Daniel Hikuroa

Supplementary data files

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), May 27, 2022

New Earth Histories, 2023

In many Oceanic societies, the cosmos is a continuous state of movement. Stars and constellations... more In many Oceanic societies, the cosmos is a continuous state of movement. Stars and constellations, islands and archipelagos, people and their canoes, and fish were existentially interconnected, in an oceanic world in which sky above and land below (at the pae or horizon), and land and sea (at the tai, or shoreline) were interfolded and fluid.

In ‘Think like a Fish’ we draw attention to the seemingly invisible yet completely dominant terrestrial focus, and we suggest a reframing that centres the ocean. In this framing, Te Moana nui a Kiwa, the Pacific, is one expansive ocean, the great connector, in which the islands themselves were fish, moving through the water, mirrored above by the stars, which swam or sailed across the sky ocean.

With a shift away from Western hubris and human exceptionalism, the law of the sea might be rewritten to recognise an Oceanic vision, one in which the world’s great ocean has its own independent life, and its own right to be healthy and flourish. From there, it is but a short step to recognising the independent life and rights of the planet, and to put humanity in its proper place as one planetary life form, among many.

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Tai Timu, Tai Pari, the ebb and flow of the tides: working with the Waimatā from the Mountains to the Sea

by Anne Salmond and Daniel Hikuroa

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 56, no. 3, 430-446., 2022

This paper emerges from a Marsden project, Let the River Speak, focused on the Waimatā River in G... more This paper emerges from a Marsden project, Let the River Speak, focused on the Waimatā River in Gisborne, bringing insights from mātauranga and wānanga together with a wide range of disciplines to produce innovative and engaged understandings of ki uta ki tai-the life of rivers from the mountains to the sea. In Te Ao Māori, waterways are relational knots/nodes/strands in a meshwork of whakapapa that arises from exchanges between earth and sky, land and sea. This approach acknowledges the relations between the atmosphere, surface water and groundwater, vegetation cover, land use, water quality and quantity, the sea, plants, animals, microorganisms and people; and rivers as beings in their own right, with their own rights. Let the River Speak is codeveloped with the river by a team including iwi researchers, scholars from earth system science, geomorphology, microbiology and infectious diseases, forest ecology, anthropology, creative practice, and business studies. It is holistic, working across different knowledge systems to understand the full complexity of waterways in relationship with people and other life forms over time. At the same time, it is hopeful, providing a relational framework for actions to restore river and estuarine communities to a state of ora (health, wellbeing, flourishing).

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Rent as a regional asset: rent platforms and regional development in Kaikōura, Aotearoa New Zealand

Regional Studies, Jul 19, 2023

How Indigenous Knowledge can Reduce Risk, Facilitate Recovery and Increase Resilience

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The lessons of history for the future of science

Journal of The Royal Society of New Zealand, Apr 3, 2017

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Weaving mātauranga into environmental decision-making

New Zealand Science Review, Aug 20, 2022

is Manahautü, Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), where he leads the EPA's Kaupapa Kura Tai... more is Manahautü, Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), where he leads the EPA's Kaupapa Kura Taiao (Mäori policy and operations) team. Doug has worked in policy roles at Te Puni Kökiri, Ministry for Primary Industries, and Te Ohu Kaimoana. He is a former chair and director of Rongowhakaata iwi asset holding company and Turanga Group Holdings.

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Kia aiō ngā ngaru, kia hora te marino: smoothing the waters in natural resource management to mitigate risk and uncertainty

AlterNative, May 13, 2023

Aotearoa (New Zealand) is undertaking reforms in natural resource management, and there are promi... more Aotearoa (New Zealand) is undertaking reforms in natural resource management, and there are promising signals that Indigenous perspectives will be included alongside science for decision-making. Any resource management system is underpinned by worldviews, from which values stem and then risk and uncertainty derive. Māori (the Indigenous peoples of New Zealand) and Eurocentric notions of risk and uncertainty are fundamentally different because knowledge holders have different worldviews. Eurocentric concepts of risk and uncertainty continue to frame policy, making it challenging for Māori knowledge to shape policy that is relevant for decision-making in Aotearoa. We explore Māori perspectives of risk and uncertainty and literature, identifying common attributes across natural resource management frameworks, and identify issues of risk and uncertainty from the perspective of Māori experts. We conclude that a Māori approach to enhancing natural resources is more aligned to current environmental policy compared with standard approaches for risk assessment and reducing uncertainty.

Restoring Sociocultural Relationships with Rivers

Kia kaua te reo e rite ki te moa, ka ngaro: do not let the language suffer the same fate as the moa

Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2020

kaua te reo e rite ki te moa, ka ngaro: do not let the language suffer the same fate as the moa.

