He Whenua Whakatipu: a draft sustainable development framework for Ngai Tahu landholders

Abstract

This paper outlines a draft sustainable development framework for Ngai Tahulandholders. The notion of sustainable development, by its very nature, isproblematic. This is because there are so many criteria by which the development orgrowth of an entity through time can be assessed. For example there are multipleperspectives from various academic disciplines to be taken into account, as well asthose embedded within traditional values and knowledge at a flax-roots level. Thispaper attempts to take account of this complexity through the development of asustainable development planning process, which attempts to formulate courses ofaction that are well-informed by specialists from various academic disciplines, as wellas by knowledge from within flax-roots Maori communities.Initially this paper provides a literature review regarding current Maori sustainablelanduse research within Aotearoa, in the attempt to encapsulate the ‘complexity’ ofthe issue at hand. Although this body of research provides important insightsregarding the sustainable development of Maori land, it has a number of limitations,which are critically highlighted within this paper. From this literature review thesustainable development planning processes is developed. Further a conceptualsustainable land development model is offered, which provides a ‘yardstick’ fromwhich sustainable landuse can be monitored. This model however must be considereda work in progress open to continuous and ongoing revision.The overall purpose of this sustainable development framework is threefold. First it isa basis from which Maori landholders, including private, corporate and communal,can plan the development of their whenua. Second it is a basis from whichlandholders can derive, maintain and enhance cultural benefits from their whenua,from social, economic and environmental perspectives. Third, it is a foundation fromwhich a monitoring framework can be developed to assess the performance of landmanagement practices across a range of indices, including; social, economic,ecological and cultural criteria.