‘Get together, work together, write together’: a novel framework for conservation of New Zealand frogs

Ko tā te ture ki Aotearoa, mō ngā whakatau me ngā whakahaere o ngā momo koiora motuhake, me mahi tahi ki te iwi Māori o taua takiwāi. Me hanga te anga toi-ahurea ki ngā mātauranga Māori, ki ngā mātauranga tauiwi hoki kia tiakina tika ai ēnei momo koiora. Heoi anō, ko te katoa o ngā hua i puta i tēnei pātuitanga, tē aro atu ai. Ko tētahi take kāore i whai hua ai ngā rautaki me ngā tūkanga i tukuna, ko te korenga o te whakauru i te ahurea Māori ki roto i te puāwaitanga o te mātauranga me te korenga o te renarena o ngā whenu o te pātuitanga. E tonoa ana e mātou he anga toi-ahurea mō te oranga tonutanga o ngā nukuwai, nā runga i ngā huritao me ngā tātaritanga o te pātuitanga e hāngai ana ki te hūnukutanga o tētahi momo poroka Māori (Leiopelma archeyi) ki ngā wāhi e rua o roto i te rohe pōtae o Waikato/Tainui, Aotearoa. I huritaotia e ngā kaituhi, Māori mai, tauiwi mai, ō rātou wheako, ā rātou akoranga me ō rātou whakaaro i a rātou i whakatū i tēnei pātuitanga mō te kaupapa hūnuku i tū i taua rohe. Ko ētahi o ēnei huānga ka whakamāramahia e ngā tuhinga e whakamahi ana i ngā mātāpono rangahau kaupapa Māori. Ko te rerenga ‘Piri tahi, mahi tahi, tuhi tahi’ te anga e whakarāpopoto ai i ngā kitenga i kitea whai muri i tā mātou mahinga tahi. Ko te ‘Piri tahi’ te wāhanga ka whiria ngā whenu o te pātuitanga e rongo ai te tangata i te whanaungatanga. Ko te ‘Mahi tahi’ te wāhanga ka whakatītinatia te whakawhitiwhiti mātauranga, ā, ko te ‘Tuhi tahi’ e tohu ana i te reo o ngā kairangahau i te anga rangahau Māori. Ka whakamāramahia e mātou te tautake me te tūkanga o ia wāhanga e whakaae ai te whakamahinga i ērā atu horopaki o te koiora/ahurea.

In New Zealand, it is a legal requirement to involve local Maori people in making decisions about the management of treasured species, and in carrying out that management. This requires a safe space in which both Maori perspectives and western scientific perspectives on how to protect these species can be included. Yet, the full benefits of having such a partnership are usually overlooked, and the protocols and strategies applied have often failed to incorporate Maori culture in the creation of knowledge and in maintaining the relationship. Here we propose a novel framework for amphibian conservation, based on an analysis of a twoway partnership developed during the translocation of a native frog species between two areas in the King Country. The framework ‘get together, work together, write together’ was identified after Maori and non-Maori authors reflected on the experiences, learnings and thoughts that they had during the partnership associated with this translocation project. ‘Get together’ refers to building a relationship that provides people with a sense of belonging (whanaungatanga). ‘Work together’ refers to the cooperative exchange of knowledge, and ‘write together’ refers to the contribution of new approaches and ways of carrying out research that incorporates all partners’ voices. This study provides evidence of the feasibility of partnerships and their long-term conservation benefits. It also emphasises that the multiple cultural connections of Maori with native frogs converge with western conservation perspectives. We offer a detailed explanation of each stage’s philosophy and practice to facilitate and encourage use of our framework in other biological/cultural contexts. This involvement should include face-to-face collaboration in order to share experiences, skills and knowledge.