the Resource Management Act 1991, for local government lacks clarity and direction for how Te Tiriti obligations should be met. As Hayward (2011) puts it “when the Crown devolved kāwanatanga (governmental) responsibilities to local bodies they completely failed to also devolve the Treaty guarantee to protect tino rangatiratanga” (p. 79). Therefore, local authority practices of engaging with, partnering with and empowering Māori in the climate change adaptation space are not well established. The aim of this research is to better understand how local governments are engaging with mana whenua on climate change and how a tika transition could improve these engagements.
This research applies Bargh’s concept of a tika transition to climate change adaptation. A tika transition is one that upholds and centres Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tikanga Māori in finding solutions to adapting to and mitigating against the impacts of climate change. Importantly, a tika transition is informed by the spheres of authority model outlined in Marike Mai Aotearoa. The spheres of authority model is a different model of power sharing; one that imagines co-governance. In applying a tika transition this research examines the current relationships between local government and mana whenua in Ōtepoti, Dunedin, constraints they face to engaging on climate change adaptation and whether these relationships are supportive of a tika transition.
My whakapapa was central to this research as it was my motivation for this project and also guided me throughout the process. I drew on a Kaupapa Māori approach to inform the research process, focusing on building relationships between myself and my research participants. A series of kōrero and 10 semi structured interviews with 13 mana whenua and local authority key informants in the region of Ōtepoti, Dunedin were used to collect data.
To conclude, this research argues that the current structures that local government operates under in are incompatible with true partnership. The main constraints that local government and mana whenua face to engaging on climate change include capacity and resourcing issues, differing worldviews, a lack of cultural capability and weak climate change legislation. This research recommends applying a tika transition framework to help improve the relationships between local government and mana whenua, and enable effective climate change adaptation.