On the 20th anniversary of the creation of Tīkapa Moana/Te Moana-nui-ā-Toi (the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park), representatives from Foundation North’s Gulf Innovation Fund Together (G.I.F.T) joined Iwi/Māori and Gulf stakeholders at a celebratory Auckland Conversations event at Westhaven Marina yesterday.
The day also saw the release of the Hauraki Gulf Forum’s State Of Our Gulf report 2020.
G.I.F.T trustee Chris Severne commented, “It is great to see progress in some areas, including the aspirational goals set by the Hauraki Gulf Forum of 1000 square kilometres of shellfish restoration and at least 20% marine protection for the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. There is a lot of goodwill and collaboration happening, but the call to action is urgent to improve the mauri of our whenua, our wai and our future generations.”
In its fourth year of operation, the G.I.F.T initiative is seeing hope for increased kaitiakitanga and the benefits of enhancing western science with indigenous knowledge. At the same time G.I.F.T’s Year Three report highlighted that G.I.F.T is also seeing “persistent systemic barriers that need to change, including inadequate legal protections, competing interests and agendas and economic interests prioritised”.
Chris Severne added, “G.I.F.T looks forward to nurturing and growing relationships with Iwi and hapori – the tribes and commuities of our region - to address these systemic issues.”
