Towards rangatiratanga in pest management? Māori perspectives and frameworks on novel biotechnologies in conservation
Symon Palmer A B , O. Ripeka Mercier A and Alan King-Hunt A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Te Kawa a Māui – School of Māori Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
B Corresponding author. Email: symon.palmer@vuw.ac.nz
Pacific Conservation Biology 27(4) 391-401 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC20014
Submitted: 5 February 2020 Accepted: 24 August 2020 Published: 25 September 2020
Abstract
In Aotearoa New Zealand, the government has set a target for the country to become predator-free by 2050, largely as a response to the threat of extinction that introduced mammals pose to native birds. Current pest management tools lack the scalability required to reach pest eradication; thus, new technologies are being explored through public research funding, including controversial techniques such as gene drive. While the need to listen to Māori perspectives on genetic technologies is broadly recognised, the Treaty relationship between government and Māori demands more, including attention to rangatiratanga (autonomy for Māori) and tikanga (Māori customary protocols). A ‘social licence to operate’ is argued to be key to getting public support for such technologies, but is that consistent with a Māori approach? To address this question, we gathered Māori perspectives on novel biotechnological controls for pest wasps through three distinct studies. Study participants included tertiary students, businesses, and spiritual or religiously affiliated groups. All participants drew from their identities as Māori people to help identify their position on these issues. Their perspectives on issues of consent and Social Licence suggest a preference for processes based upon rangatiratanga. Participant perspectives were also organised according to a take utu ea decision-making framework. This exercise suggests that this framework continues to be a relevant and useful contribution to how biotechnology discussions are framed. Rangatiratanga and tikanga are underlying considerations for Māori in relation to novel biotechnologies, and, if recognised more widely, have potential to transform conservation biology in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Keywords: consent, conservation tools, culture, environmental management, genetic modification, indigenous communities, invertebrates, New Zealand, Social License.
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