Shaun Awatere

Dr. Shaun Awatere

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

17Years (2010-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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7 April 2017 in AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
SAShaun Awatere
Shaun Awatere
JMJason Mika
Jason Mika
MHMaui Hudson
Maui Hudson
CPCraig Pauling
Craig Pauling
SLSimon Lambert
Simon Lambert
JRJohn Reid
John Reid
One of the great challenges for indigenous and non-indigenous entrepreneurs in the twenty-first century is to move beyond profit maximisation as an acceptable modality for doing business and gravitate towards the concept of socially optimal outcomes, where maximising community well-being and minimising externalities to the natural environment and social justice are paramount. We present findings from a case-study analysis of Māori enterprises that demonstrate a wealth of successfully kaupapa Māori (Māori ideology)-attuned strategy and policy. The case studies provide practical examples of the incorporation and expression of kaupapa Māori values into strategy and policy of Māori enterprises. We also identify the numerous challenges to implementing kaupapa Māori in the management of Māori Asset Holding Institutions and offer a way forward. Although the case studies are context specific, they provide some key principles and learning that can guide the greater uptake of kaupapa Māori entrepreneurship.

17 August 2023 in Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
Judy LawrenceJudy Lawrence
Judy Lawrence
AWAnita Wreford
Anita Wreford
PBPaula Blackett
Paula Blackett
DHDavid Hall
David Hall
AWAlistair Woodward
Alistair Woodward
TMTaciano L. Milfont
Taciano L. Milfont
Climate change is being felt across all human and natural systems in Aotearoa New Zealand and is projected to worsen this decade as impacts compound and cascade through natural system and sectoral dependencies. The effectiveness of adaptation is constrained by how fast greenhouse gas emissions are reduced globally, the pace of change, the frequency and progression of impacts, and the capacity of our natural, societal and political systems to respond. We explore how these systems and sectors interact with existing and projected climate change stressors by categorising climate change impacts (Trends and Events) and consequential thresholds (Thresholds), and by grouping systems and sectors by types (Typologies). This approach has identified commonalities and differences between the typologies which are illustrated with examples. Critical constraints and opportunities for adaptation have been identified to guide sector adaptation decision‐making and for ongoing adaptation progress and effectiveness monitoring. Constraints are found across all sectors, and opportunities exist to address them through modelling and projections, monitoring frameworks, decision tools and measures, governance coordination and integration of the Māori worldview of the relationship between humans and nature. However, limits to adaptation exist and will increase over time unless all sectors and all nations urgently reduce their emissions.

IWIsaac Warrbrick
Isaac Warrbrick
RMRereata Makiha
Rereata Makiha
DHDeborah Mareta Heke
Deborah Mareta Heke
DHDan C H Hikuroa
Dan C H Hikuroa
SAShaun Awatere
Shaun Awatere
VSValance Smith
Valance Smith
The connection between the natural environment and human health is well documented in Indigenous narratives. The maramataka—a Māori system of observing the relationships between signs, rhythms, and cycles in the environment—is underpinned by generations of Indigenous knowledge, observation, and experimentation. The maramataka enabled Māori and our Pacific relatives to attune with the movements of the environment and ensure activities essential for survival and well-being were conducted at the optimal times. A recent revival of the maramataka in various communities in New Zealand is providing uniquely Indigenous ways to ‘reconnect’ people, and their health, with the natural environment. In a world where people have become increasingly disconnected from the natural environment, the maramataka offers an alternative to dominant perspectives of health. It also provides a mechanism to enhance the many facets of health through an understanding of the human–ecosystem relationship in a uniquely Indigenous way. This conceptual paper (i) highlights a uniquely Indigenous way of understanding the environment (the maramataka) and its connection to health, (ii) discusses the connections between the maramataka and scientific research on health and the environment, and (iii) introduces current and potential applications of the maramataka in improving health and well-being.

17 October 2021 in Sustainability Science
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
NHNichola Harcourt
Nichola Harcourt
SAShaun Awatere
Shaun Awatere
JHJade Hyslop
Jade Hyslop
YTYvonne Taura
Yvonne Taura
MWMahuru Wilcox
Mahuru Wilcox
PTPuke Timoti
Puke Timoti
Neoliberalism has failed us. Our waterways are contaminated, their mauri (life-force) has diminished; our economic growth is fast approaching environmental limits, almost 4000 of our indigenous plant and animal species are currently threatened with or at risk of extinction, and our biodiversity has declined significantly. Increasingly stringent regulations are being rolled out by policy makers to protect natural systems, but these are framed by Eurocentric measures and concepts. If we are to achieve our vision to improve the health of te taiao (the environment) and our people, we need to change the way that people interact with their environment from a position of extractive resource use to one of reciprocal exchange. Te Ao Māori (the Māori world view) thinking offers us a pathway forward to achieving sustainable livelihoods that enable both the natural world and humans to prosper. In this paper, we showcase the operationalisation of He Waka Taurua, a framework for collaborative partnership based on the dual elevation of both Te Ao Māori and western science knowledge systems, through a Māori agribusiness case study.

19 August 2024 in Policy Quarterly
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
PBPaula Blackett
Paula Blackett
EHErena Le Heron
Erena Le Heron
SAShaun Awatere
Shaun Awatere
RHRichard Le Heron
Richard Le Heron
JLJune Logie
June Logie
JHJudi Hewitt
Judi Hewitt
Arguments about risk and uncertainty are prevalent in marine decision making. Different, often invisible, starting positions of those involved – regarding world views, academic disciplines and positionality – are often responsible. Broadly agreed collective outcomes depend on uncovering these influences. In this article we prioritise navigating multiplicity and plurality rather than constraining them. An iterative cycle of reflection and an openness to make changes are central. However, such a cycle must consider how risk assessment tools open or close possible futures, how evidence is best presented to decision makers, and how mātaurangaMāori is reshaping risk perceptions and is the decisive intervention in creating improved decision-making spaces.

13 May 2023 in AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
JHJade Hyslop
Jade Hyslop
NHNikki Harcourt
Nikki Harcourt
SAShaun Awatere
Shaun Awatere
DHDan C H Hikuroa
Dan C H Hikuroa
PBPaula Blackett
Paula Blackett
RHRichard Le Heron
Richard Le Heron
Aotearoa (New Zealand) is undertaking reforms in natural resource management, and there are promising signals that Indigenous perspectives will be included alongside science for decision-making. Any resource management system is underpinned by worldviews, from which values stem and then risk and uncertainty derive. Māori (the Indigenous peoples of New Zealand) and Eurocentric notions of risk and uncertainty are fundamentally different because knowledge holders have different worldviews. Eurocentric concepts of risk and uncertainty continue to frame policy, making it challenging for Māori knowledge to shape policy that is relevant for decision-making in Aotearoa. We explore Māori perspectives of risk and uncertainty and literature, identifying common attributes across natural resource management frameworks, and identify issues of risk and uncertainty from the perspective of Māori experts. We conclude that a Māori approach to enhancing natural resources is more aligned to current environmental policy compared with standard approaches for risk assessment and reducing uncertainty.