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Orienting the Sustainable Management of Chemicals and Waste toward Indigenous Knowledge

Environmental Science & Technology, Jul 17, 2023

Managing at source and at scale: The use of geomorphic river stories to support rehabilitation of Anthropocene riverscapes in the East Coast Region of Aotearoa New Zealand

Frontiers in Environmental Science, Apr 13, 2023

Recently uplifted, highly erodible rocks, and recurrent high intensity storms, generate exceeding... more Recently uplifted, highly erodible rocks, and recurrent high intensity storms, generate exceedingly high erosion and sedimentation rates in the East Coast Region (Tairāwhiti) of Aotearoa New Zealand. Despite the recent nature of the Anthropocene record in global terms (∼650 years since Māori arrival, 250 years of colonial impacts), human disturbance has profoundly altered evolutionary trajectories of river systems across the region. Here we document catchment-by-catchment variability in anthropogenic signature as geomorphic river stories for five catchments (Waiapu, Hikuwai, Waimatā, Waipaoa, Mōtū). We show how targeted, fit-for-purpose process-based rehabilitation programmes that manage at source and at scale are required to facilitate river recovery in each of these catchments. The largest rivers in the region, Waiapu and Waipaoa, comprise steep, highly dissected terrains that are subject to recurrent hillslope failures, including systemic shallow landslides, occasional deep-seated rotational slumps and earthflows. Localised sediment input from large (&gt;10 ha) gully mass movement complexes overwhelms valley floors. Targeted revegetation programmes are required to reduce extreme sediment inputs from these sources. Although there are fewer gully complexes in the Hikuwai, multiple landslips supply vast volumes of fine-grained sediment that aggrade and are recurrently reworked along channel margins in lowland reaches. Waimatā has no gully complexes and a smaller number of landslips, but large areas are subject to sediment input from earthflows. The terrace-constrained flume-like nature of this system efficiently flushes materials ‘from the mountains to the sea’, recurrently reworking materials along channel banks in a similar manner to the lower Hikuwai. Systematic reforestation in the middle-upper catchment and revegetation of riparian corridors is required to reduce sedimentation rates in these catchments. In contrast, terraces buffer sediment delivery from hillslopes in the upper Mōtū catchment, where a bedrock gorge separates large sediment stores along upper reaches from the lower catchment. As reworking of valley floor sediments in response to bed incision and reworking (expansion) of channel margins is the primary contemporary sediment source in this system, bed control structures and revegetation of riparian corridors are required as part of targeted sediment management plans. We contend that geomorphic river stories provide a coherent platform for Anthropocene rehabilitation strategies that work with the character, behaviour and evolutionary trajectories of river systems. Although this generic lens can be applied anywhere in the world, we highlight particular meanings and implications in Aotearoa New Zealand where such thinking aligns directly with Māori values that respect the mana (authority), mauri (lifeforce) and ora (wellbeing) of each and every river.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal archaeological heritage: A geostatistical overview of threatened sites

The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, Jul 10, 2023

Coastal hazards threaten properties, infrastructure, and cultural sitesaround Aotearoa New Zealan... more Coastal hazards threaten properties, infrastructure, and cultural sitesaround Aotearoa New Zealand’s (hereafter Aotearoa) coastline andsea-level rise (SLR) will escalate this problem. At present it is unclearhow archaeological sites will be affected by future coastal erosionand inundation. In this paper we combine national-scale archaeo-logical and environmental datasets to provide a first-pass overviewof archaeological heritage at risk in Aotearoa. Two key national-scaledatasets are utilized: (1) coastal sensitivity index (CSI) developed bythe National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; and (2)ArchSite, Aotearoa’s archaeological site database. The integrateddatasets produce insights into the sensitivity of coastal archaeologyto SLR and associated hazards, which are vital to planning for theloss of coastal archaeological sites. More than half (55%) ofrecorded coastal archaeological sites around Aotearoa are midden(n¼4938) and about 25% (n¼2271) are earthworks. In total, ca.12% (9054) of all known archaeological sites are within 1000 m ofsoft shore shorelines. Of this total, only about 3% (302) of sites areburials, but the loss of these 302 burial sites would have very highcultural impact. Coastal erosion is a particularly important threat toarchaeology as it would permanently remove sites, whereas the riskof site removal by coastal flooding inundation is lower. Our resultsshow that about 22% (1954) of coastal archaeological sites arelocated on landforms that are sensitive to SLR-driven erosion: 29%(2660) of archaeological sites are located on foredune barrierbeaches, 23% (2059) on foredune barrier plains, 14% (1283) onbeaches, and 9% (808) on beach ridge barriers. This work drawsattention to the scale of coastal archaeology in Aotearoa that needsadequate documentation, preservation, and potentially protection inthe face of SLR. Robust coastal erosion and inundation datasets areneeded to more deeply understand potential SLR-driven impacts oncoastal archaeology and provide a scientific foundation for consider-ing future adaptation options.

