A response to an anticipated Marine Reserve application for Gulf News
Participants in Future Search connect in 2020 at Ahipao, Matiatia bay ~ Waiheke Island
The Waiheke Marine Project is a mana whenua and community project that began in 2019, holding events throughout 2020 and 2021 including ‘Future Search’ at Ahipao.
The project emerged into an inherited social environment of deep polarisation around the best way to protect Waiheke Island’s marine environment. A marine reserve initiative by the Friends of the Hauraki Gulf around 2013-2015 had prompted unrest as to the possible impacts of such a marine reserve on Waiheke. The probable rights and wrongs of marine reserves were heavily debated with a tense stalemate being reached.
The inset box shows that marine reserves are one form of legislative tool for protecting marine environments in New Zealand. There are many other legislative spatial protection tools such as taiapure, rāhui, mataitai and the variations of MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) proposed in Sea Change. The marine reserve legislation has been around for a long time since 1971 and is an easily understood tool for marine protection with the no-take or no fishing provision. Several years of MPA reform acknowledges that the marine reserve legislation may be simple and attractive but that it is not alone fit for contemporary purpose.
Awareness of the ‘baggage’ around marine reserves in some part influenced the Waiheke Marine Project’s early focus on diversity of voice and perspective to identify common ground on the multiple ways that we might protect and regenerate the marine environment for the whole of Waiheke Island. This common ground was indeed reached by the 76 participants at the Future Search who unanimously agreed to the nine commitments in the picture (inset).
MPAs were embedded in these commitment statements with attention being drawn to the heading Protection Tools that directs the project to focus on protection for Waiheke’s coast as a priority.
“Working together we will learn and discover how to bring ahu moana to life. We are committed to the use and enjoyment of our marine environment and to developing effective marine protection through exploring and using the best mechanisms including Rāhui and Marine Protected Areas”.
Phase Two of the Waiheke Marine Project was recently energised by the appointment of a project Navigator and 3 part-time project coordinators to help catalyse and connect marine protection and regeneration actions around Waiheke. This team is supported by the Waiheke Marine Project steering group to ensure that the project’s core principles are applied of Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership, collaborative practice, and robust application of the three core knowledge systems (matauranga Māori, citizen and western science).
Implementing the nine commitments is underway although progress is not linear. It is organic, diverse, innovative and a bit messy. It includes actions such as support of the Ngāti Pāoa four-species rāhui, exploring regeneration options of kutai/mussels, kōura/crayfish, kelp and rebalancing of kina, the running of Ngāti Paoa wānanga on the island, the forming of a new Ocean Youth Tribe and a new project communications group as well as a growing understanding of the role that fishing plays in marine protection.
The Waiheke Marine Project has recently become aware of a society that has reformed to resurrect a marine reserve application on the northern side of Waiheke, perhaps being weary of such collaborative and broad-based ways of working. Weary or not, the principles of Te Tiriti partnership, collaborative practice and local application of all knowledge systems need to be demonstrated in any activities to protect and regenerate the marine environment.
Post by; Steering group