From ecosystems to healthscapes: Indigenous-informed frameworks for restoring environmental and human wellbeing

Abstract

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly promoted to address ecological degradation and climate risk, yet they are often implemented through narrowly defined objectives that separate environmental outcomes from human health, cultural continuity, and governance. This paper introduces the ‘healthscape’ as an Indigenous-informed, practice- and design-science framework for restoring environmental and human wellbeing as a coupled system. The framework is grounded in Tohe-Ora-Wānanga-Whenua, a collaborative initiative between Te Whakatōhea (a Māori iwi) and Lincoln University's Centre of Excellence Designing Future Productive Landscapes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing on mātauranga Māori alongside geospatial analysis and agroecological design, the healthscape approach operationalises land–water–health interventions across catchment and settlement scales. Four interlinked components structure the framework: hydrological restoration, dairy system transformation, urban healthscape design, and spatial and planning capacity building. Across these components, wai (water) functions as the relational connector linking ecological processes, cultural values, and human wellbeing. We articulate the epistemological foundations of healthscapes and demonstrate how the framework supports scenario-based design for agroecological transitions, flood-resilient papakāinga, kai security, and climate adaptation, including staged settlement adaptation where required. By integrating ecological function, human health, and Indigenous governance within a single spatial design logic, healthscapes extend existing NbS, One Health, and Planetary Health approaches. The framework offers a transferable methodology for Indigenous and place-based systems change in regions facing intersecting ecological, health, and climate pressures