JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014

High-level international Hui draws visitors to capital
Around 150 representatives of Indigenous groups, parks agencies, land managers, recreation consultants, business leaders and policy makers have converged on Wellington for an international hui examining ways to work together to protect land and marine environments.

The international Co-governance and Co-management of Parks and Environments Hui is taking place today and tomorrow at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. It has been jointly organised by leading parks and recreation organisations Parks Forum and the New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA).

NZRA Chief Executive Andrew Leslie says recent Treaty of Waitangi land settlements in New Zealand and the recognition of traditional land use and the importance of access to traditional owners in Australia has highlighted the need for Indigenous leaders and people at all levels of parks management to share knowledge of how best to co-govern and co-manage land.

“We have been delighted with the level of interest in this Hui. Registrations have been extremely strong and that is testament to the high quality speakers and the critical importance of the issues being discussed.”

The Hui will be opened by Conservation Minister Hon Dr Nick Smith, with keynote presentations from paramount chief Sir Tumu te Heuheu Tūkino of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Sir Mark Solomon of Ngāi Tahu.

Keynote addresses will be complemented by workshops hosted by New Zealand and Australian parks organisations and Indigenous leaders, including Dr Matthew Ward, Regional Manager for Natural Resources Alinytjara Wiluara, a branch of the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, and former Māori All Blacks coach Matt Te Pou, of Tuhoe.

Parks Forum Chief Executive Margaret Morton says the trans-Tasman nature of the Hui has only added to its appeal.

“Parks Forum held a similar seminar on joint management of land and marine environments in Adelaide in 2012 and it was clear at that event that there are many learnings Indigenous groups and land managers can share with one another.”

A key outcome of this week’s Hui will be the preparation of a message on effective co-management and co-governance arrangements between Indigenous peoples and park management organisations for presentation at the World Parks Congress 2014, taking place in Sydney in November.

ENDS

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