Tauutuutu

As Māori, it is important for us to uphold the mana of the land and waters on which we depend – not just because they sustain us, but also because it is the right thing to do. We know that by tending to our relations with reverence and care, they will, in turn, tend to us, providing the sustenance needed to support our whānau and communities. This reciprocal relationship, where enhancing the mana of te taiao leads to our own mana being enhanced, is known as tauutuutu.

In today’s complex world, we need detailed environmental intelligence to know whether our ways of relating to and managing our land and waters are mana-enhancing. While Māori have many ways of gauging the health of te taiao based on their long-standing relationships with Place, they have also been open to incorporating new approaches that align with their values. Recently, a range of new and affordable technologies have emerged that can support Māori collectives in generating environmental intelligence. Centered on mātauranga Māori, the Kaitiaki Intelligence Platform project has designed an Environmental Sensing Network that can deliver this knowledge.