Interim recommendations and points for noting
The NZCA notes that any customary use of native species would need to be lawful and sustainable, employing monitoring systems that provide advance warning of signs of stress or decline in the community or species being harvested.
The NZCA would recommend that encouragement is given to collaborative research between traditional Maori knowledge and science, which specifically targets customary use issues.
Raupo, Motuwhetero Island
The NZCA would recommend that DOC adopts policy and procedures to ensure that tangata whenua have clearly defined access to traditional materials where these are lawfully available as a result of accidental kills or through approved management procedures.
The NZCA would recommend that tangata whenua are fully involved in the consideration and negotiation of requests for native birds, plants, animals and materials for scientific research, for display in museums and for other non-Maori uses.
The NZCA would recommend that the Wildlife Act 1953 be specifically amended to provide tangata whenua with lawful ownership of the crafted taonga that sustain culture and tradition, comprising feathers and other materials of native birds and animals, and the feathers and other materials allocated for the construction, maintenance and repair of those taonga.
The NZCA would recommend that attention is given to enhancing ways in which Maori can become more directly involved in conservation.
The NZCA notes that plantations of native plant species could be established to provide for Maori customary use.
The NZCA notes that publicity and educational programmes could be established to increase public understanding of:
- New Zealand ecology and conservation issues as they relate to customary use;
- Maori and European cultural traditions of the natural environment and humans' place in nature; and
- Treaty of Waitangi obligations as they pertain to conservation, including DOC's legal requirements.
The NZCA would recommend that consultation hui/meetings are held between tangata whenua, the Department of Conservation, the Conservation Boards and conservation stakeholder groups to consider systems of administering Maori customary use.
Given that debate is continuing, the NZCA recognises that any system of administering Maori customary use of native species would need to be managed through a system that:
- ensures national consistency and guidance within a framework defined by law and informed by science;
- recognises the differences and distinctiveness of regional and local systems, both natural and human;
- allows for the exercise of regional and local input in the application of the guidelines; and
- encourages maximum communication between the different levels and sectors within the system, including the interests of science and the wider community.
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