April 29, 2015
Rena crash sparks measure of mauri
As Tauranga races to clean up another oil spill in its harbour, a Maori academic is looking at how to measure the success of efforts to restore environmental well being after the Rena grounding four years ago.
Kepa Morgan is presenting his findings at a Horizons of Insight seminar at Auckland University's Waipapa marae this afternoon organised by Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, the centre for Maori research excellence.
After the cargo ship Rena ran aground on Otaiti Astrolabe Reef spilling fuel oil and other debris into the ocean, Dr Morgan and his team were asked to find a way to measure the Environment Ministry's goal to restore the mauri of the environment to its pre-Rena state.
He says that meant challenging the existing framework that engineers could not consider anything that could not be measured in monetary terms.
"Mauri in the context of the Mauri Model is the life-supporting capacity of the indicator of the collection of indicators that are being considered in relation to the decisions that you are going to make," Dr Morgan says.
Indicators being measured include not just the scientific data but the effect on the mana iwi held over their fisheries and the economic effect on families.
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