Co-management (also called joint management) refers to a system of decision-making which involves two or more parties.
Co-management is part of a broader worldwide trend of indigenous peoples calling attention to the contributions of their knowledge and methods to environmental governance.
The co-management arrangement between the Waikato River Iwi and local government is a recent and apt example of this trend. There are many other examples with versions of co-management:
Australia
Kakadu
National Park, which includes Uluru and Ayers Rock is run by the traditional
Aboriginial guardians and park managers.
Okahu Bay ReserveBoard
In 1991 Ngati Whatua o Orakei were granted ownership of Bastion point and 60 hectares of parklands and beaches around Okahu Bay. The area is managed by the Reserve Board which includes Trust members (representing the Iwi) and Auckland Council representatives.
Owhia Harbour and Catchment
Owhia Harbour and catchment is managed through an integrated approach by the three councils and iwi groups. A strategy was created that includes statutory and non-statutory implementation actions.
Te Arawa lakes settlement 2006
Settlement of historical grievances in relation to 14 lakes in the Rotorua district. Title to 13 of the 14 lakes is vested in a Trust (the Te Arawa Lakes Trust), who can regulate certain commercial activities however the water remains a public resource. Te Arawa can also influence policy in relation to the lakes, such as the preparation of planning documents.
Te Whiti Park
Te Whiti Park, owned by Hutt City Council and managed by a contractor, is the setting of
another co-management arrangement. Te Runanganui O Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui have a entered into an agreement with the Council establishing them as custodians in preparation for further management responsibilities in the future.
Ngā Pae o Rangitīkei
Ngā Pae o Rangitīkei are a collective of iwi and hapu that mobilised to address the common goal of protection of the Rangitīkei river and catchment area. Utilising shared
knowledge the members signed a charter in 2005. The collective has since become a clear point of liaison for local authorities and has mobilised for activism and engagement of environmental issues.
Tūhoe
2008 signed Terms of Negotiations for Treaty of Waitangi Claims – they want Te
Uruwera National Park (currently managed my DOC) returned to the tribe.
Te Roroa and Waipoua
In August 2011 it was reported that the Government planned to turn Northland’s Waipoua forest (the home of the giant Kauri Tane Mahuta ), Trounson Kauri Park and Maitahi Wetland into New Zealand’s 15th national park. Several hundred members of Te Roroa live at Waipoua and regard themselves as kaitiaki and ancestral guardians of the
forest. Te Roroa have previously worked closely with DOC who manages the Waipoua, and they want to run the park jointly with the Crown, citing the co-management model effected by the Waikato-Tainui deal. DOC states that co-management is “beyond the scope” of the park plan. DOC seems to be of the view that a completed Treaty settlement removes Maori from inclusion in management.
In 2007 Local Government New Zealand carried out a review…
read it here: Co-Management Case Studies Involving Local Authorities And Maori January 2007