Te Ara o Raukawa Moana: Active Kaitiakitanga in Response to Climate Change

Project Summary

Te Ara o Raukawa Moana is a research project of Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira (the mandated iwi
authority of Ngāti Toa Rangatira) to enable active kaitiakitanga over our changing maritime
environment. The research project is founded on tino rangatiratanga – iwi self-determination,
leadership and autonomy to enable a proactive response to climate change. Te Moana o Raukawa
(Cook Strait) is an integral part of the mana moana and mana whenua of Ngāti Toa Rangatira. It
remains a site of immense cultural, historical, and spiritual significance to Ngāti Toa Rangatira.
The project is focussed on the importance of tangata whenua upholding their role as kaitiaki of the
coastal and maritime environment amidst increasing climate change impacts. It emphasizes the
importance of maintaining the presence of tangata whenua in the seascape to preserve mātauranga,
identify tohu, and protect significant coastal heritage places. The research involves studying the
fishing traditions of Ngāti Toa Rangatira, understanding climate change effects, assessing current
and future climate risks, and taking active kaitiaki measures in marine and coastal areas. The
project’s framework includes exploring ancestral values, environmental changes, current values and
uses, and actions that enable kaitiakitanga.
At the outset of Te Ara o Raukawa Moana, a number of key principles were established to guide the
research approach. These include whakapapa, kotahi tātou, kaitiakitanga, tikanga, manaakitanga,
tohu, wāhi taonga and mauri tūhono.