"I think all New Zealanders pride ourselves on being clean and green, but we are increasingly asking what we need to do to protect that…"

When winning support from local authorities, these days it's the numbers that talk. And as a scientist with Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research based at Lincoln near Christchurch, Dr James Ataria has been using them eloquently for some time in collaborative research projects helping local communities protect culturally significant environments.

James has been working with the Animal Health Board and the Environmental Risk Management Authority to address Māori concerns regarding pesticides in the environment. At Napier, on a Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga supported project he is working with local Māori on their concerns towards the effects of pollution on traditional food sources. With Ngāi Tahu, he is leading another Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga project addressing degradation of the 190 kilometre Mataura River in Southland. Often he is seeking to marry environmental toxicology with tangata whenua knowledge.

"I think all New Zealanders pride ourselves on being clean and green, but we are increasingly asking what we need to do to protect that," James, who is from Ngāti Rongomaiwahine and Ngāti Kahungunu, says. "And many Māori are concerned about the effects of sewage and pollution.

"What I hope to achieve is to collaborate with people and leave them something they can use of real practical benefit in protecting the environment."