The 1991 Resource Management Act (RMA) contains many provisions for safeguarding iwi interests and ensuring iwi participation in the development of policy statements and plans by regional and district councils.
An important focus for the PUCM Research Programme is the degree to which the interests of iwi have been incorporated into the district planning process.
In 2002
Kokomuka Consultancy Ltd (Opotiki) was contracted to complete the Maori component of the Phase 2 research on plan implementation and examine ways in which it could be extended to an evaluation of environmental outcomes for Maori from district plans through kaupapa Maori research.
The Kokomuka team also undertook analysis of provisions for Maori/iwi/hapu- interests in district plans coded for quality in the earlier Phase 1 (see Phase 1 Report). They found that many plans concentrated on developing issues, objectives and policies about processes for iwi participation rather than substantive resource issues that affect Maori.
An analysis of Phase 2 results (see report) also showed little evidence of iwi/hapu- involvement in plan implementation. This was due in part to the limited capacity of most councils to facilitate iwi/hapu- participation in the consent process. Only the best resourced councils could afford to do so.
See also
Iwi Interests - Phase 3.
Stimulated by PUCM research, the IGCI and Kokomuka Consultancy Ltd is starting a Maori Working Paper Series as listed below. The aim is to stimulate discussion or research ideas and results prior to publication.
PUCM Maori Working Paper Series
- Iwi Interests and the RMA: An Evaluation of the Quality of Council Plans.
- Evaluation of Iwi and Hapu Participation in the Resource Consents Processes of Six District Councils.
- Reflections on Relationship-Building between Tangata Whenua and Local Government: Notes from Research and Practice.
- From Rhetoric to Reality: Achieving Maori Aspirations of Kaitiakitanga.
- Maori provisions in RMA Plans
- Viewing the World though a Wider Lens than that of Western Culture
- The PUCM Kaupapa Maori Environmental Outcomes and Indicators Model
