Some economists argue for diversity in the way collective resources are managed rather than an unquestioning faith in leaving things to the market. We support this thinking and looked at how ethics and Māori knowledge can be used equally alongside economics in managing collective Māori assets.

Author: Nick Allison

In 2014 Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) commissioned a report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) to assess the economic, social and other impacts of the Māori Centre of Research Excellence.

A summary of key findings from this research impact evaluation were:

Dr Marion Johnson is the Principal Investigator of Te Rongoā Pastures: Healthy Animals, Resilient Farms.

Agroecology, grounded in local knowledge and communities, applies ecological principles to agricultural systems. Indigenous agroecology is an opportunity for mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and totohungatanga Moriori (Moriori knowledge) to inform and generate innovation in farm practices. It focuses on guardianship of the land and the waters that flow through it, based on the traditional and contemporary experience of Māori and Moriori agricultural practitioners.

This Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga project incorporates most of the secondary schools and wharekura within the Rotorua school zone. From the literature, data gathered, and the matching and discussion of this information; the research team’s aim is that educators, parents and whānau will better understand the nature of teaching, learning and home socialisation patterns that support Māori student success.
 

Author: Nimbus Staniland. Supervisor: Professor Charles Crothers This report introduces quantitative analyses of Māori youth employment and occupational status using data from the New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS) issued by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) in 2008 and 2010. This research project was conducted as a piece of a larger project entitled “Ways of being Māori updated: Characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of urban Māori” led by Professor Charles Crothers.

Author: Ani Kainamu, Supervisor: Dr Dan Hikuroa. This project fulfils part of the Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga summer studentship project that looks at the elements of ecological and Mauri restoration at Ōkahu Bay. This current study focused on the population abundance and distribution of marine benthic shellfish pipi (Paphies australis) and common cockle (proper name New Zealand Littleneck Clam; Austrovenus stutchburyi), and seagrass (Zostera) population. This project also measured the bathymetry within Ōkahu Bay, site that receives input from stormwater from the surrounding urban area.

This significant research programme was led by Distinguished Professor Graham Hingangaroa Smith of Te Whare

This project examines rongoā (traditional Māori knowledge of medicinal plants) to find ways to improve animal health naturally, and overall, manage farms with respect for the land.

Rakiura Māori muttonbirders and researchers collaborated to build and test a computer-based decision support package to allow individual kaitiaki to choose optimal harvesting strategies on their own whānau’s ancestral birding ground. They tested whether or not the tool builds understanding of consequences of current harvesting levels for their mokopuna’s harvesting opportunities, and measured whether it changed both intended and observed harvesting behaviour. The ability of science and computer tools to be integrated into mātauranga and traditional harvest management was assessed.