Global Indigenous ocean leaders gather at Waitangi to protect the moana

Indigenous ocean leaders from across the Pacific and beyond will gather at Waitangi next month for a 10‑day wānanga focused on protecting and restoring Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, the Pacific Ocean.

The symposium, Taiātea: Gathering of the Oceans Voices, Views and Leadership, will bring together more than 20 Indigenous ocean leaders, marine scientists and researchers from Canada, Australia, Hawai‘i, Niue, Rapa Nui and the Cook Islands, alongside Māori leaders from across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Held at Te Tiriti o Waitangi Marae (Te Tii Marae), the wānanga centres on weaving Indigenous knowledge and leadership into ocean protection, climate resilience and future decision‑making.

A public forum on 4 February will coincide with Waitangi celebrations in Paihia, focusing on Indigenous approaches to kaitiakitanga (guardianship), tino rangatiratanga (self‑determination) and mana motuhake (autonomy) in marine governance.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi Marae chair Ngāti Kawa Taituha (Ngāpuhi) said the gathering reflects the responsibility iwi and hapū hold to the moana, noting they are “looking forward to again welcoming our manuhiri from the Pacific and the motu” as Taiātea returns to Waitangi.

Taiātea leader Sheridan Waitai (Ngāti Kuri, Te Rarawa, Tainui) describes the hui as a chance to strengthen long‑standing relationships between Indigenous peoples who share common responsibilities to the ocean. “We are connected through our shared kaitiakitanga of taonga and our ecosystem,” she said, adding that the forum will help communities learn what is working elsewhere and move forward together with purpose.

Lead researcher Lisa Te Heuheu (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Maniapoto) said the gathering continues kōrero about protecting mātauranga Māori and taonga tuku iho, aligning with the Wai 262 “Tiaki Taonga” framework, and stressed that “the knowledge held by our haukāinga is at the heart of this kaupapa”.

After the Waitangi forum, participants will travel to Tūwharetoa and Whanganui for further exchanges and case studies in freshwater and marine management, underlining how Indigenous guardianship applies from headwaters to the open ocean.

Research increasingly backs that approach. A 2019 study comparing Brazil, Canada and Australia found that Indigenous‑managed lands were slightly more vertebrate‑species‑rich than national parks, and in some cases supported more threatened species than either protected or unprotected areas.

Across Australia, Indigenous ranger groups use cultural knowledge and Western science to manage land, river and sea Country, supported by the Australian Government’s Indigenous Rangers Program and Indigenous Protected Areas, including coastal and sea Country reserves. Ghost‑net clean‑ups and coastal patrols in northern Australia alone have removed hundreds of ghost nets and almost 190 tonnes of marine debris, helping protect marine life and cultural sites.

Taiātea organisers are inviting marae, hapū, iwi, environmental groups, agencies and marine researchers to attend the public forum, saying that keeping the hui open is essential to building collective momentum. “This is about growing the collective to gain momentum in the protection of our moana and in that way our knowledge exchange is inclusive,” Waitai said.