Barrett, PCretney, RavenKurian, PSimmonds, N2023-10-132021-09-2720222327-66656G2BE (isidoc)https://hdl.handle.net/10182/16557The increasing use of participatory processes in environmental governance and management has implications for the way different conceptualisations of nature and the environment are recognised within environmental decision-making. This article draws on a case study of the Ōngātoro Maketū estuary restoration initiative in Aotearoa, New Zealand, to examine how shifting discourses of nature and the environment intersect with the exercise of power to influence decision-making on the estuary. The study is based on a qualitative analysis of an archive of historical policy and planning documents, and 25 in-depth interviews with participants involved in the restoration initiative. The analysis demonstrates that despite a participatory process that often reinforced the dominant cultural paradigm and power relations, it created the space for different knowledge forms including western science and Māori knowledge to help improve the quality of decisions. We argue that well-designed participatory processes have much potential to address the growing complexity and uncertainty underpinning environmental governance and management.pp.315-334en© 2021 The University of Hong Kong.discoursesenvironmentgovernancenatureparticipatoryprocessesJournal Article10.1080/23276665.2021.19723222327-66732023-08-14ANZSRC::4407 Policy and administrationANZSRC::4408 Political science