Definition and Origins of Kaitiakitanga
Kaitiakitanga begins with remembering who we stand alongside — the rivers that breathe, the forests that shelter, the mountains that watch over us. It is the thread of whakapapa that binds our lives to theirs, carrying duties as old as the first dawn. Often translated as “guardianship” or “stewardship,” these words barely touch its depth. Kaitiakitanga speaks to the kinship between people and the more-than-human world, a reciprocal relationship where the wellbeing of one depends on the wellbeing of all. In te ao Māori (the Māori world), this connection is anchored in whakapapa — the genealogical ties linking all beings back to a shared origin. Papatūānuku (Earth Mother) and Ranginui (Sky Father) are not metaphors but ancestors; rivers, forests, and mountains are elder relatives who hold mana (authority) and mauri (life force). As descendants, humans inherit the role of kaitiaki: to uphold the balance, health, and dignity of the natural world so that future generations may also thrive. Kaitiakitanga is therefore inseparable from tikanga (customs and protocols) and from the Treaty of Waitangi, in which tino rangatiratanga — authority over lands, waters, and taonga — was affirmed to Māori. In its truest form, it cannot be reduced to a resource management tool or an environmental checkbox, but an active, relational practice that holds both rights and responsibilities: to act with humility, to listen deeply to the land, and to make decisions that honour ancestors and safeguard descendants. This is not a static tradition locked in the past. Kaitiakitanga evolves in response to changing contexts, drawing on both mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge systems) and contemporary innovation. From iwi-led marine reserves to urban marae gardens, the principle remains the same: the earth is not ours to own — she is our elder to care for. Philosophies and Practices of Kaitiakitanga Kaitiakitanga is not only a worldview but a lived practice, expressed through tikanga — the ethical protocols and customs that guide how people engage with the natural world and each other. At its heart, kaitiakitanga is a relational ethic where every interaction with land, water, and living beings is part of an ongoing exchange of care, respect, and responsibility . It is about reciprocity — giving back as much as we take, ensuring the mauri (life force) of all beings remains strong. These principles are embedded in everyday life for iwi and hapū. They shape decisions about when to harvest, when to rest the land or sea, and how to pass knowledge to future generations. The seasonal rhythms of maramataka (Māori lunar calendar) guide planting, fishing, and gathering, ensuring activities align with ecological cycles rather than short-term gain . Rituals such as karakia (prayer) and rāhui (temporary restrictions) are not symbolic — they are practical tools for protecting resources and maintaining balance. Relational ethics in kaitiakitanga also extend to how communities govern and share resources. Decisions are collective, grounded in whanaungatanga (relationships) and manaakitanga (care for others), ensuring that the wellbeing of the environment and people are seen as inseparable. As tangata whenua, emphasises, these responsibilities are inherited, place-based, and cannot be outsourced. Examples of kaitiakitanga in practice include: Whale Watch Kaikōura is a business owned by Ngāti Kuri of Ngāi Tahu (the principal Māori iwi (tribe)) that balances cultural, environmental, and economic wellbeing, treating whales and the marine environment as kin, not commodities. Hua Parakore, a kaupapa Māori food sovereignty system, grounds organic production in ancestral practices, honouring the soil as a living ancestor . Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae in South Auckland integrates kai sovereignty, waste minimisation, and housing initiatives under a holistic model of kaitiakitanga. The marae’s māra kai (gardens) feed the community while restoring soil health, demonstrating how environmental care and social wellbeing are woven together. These examples show that kaitiakitanga is not a relic but an evolving ethic responding to contemporary challenges. However, it remains grounded in the same core philosophy captured in the whakataukī saying: “Toitū te marae o Tāne, toitū te marae o Tangaroa, toitū te iwi” — when forests and seas thrive, so do the people. Challenges: Holding the Integrity of Kaitiakitanga Kaitiakitanga is a gift, but in today’s world it is also contested ground. When a concept this profound enters public policy, corporate strategy, or tourism marketing, it risks being lifted out of its whakapapa and used in ways that strip it of its depth. Too often, it is reduced to a slogan for “green” branding, or redefined through Western environmentalism’s narrower focus on conservation, overlooking the relational and spiritual responsibilities it carries. Commodification happens when kaitiakitanga is packaged for commercial gain without Māori authority, reversing the relationship so land becomes a marketing tool rather than the tūpuna (ancestor) we serve. Tourism operators use Māori environmental terms to sell “eco-cultural” experiences while decisions about land use, profits, and storytelling remain entirely in non-Māori hands.Tokenism occurs when Māori words or symbols are added to strategies, policies, or events without meaningful Māori leadership in decision-making. Some government agencies open reports with a whakataukī or reference to kaitiakitanga — yet the policy itself continues business-as-usual extraction, with no structural shift to guarantee Māori co-governance over the resources concerned. This undermines Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which affirms Māori authority over their taonga, including knowledge systems and lands. Some cases hold both opportunity and tension. The Whanganui River personhood legislation — Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 — is celebrated globally for recognising the river as an indivisible living whole, with Māori and Crown-appointed guardians. Yet, tensions remain over decision-making, funding, and whether state law can fully honour the river’s mauri. Similarly, the Ihumātao dispute showed how kaitiakitanga can be sidelined when economic growth agendas dominate — and how sustained protest, occupation, and negotiation can bring it back to the centre. Misinterpretation reduces kaitiakitanga to a synonym for “sustainability,” erasing its intergenerational, spiritual, and Treaty obligations. Systemic conflict with extractive economies persists. Industries premised on constant growth clash with kaitiakitanga’s ethic of restraint. The aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle on the East Coast — where forestry slash destroyed homes, polluted waterways, and devastated mahinga kai — illustrates the cost of prioritising short-term profits over long-term ecological health, despite decades of local opposition.
