Ecological Economics
Ecological Economics 102 (2014) 1–7
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Ecological Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon
Analysis
Lessons from resource management by indigenous Maori in New
Zealand: Governing the ecosystems as a commons
Viktoria Kahui ⁎, Amanda C. Richards
University of Otago, Economics, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 30 September 2013
Received in revised form 9 February 2014
Accepted 17 March 2014
Available online 6 April 2014
Keywords:
Indigenous Maori
Common property
Ecosystem based management
a b s t r a c t
The paradigm shift to holistic management rests on the insight that exploitation affects all aspects of the ecosystem. While scholars and policy-makers all want ecosystem based management (EBM), few, if any, have achieved it in practice. Adaptive governance promises effective EBM, but guidance remains elusive. Looking back to an ecosystem people such as the indigenous Maori in the south of New Zealand and analyzing their resource management system using Ostrom 's (1990) eight-principle framework for common property rights regimes allows us to answer three central questions. How did Ngai Tahu, the dominant tribe on the South Island, manage the complex linkages, uncertainty and interactions with nature while exploiting their environment? Was resource exploitation sustainable? And what can be drawn from their management system for modern governance structures?
The application of Ostrom 's framework shows that kaitiakitanga (stewardship) as an integrated management system generally aligns with the principles necessary for successful EBM and provided Ngai Tahu with the necessary tools to control and adapt measures across space and time, mirroring the modern tenets of adaptive management. Studying a people that practiced EBM successfully provides the insight that EBM may be achieved by governing ecosystems through an
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Ecological Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon
Analysis
Lessons from resource management by indigenous Maori in New
Zealand: Governing the ecosystems as a commons
Viktoria Kahui ⁎, Amanda C. Richards
University of Otago, Economics, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 30 September 2013
Received in revised form 9 February 2014
Accepted 17 March 2014
Available online 6 April 2014
Keywords:
Indigenous Maori
Common property
Ecosystem based management
a b s t r a c t
The paradigm shift to holistic management rests on the insight that exploitation affects all aspects of the ecosystem. While scholars and policy-makers all want ecosystem based management (EBM), few, if any, have achieved it in practice. Adaptive governance promises effective EBM, but guidance remains elusive. Looking back to an ecosystem people such as the indigenous Maori in the south of New Zealand and analyzing their resource management system using Ostrom 's (1990) eight-principle framework for common property rights regimes allows us to answer three central questions. How did Ngai Tahu, the dominant tribe on the South Island, manage the complex linkages, uncertainty and interactions with nature while exploiting their environment? Was resource exploitation sustainable? And what can be drawn from their management system for modern governance structures?
The application of Ostrom 's framework shows that kaitiakitanga (stewardship) as an integrated management system generally aligns with the principles necessary for successful EBM and provided Ngai Tahu with the necessary tools to control and adapt measures across space and time, mirroring the modern tenets of adaptive management. Studying a people that practiced EBM successfully provides the insight that EBM may be achieved by governing ecosystems through an
References: Anderson, A.J., 1998. The Welcome of Strangers. Otago University Press, Dunedin. Belich, J., 1996. Making Peoples: A History of the New Zealanders, from Polynesian Settlement to the End of the Nineteenth Century. University of Hawai 'i Press, Honolulu. Berkes, F., Kislalioglu, M., Folke, C., Gadgil, M., 1998. Exploring the basic ecological unit: ecosystem-like concepts in traditional societies Berkes, F., Colding, J., Folke, C., 2000. Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive management Browman, H.I., Cury, P.M., Hilborn, R., Jennings, S., Lotze, H.K., Mace, P.M., Murawski, S., Pauly, D., Sissenwine, M., Stergiou, K.I., Zeller, D., 2004 Connor, R., Shallard, B., 2010. Evolving governance in New Zealand fisheries. In: Grafton, R.Q., Hilborn, R., Squires, D., Tait, M., Williams, M Costello, C., Gaines, S.D., Lynham, J., 2008. Can catch shares prevent fisheries collapse? Science 321 (5896), 1678–1681. Cox, M., Arnold, G., Tomas, S.V., 2010. A review of design principles for community-based natural resource management Crosby, A., 2005. Ritual. In: Ballard, C., Brown, P., Bourke, R.M., Harwood, T. (Eds.), Ethnology Monographs 19, Oceania Monographs, University of Pittsburgh. Curtin, R., Prellezo, P., 2010. Understanding marine ecosystem based management: a literature review V. Kahui, A.C. Richards / Ecological Economics 102 (2014) 1–7 Davies, J., 2001 Dawson, R.M., 2000. The genesis of the New Zealand Parliament 's Treaty of Waitangi (Fisheries Claims) Settlement Act, 1992 Dietz, T., Ostrom, E., Stern, P.C., 2003. The struggle to govern the commons. Science 302, 1907–1911. DoC, 2006. Cabbage tree/ti kouka. Fact sheet. Auckland ConservancyPublished by Department of Conservation, Christchurch (NS0105). Dyhrberg, M., 1994. Maori based justice: an alternative dispute resolution in the criminal justice system Australia p. 1994. Ehrenfeld, D., 1989. Is anyone listening? Conserv. Biol. 3 (4), 415. Environment Australia, 2003. ESD Reporting Guidelines (online), Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage FAO, 2003. Fisheries management. 2. The ecosystem approach to fisheries. Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries, 4, Suppl Folke, C., 2007. Social–ecological systems and adaptive governance of the commons. Ecol. Folke, C., Carpenter, S., Walker, B., Scheffer, M., Elmqvist, T., Gunderson, L., Holling, C.S., 2004 Folke, C., Hahn, T., Olsson, P., Norberg, J., 2005. Adaptive governance of social–ecological systems Garcia, S.M., Cochrane, K.L., 2005. Ecosystem approach to fisheries: a review of implementation guidelines. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 62, 311–318. Gautam, A.P., Shivakoti, G.P., 2005. Conditions for successful local collective action in forestry: some evidence from the hills of Nepal Gordon, H.S., 1954. The economic theory of a common-property resource: the fishery. J. Gunderson, L., Light, S.S., 2006. Adaptive management and adaptive governance in the everglades ecosystem Hames, R., 2007. The ecologically noble savage debate. Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 36, 177–190. Hardin, G., 1968. The tragedy of the commons. Science 162 (3859), 1243–1248. Hardin, G., 1978. Political Requirements for Preserving our Common Heritage in Wildlife in America Helpman, E., 2004. The Mystery of Economic Growth. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge. Kawharu, M., 2000. Kaitiakitanga: a Maori anthropological perspective of the Maori socioenvironmental ethic of resource management. J. Polynesian Soc. 109 (4), 349–370. Kitson, J.C., Moller, H., 2008. Looking after your ground: resource management practice by Rakiura Maori Titi harvesters Knight, R.L., Riedel, S., 2002. Aldo Leopold and the Ecological Conscience. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Lee, R., De Vore, I., 1968. Man the Hunter. Aldine, Chicago. Leslie, H., Rosenberg, A.A., Eagle, J., 2008. Is a new mandate needed for marine ecosystembased management? Front. Ecol. Environ. 6, 43–48. Schneider, S.H., Taylor, W.W., 2007. Complexity of coupled human and natural systems McDowall, R.M., 2011. Ikawai: Freshwater Fishes in Maori Culture and Economy. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Current State and Trends Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2010. Sub-Global Arab Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. UNEP. Ministry for the Environment, 2013. Freshwater Reform 2013 and Beyond (Wellington, NZ). Moller, H., Berkes, F., Lyver, P., Kislalioglu, M., 2004. Combining science and traditional ecological knowledge: monitoring populations for co-management Nelson, R., Howden, M., Smith, M.S., 2008. Using adaptive governance to rethink the way science supports Australian drought policy New Zealand Law Commission, 2002. 3. Tikanga Maori. Te Aka Matua o te Ture. Study paper 13, Treaty of Waitangi Claims: Addressing Post-Settlement Phase (Wellington, New Olsson, P., Gunderson, L.H., Carpenter, S.R., Ryan, P., Lebel, L., Folke, C., Holling, C.S., 2006. Orbell, M., 1995. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend. University Press, Christchurch, Canterbury. Ostrom, E., 1990. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action Ostrom, E., 2009. A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social–ecological systems Ostrom, E., 2010. The challenge of common-pool resources. Environ. Sci. Policy Sustain. Ostrom, E., Hess, C., 2007. Private and common property rights. Workshop in Political