Aotearoa New Zealand: A laboratory for future marine conservation

Te Au o Te Moana (the Voice of the Ocean) was a session presented at IMPAC5. It gave an account of world views found across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the South Pacific), but with a strong emphasis on Aotearoa New Zealand. In Aotearoa New Zealand natural features are personified by Indigenous Māori as atua (deities) and tūpuna (ancestors) through whakapapa – the relational Māori worldview in which everything derives from the primal parents Ranginui (Sky-father) and Papatūānuku (Earthmother). The concept of legal personhood is established for awa (rivers) and maunga (mountains) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Inspired by this, exploration of extending it to the ocean is underway, including what giving a voice to marine environment and species to avoid their commodification and defend their own intrinsic value might look like. Historically, marine conservation has manifested many ways, including mahinga kai (Māori food gathering practices), and in the 1970s no-take reserves. Since the late 1990s, there has been enabling legislation to integrate local communities, iwi (tribes) and hapū (sub-tribes) in decision-making. Today, marine research programmes weave mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) with interdisciplinary sciences, pioneering different forms of management, integrating the māramataka (Māori lunar calendar) and undergoing a silent revolution. Large nationwide programmes such as the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge are exploring sustainable blue economy innovative solutions, and many NGOs are proposing ways forward anchored in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Aotearoa New Zealand’s 1840 founding document). This paper presents examples as to why Aotearoa New Zealand, tucked between the Pacific islands and the Southern Ocean, is currently becoming a significant laboratory contributing to the future of marine conservation.