Addressing these challenges requires more than symbolic inclusion. It calls for structural change — embedding Māori decision-making authority in governance, protecting Indigenous knowledge systems, and rejecting economic models that treat nature as a commodity. Without this, kaitiakitanga risks becoming a hollowed-out term, used widely but lived shallowly. Opportunities for the Future of Kaitiakitanga Kaitiakitanga is not only a responsibility to care for what we inherit; it is an invitation to re- member how humans can live in balance with the living world.. Strengthening co-governance is a key opportunity. Models like the Waikato River Authority and Te Urewera Board show how decision-making can be shared between Māori and the Crown, embedding whakapapa-based ethics into governance. Resourcing and respecting these arrangements is essential to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and ecological wellbeing. Globally, kaitiakitanga can be adapted in ways that are rooted in place rather than copied as a one-size-fits-all model. The essence is universal — relational care, reciprocity, and accountability to future generations — but its practice must grow from the stories, languages, and landscapes of each community. In this way, kaitiakitanga becomes part of a pluriverse of guardianship traditions, standing alongside concepts such as Aloha ʻĀina in Hawai‘i, Buen Vivir in the Andes, and Ubuntu in Africa (Marsden, 1992; Mahuta, 2018). There is also opportunity in education and intergenerational learning. Embedding kaitiakitanga into school curricula, wānanga, and community learning spaces can nurture the next generation’s capacity to act as guardians. This learning is not just about environmental science, but about relationships — understanding that caring for a river also means caring for the stories, languages, and practices that belong to it (Royal, 2012; Pere, 1982). At a time of climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and deep social inequity, kaitiakitanga offers a counter-narrative to extraction and disconnection. It asks us to slow down, to measure prosperity not by profit margins but by the health of our relationships with the living world. For those outside Aotearoa, engaging with kaitiakitanga is less about adopting a Māori word and more about cultivating the spirit of it in local contexts — drawing on Indigenous and ancestral knowledge wherever we are, while respecting and supporting the struggles of Indigenous peoples to protect their lands and waters (Walker et al., 2019). Kaitiakitanga reminds us that we are part of the Earth, not owners of it. If we centre that truth in our decisions, policies, and everyday lives, we not only safeguard the mauri of the natural world — we also safeguard our own future. As tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti, we have written this piece together not to define kaitiakitanga for all Māori, but to share how it lives in our own experiences — grounded in whakapapa, guided by tikanga, and nourished by our respective heritages.For us, kaitiakitanga is both a local practice and a global offering: a reminder that caring for the land, waters, and all living beings is inseparable from caring for ourselves and each other.
“He oranga whenua, he oranga tangata”
When the land is healthy, the people are healthy.
Positionality of Tukahia Ngataki & Karishma Kelsey We write where two rivers meet. Tukahia carries the voice of a kaumatua of Waikato-Tainui, shaped by whakapapa, whenua, and the inherited responsibility to uphold kaitiakitanga. Karishma, as tangata Tiriti, walks from African and Indian roots, guided by ubuntu, ahimsa, and swaraj, now grounded in the lands and waters of Aotearoa. We do not speak for all Māori, nor do we claim to hold the whole of these traditions. What we offer are the truths we have lived, and the kōrero gifted to us as knowledge holders — Tukahia from within his iwi, Karishma from her own ancestral teachings of living lightly on the earth. “I am located, therefore I am.” Where we stand shapes our seeing; where we stand shapes our duties. This writing is our combined heartbeat — a weaving of kinship, reciprocity, and aroha — carried by the knowing that when the earth is well, so too will all her people be well.
Visuals
Refer to the attached PPT for references - these are a reference for how we can possibly add the symbols.
Figure One:
Further Reading and Engagement Marsden, M. (1992). Kaitiakitanga: A definitive introduction to the holistic worldview of the Māori. Ministry for the Environment.
– Foundational text on the cosmological roots of kaitiakitanga and its contrast with Western property concepts.
Durie, M. (1998). Te Mana, Te Kāwanatanga: The politics of Māori self-determination. Oxford University Press.
– Links environmental guardianship to Māori self-determination and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Selby, R., Moore, P., & Mulholland, M. (Eds.). (2010). Māori and the Environment: Kaitiaki. Huia Publishers.
– Case studies of kaitiakitanga in action across iwi, hapū, and whānau.
Accessible Online Resources Royal, T. A. C. (2012). “Kaitiakitanga – Guardianship and conservation.” Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/kaitiakitanga-guardianship-and-conservation
– Introduces kaitiakitanga with traditional and contemporary expressions.
Ministry for the Environment. (2019). Māori values supplement. https://environment.govt.nz/publications/maori-values-supplement
– Outlines kaitiakitanga’s intergenerational responsibility in environmental law.
Whale Watch Kaikōura. (2018). “Case Study: Whale Watch Kaikōura.” Whale Watching Handbook. https://wwhandbook.iwc.int/en/case-studies/whale-watch-kaikoura
– Example of kaitiakitanga balancing culture, ecology, and economy.