Social–ecological connections across land, water, and sea demand a reprioritization of environmental management

Elementa, 2022

Despite many sectors of society striving for sustainability in environmental management, humans o... more Despite many sectors of society striving for sustainability in environmental management, humans often fail to identify and act on the connections and processes responsible for social-ecological tipping points. Part of the problem is the fracturing of environmental management and social-ecological research into ecosystem domains (land, freshwater, and sea), each with different scales and resolution of data acquisition and distinct management approaches. We present a perspective on the social-ecological connections across ecosystem domains that emphasize the need for management reprioritization to effectively connect these domains. We identify critical nexus points related to the drivers of tipping points, scales of governance, and the spatial and temporal dimensions of social-ecological processes. We combine real-world examples and a simple dynamic model to illustrate the implications of slow management responses to environmental impacts that traverse ecosystem domains. We end with guidance on management and research opportunities that arise from this cross-domain lens to foster greater opportunity to achieve environmental and sustainability goals.

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Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal archaeological heritage: A geostatistical overview of threatened sites

The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology

Coastal hazards threaten properties, infrastructure, and cultural sitesaround Aotearoa New Zealan... more Coastal hazards threaten properties, infrastructure, and cultural sitesaround Aotearoa New Zealand’s (hereafter Aotearoa) coastline andsea-level rise (SLR) will escalate this problem. At present it is unclearhow archaeological sites will be affected by future coastal erosionand inundation. In this paper we combine national-scale archaeo-logical and environmental datasets to provide a first-pass overviewof archaeological heritage at risk in Aotearoa. Two key national-scaledatasets are utilized: (1) coastal sensitivity index (CSI) developed bythe National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; and (2)ArchSite, Aotearoa’s archaeological site database. The integrateddatasets produce insights into the sensitivity of coastal archaeologyto SLR and associated hazards, which are vital to planning for theloss of coastal archaeological sites. More than half (55%) ofrecorded coastal archaeological sites around Aotearoa are midden(n¼4938) and about 25% (n¼2271) are earthworks. In total, ca.12% (9054) of all known archaeological sites are within 1000 m ofsoft shore shorelines. Of this total, only about 3% (302) of sites areburials, but the loss of these 302 burial sites would have very highcultural impact. Coastal erosion is a particularly important threat toarchaeology as it would permanently remove sites, whereas the riskof site removal by coastal flooding inundation is lower. Our resultsshow that about 22% (1954) of coastal archaeological sites arelocated on landforms that are sensitive to SLR-driven erosion: 29%(2660) of archaeological sites are located on foredune barrierbeaches, 23% (2059) on foredune barrier plains, 14% (1283) onbeaches, and 9% (808) on beach ridge barriers. This work drawsattention to the scale of coastal archaeology in Aotearoa that needsadequate documentation, preservation, and potentially protection inthe face of SLR. Robust coastal erosion and inundation datasets areneeded to more deeply understand potential SLR-driven impacts oncoastal archaeology and provide a scientific foundation for consider-ing future adaptation options.

(Re)emergence of Pūtaiao: Conceptualising Kaupapa Māori science

Environment and Planning F

Overcoming the long-standing distrust of ‘research’ is especially challenging within the colonial... more Overcoming the long-standing distrust of ‘research’ is especially challenging within the colonial structures of Western science. This article aspires to rise to this challenge by conceptualising Pūtaiao as a form of Indigenous research sovereignty. Grounded in Kaupapa Māori Theory, Pūtaiao is envisioned as a Kaupapa Māori way of doing science in which Indigenous leadership is imperative. It incorporates Māori ways of knowing, being, and doing when undertaking scientific research. An essential element of Pūtaiao is setting a decolonising agenda, drawing from both Kaupapa Māori Theory and Indigenous methodologies. Accordingly, this centres the epistemology, ontology, axiology and positionality of researchers in all research, which informs their research standpoint. This approach speaks back to ontological framings of Western scientific research that restrict Indigenous ways of researching in the scientific academy. Furthermore, Pūtaiao offers tools and language to critique the academi...

He Karanga Maha. Investigating Relational Resource Management in Aotearoa, New Zealand

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Apr 18, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more

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Te Maramataka—An Indigenous System of Attuning with the Environment, and Its Role in Modern Health and Well-Being

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Feb 3, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more

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Reanimating the strangled rivers of Aotearoa New Zealand

WIREs Water

Contemporary management practices have artificially confined (strangled) river systems in Aotearo... more Contemporary management practices have artificially confined (strangled) river systems in Aotearoa New Zealand to support intensified land use in riparian areas. These practices work against nature, diminishing the functionality and biodiversity values of living rivers, and associated socio‐cultural relations with rivers. River confinement can accentuate flood risk by promoting development in vulnerable locations and limiting the flexibility to adapt to changing climate, prospectively accentuating future disasters. To date, uptake of space‐to‐move management interventions that seek to address such shortcomings is yet to happen in Aotearoa New Zealand. This is despite the fact that such practices directly align with Māori (indigenous) conceptualizations of rivers as indivisible, living entities. Treaty of Waitangi obligations that assert Māori rights alongside colonial rights of a settler society provide an additional driver for uptake of space‐to‐move initiatives. This article outli...

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