Pae Tawhiti

Project lead: Dr Vincent van Uitregt (Ngaa Rauru, Te Ātihaunui a Pāpārangi, Tūhoe), Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka

Climate change related research is preoccupied with the impacts on human life and futures. The immanent impacts on our non-human relations are relegated to ecological or conservation research Our uri-based research group from Whanganui are engaging the breadth of our knowledge traditions to understand our relationships with our local Kūaka population and the wider places and peoples the they/he connects us to.

Project lead: Dr Riri Ellis Ngati Raukawa, Ngai Te Rangi, Ngati Tahu The University of Waikato | Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato

Sustainability disclosures are central to the ongoing global debate about accountability in sustainable business practices. However, their voluntary and unregulated nature, along with inconsistent definitions, standardised titles, formats and contents, complicate their interpretation, raising concerns about the reliability and comparability of the disclosures, particularly in Aotearoa New Zealand, where there are significant corporate governance concerns over ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting and climate-related financial disclosures.

Limited existing literature highlights a holistic approach of Mātauranga Māori to support sustainability. Business practices in this context should align with the spirit of sustainable development: ‘Manaaki Whenua, Manaaki Tangata, Haere whakamua.’

Project lead: Associate Professor Krushil Watene (Ngāti Manu, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Whātua ō Orākei, Tonga) The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host)

Recognising the value and interconnectedness of human and non-human life, climate activism is directed toward the protection of our biosphere and natural environment as a whole. In Aotearoa, such activism as a distinctly Indigenous social practice has clear yet underexamined connections to Māori concepts such as kaitiakitanga.

Project lead: Professor Carla Houkamau Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host)

This research project partners Waipapa Taumata Rau (University of Auckland) with Ngā Pou a Tāne (National Māori Forestry Association) to address a critical paradox: while Māori own approximately 48% of commercial forest land and comprise 34% of the workforce, they remain significantly underrepresented in senior leadership roles.

Awardee: Linda Te Aho (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Waikato-Tainui), University of Waikato

The Awardee will undertake the Whakaaweawe Impact and Transformation Grant titled Tikanga and the State - Selected Papers of Sir E. Taihākurei Durie.

This collection brings together published and unpublished papers by Tā E. Taihākurei Durie, organised around the theme of hapū and Māori communities as the location of Māori authority. While Durie’s 1994 Custom Law paper is pre-eminent in bringing custom law into the realm of jurisprudence, the collection spans a remarkable range of papers and reports written over four decades, each exploring different facets of tikanga.

Awardee: Tia Barrett (Ngāi Tahu, Waikato, Ngāti Maniapoto), Auckland University of Technology

The Awardee will undertake the Whakaaweawe Impact and Transformation Grant titled Pātaka Wā: storehouse for time.

The recipient is a lecturer in Visual Arts, a lens-based artist, and a PhD candidate at Auckland University of Technology. Their doctoral research explores how time is experienced, told, and embodied within te ao Māori. Their creative practice is grounded in kaupapa Māori and environmental relationships, and they are currently developing a new version of an installation titled Pātaka Wā: a storehouse for time. This work has previously been exhibited and tested and is now being prepared for installation at RM Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau in 2026.