Engaging with Community - Maori perspectives of the environment Flashcards
Purpose and objective of community engagement
- Informing stakeholders
- Gaining their views, concerns and values
- Taking account of public inputs in decision making
- Influencing project design
- Obtaining local knowledge
- Increasing public confidence
- Improving transparency and accountability in decision- making
- Reducing conflict
Levels of community engagement
- Information (one way flow from proponent to public)
- Consultation (two way exchange of information)
- Participation (interaction with the public)
- Negotiation (face to face discussion, rare)
Key Stakeholders
- Iwi and hapū
- Local people affected by a proposal
- Proponent and project beneficiaries
- Government agencies
- others, e.g. donors, the private sector, academics
Principles of community engagement
inclusive, open and transparent, relevant, fair, responsive, credible
Community involvement in EIA process
screening, scoping, impact analysis, review, implementation and monitoring
Factor affecting effectiveness of community engagement
- Remote and rural settings
- Culture/local values
- Language
- Legal systems override traditional ones
- Dominance of interest groups
- Proponent confidentiality
Principles for minimising conflict
- Involve all stakeholders
- Establish communication channels
- Describe the proposal and its objectives
- Listen to the concerns and interests of affected people
- Treat people fairly and impartially
- Be empathetic and flexible
- Mitigate impacts and compensate for loss and damage
- Acknowledge concerns and provide feed-back
Common reasons for avoiding community engagement
- It’s too early
- It will take too long and will cost too much
- It will stir up opposition
- We will only hear from the articulate
- We’ll raise expectations
- People won’t understand
Principles for successful community engagement
- Provide the right information
- Allow sufficient time to review and respond
- Provide appropriate opportunities/means for stakeholder involvement
- Respond to issues and concerns raised
- Feed back the results of public input
- Choose venues and times of events to suit stakeholders
Purpose of an EIA review
The purpose of the review process is to establish if the information in an EIA report is sufficient for decision-making.
Objective of an EIA review
– review the quality of the EIA report
– take account of public comment
– determine if the information is sufficient
– identify any deficiencies to be corrected
EIA review - aspects for consideration
- Information is correct and technically sound
- Account taken of public comments
- Complete and satisfactory statement of key findings
- Information is clear and understandable
- Information is sufficient for decision-making
EIA review - steps for good practise
- Set the scale of the review
- Select reviewer(s)
- Use public input
- Identify review criteria
- Carry out the review
- Determine remedial options
Steps to carrying out a review
1- identify the deficiencies
2- focus on critical short comings
3- recommend remedial measures
EIA review methods
General checklists, Project specific checklists, Review packages, Expert and accredited reviewers, Public hearings
What are Maori deities (Nga Atua Maori)
- Aspects of the natural environment are linked to particular atua
- Anything affecting the land itself is thought to affect Papa
- The natural environment is living
- Kaitiakitanga – responsibility to care for environment, respecting the associated atua, reciprocity
What Maori dietie is important regarding civil and why
Rūaumoko: Earthquakes, geothermal resources
Matauranga Maori
“the knowledge, comprehension or understanding of everything visible and invisible existing in the universe”
- traditionally orally transmitted, embedded within everyday activities
Mātauranga Māori is the pursuit and application of
knowledge and understanding of te Taiao, following a
systematic methodology based on:
– Evidence
– Observations
– Culture, values and world views
Pūrākau and maramataka can be both accurate and
precise, as they incorporate critically verified
knowledge, continually tested and updated through
time.
Purākau
Pūrākau are a traditional form of Māori narrative, containing philosophical thought, epistemological constructs, cultural codes and world views.
Pūrākau are an integral part of mātauranga Māori and were deliberate constructs employed to encapsulate and condense into easily understood forms Māori views of the world, of ultimate reality and the relationship between the ātua (deities), the universe and humans
Why is whakapapa important
- it provides identity and ‘map’ that links all living things to another
- In regards to people specifically, whakapapa is
important as it allows people to remember and
identify how they are related and connected with other people, the land and ultimately the atua
What sections of the resource management act are closely relevant in terms of Maori culture
Section 6e, section 7, Treaty of waitangi section 8
