Tangaroa Ararau: Reimagining Ocean Governance by Integrating Indigenous Perspectives for a Sustainable Future

Aotearoa New Zealand, like many other countries, has reached a point where increasing tensions and stressors afflicting our marine environment have highlighted a need for transformation. In order to promote the health and wellbeing of our oceans, the concepts, values and interests that drive human interactions, decision making and prioritisations in regard to the ocean must be revisited. This has been demonstrated, both locally and internationally, in the mounting momentum towards sustainability, increasing sensitivity to non-financial factors and the social license to operate in industries dependent on natural resources.

This context paved the way for this research project Tangaroa Ararau – Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Tikanga Māori and the marine environment. For Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, Tangaroa is the deified term given to the physical ocean environment and all life within it.

Māori pedagogies invoke direct genealogical connections to Tangaroa, a relationship that compels humans to act with a sense of familial responsibility: a set of behaviours and beliefs that, through this research, can be a foundational framework to put Tangaroa at the heart of the management and governance of the marine environment.

This research aimed to reimagine Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine governance system, placing the ocean at its center,  and upholding the rights guaranteed to Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi—the foundational Treaty between the British Crown and Māori. In collaboration with Māori experts, the research established core design principles grounded in indigenous knowledge. These principles provided a foundation for examining the challenges and biases in current marine governance frameworks and supported the development of new, future-focused models.

Futures-thinking methods, such as futures triangles, causal layered analysis, and scenario planning, were also used to analyse key trends, anticipate disruptions, and design governance options that prioritise values-driven, inclusive, and ocean-centered decision-making. The findings emphasise the critical role of indigenous perspectives and values in creating an ocean-centered governance system that equally considers the wellbeing of the environment as well as the diverse communities that depend on it.

Establishing transformative, ocean-centric governance models requires broad, principles-based alignment across the spectrum of institutions and communities. A holistic approach built on a foundation of Māori values, that empowers local communities and adopts intergenerational planning horizons, could form a resilient, equitable, and unique marine governance framework capable of addressing the challenges of the 21st century.

Such a transformation requires shifting hearts and minds of all people with a connection to the ocean. In order to convey the findings of this research to a broader audience, the research was disseminated in culturally meaningful ways, including through an art exhibition event featuring toi Māori (Māori art), whakairo (carvings), waiata (song), and tā moko (tattooing), drawing a connection between the emotional connection of art and the sea to the prevailing policy issues of the time. This approach aims to inspire a shared commitment to an ocean-centered future for Aotearoa, uniting people in the effort to look after and care for our ocean.