Matatau Whenua Guidelines – Infographic

The Matatau Whenua Guidelines will assist whenua Māori landowners and decision-makers incorporate traditional Māori knowledge, or mātauranga, into land-use decision-making. The guidelines, are divided into three phases and nine stages, that provides a structured process for gathering mātauranga to inform past, present, and future land-use decisions.

Mātauranga, encompassing all forms of Māori knowledge, practice, and values, is important in landuse decision-making. Central to Matatau Whenua is the whakatauki: Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua (we face our past as we move into the future). Matatau Whenua helps to incorporate all forms of historical and ancestral sources of information into a holistic understanding of the whenua. It specifically draws on pūrakau, kōrero tuku iho, mōteatea, whakapapa, ngā tuhinga komiti and other forms of knowledge.