Developing indicators for Maori
The Urban Amenity Project found that few councils monitor issues of specific concern to Maori, such as the effect of urban amenity on customary resource rights.
Work on developing indicators for Maori is in its early stages. Findings so far are that:
- Maori need to be directly consulted about, and involved with developing, the indicators that are relevant to them.
- Indicators that monitor changes in urban amenity need to monitor the effect of those changes on customary and Treaty of Waitangi rights.
- Indicators also need to monitor the effect of urban amenity on traditional
concepts, such as:
- Kaitiakitanga—ancestral rights and natural resources
- Manaakitanga—an abundance of food
- Cultural heritage—archaeological sites, landforms, buildings, and place names
- Wai—rainwater, rivers, streams, and the ocean
- Land, marae, and papakainga.
Some work has been done on developing Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs) for Maori. The Maori Environmental Monitoring Group, an independent panel working with the Ministry for the Environment, has developed this definition of a Maori EPI:
A Maori EPI is a tohu created and configured by Maori to gauge, measure or indicate change in an environmental locality. A Maori EPI leads a Maori community towards and sustains a vision and a set of environmental goals defined by that community.
Much work remains to be done on developing environmental and urban amenity indicators for Maori. The Urban Amenity Focus Group recommends that consulting with and involving Maori at a local level is the first essential step.
