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Work done by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Trust to make its communities more aware of biosecurity risks has won it the Te Puni Kōkiri Māori Award in this year's New Zealand Biosecurity Awards.
The trust says with the growth of the Port of Tauranga, and horticultural and agricultural industries in the region booming, this is critical to protecting taonga i tuku iho.
The emerging leader award went to Amanda Black of Tūhoe, Whakatōhea, and Whānau-a-Apanui, a senior lecturer at Lincoln University's Bio-Protection Research Centre, for her work with Te Kawerau a Maki on kauri dieback and other threats to the ngahere.
She was also a science leader for the Māori biosecurity programme in the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, which funded myrtle rust and freshwater biosecurity research into freshwater mussels and koura, and helped establish the Māori biosecurity network Te Tira Whakamātaki.
The judges say Dr Black's combination of scientific and cultural understanding enabled her to draft critical, knowledgeable management plans for threats like kauri dieback.
The supreme award went to Environment Southland for its Fiordland Marine Pathway Management Plan which requires all vessels entering the area to obtain a Clean Vessel Pass, and Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society won the community award for the work it has done to return kōkako to the maunga.
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