Maori involvement in managing the environmental effects associated with the tourism industry

Abstract

The purpose of this report was to explore the extent to which tangata whenua are presently involved in the planning and management of the tourism industry and its subsequent effects, and to determine what role they should take in these processes. In order to achieve this purpose the interest that tangata whenua have in the environment and the tourism industry was explored and the range of environmental effects associated with tourism that are of particular concern to tangata whenua were identified; the legislation that governs and/or affects the tourism industry was identified and reviewed in order to determine the provisions for iwi and hapu participation in the decision-making and planning processes for tourism; the extent to which Maori are in fact involved in the management of the tourism industry and whether this involvement is adequate was determined; and criteria for the ideal involvement of tangata whenua in the decision-making and planning processes involved with managing the environmental effects associated with the tourism industry were identified.

These criteria were then applied to the current situation in order to determine what gaps exist between the current level of Maori involvement and the ideal level of involvement. In doing this it was concluded that present tangata whenua involvement in the planning, management and decision-making processes of the tourism industry is inadequate and that there is a need for tangata whenua to have a greater participatory/collaborative role in these processes.