Te Ao Māori

Read this page in te reo Māori

In developing the Natural Hazards Portal, we have endeavoured to apply the principles we have committed to in NHC’s Toka Tū Ake Te Ao Māori Strategy.

Te ao Māori is integral to how natural hazard risk is understood and managed in Aotearoa New Zealand. For Māori, experiences of risk have often been shaped by whakapapa relationships with place, the impacts of past events, and planning and development decisions that have affected how and where people live.

Access to clear, consistent natural hazard information can support whānau, hapū, and iwi to reflect on how hazards have affected people and places in the past, and to consider future pathways for protecting people, homes, and whenua.

The Natural Hazards Portal contributes to this by making information about natural hazards and past recoveries visible and accessible.

Māori and Western approaches to natural hazard risk are shaped by different worldviews. Western approaches have typically focused on physical processes and technical assessments. Māori understand risk through long histories of place-based observation and deep whakapapa connections to whenua (land), maunga (mountains), awa (rivers), moana (seas) and ngahere (forests). For example, while a western view of a volcano may position it as a hazard or threat, Māori may consider it an ancestor or atua (deity), requiring respect.

Many Māori records tell stories of past events, such as Rū whenua (earthquakes) and Puia (volcanic eruptions). The New Zealand Tsunami Historical database is an example of how western data and information (historical newspaper articles, harbour master records, personal diary entries) and Māori oral records can be used together to build richer understandings of natural hazard risk.

Māori also hold extensive intergenerational knowledge of environmental and natural processes through mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge). From this perspective, risk reduction stems from manaakitanga (ethic of care) and kaitiakitanga (stewardship) responsibilities for whenua, and the environment, and future generations.

Despite extensive histories of effectively managing and responding to risk and natural hazard events, many mainstream risk reduction approaches have given limited recognition to te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori and have not consistently reflected Māori risk reduction aspirations.

The Natural Hazards Portal is one-way NHC Toka Tū Ake is working to better reflect these perspectives.

Used alongside mātauranga Māori, local knowledge, and community-led planning, the portal supports informed choices that strengthen mana, kaitiakitanga, and tino rangatiratanga.

The Natural Hazards Portal can be used by whānau, hapū, iwi, and organisations to access data and modelling on natural hazards. Users can explore where homes and whenua have been affected over time and where they might be impacted in the future

The Portal will continue to evolve as part of NHC Toka Tū Ake’s broader commitment to embedding te ao Māori perspectives across its systems, data, and services through our 2025–2028 Strategy.

Engagement with Māori partners informs how hazard information is prioritised, communicated, and improved over time on the Portal.

This supports meaningful risk reduction and resilience for Māori communities, strengthening the care of people and whenua into the future.