Community involvement in wetland restoration: How are community values and knowledge integrated into wetland restoration at the Waikato peat lakes, New Zealand.

Abstract

Over the past two decades, wetland restoration has been undertaken in New Zealand as a response to the historical loss and maltreatment of these ecosystems, which left many of them in a degraded state. The evidence suggests, however, that in both theory and practice wetland restoration is primarily driven by a desire to improve the ecological functions and values of wetland, directed by scientific knowledge held by experts. And while some research is beginning to emerge on the other values the community associate with wetland environments and how the community can be involved in environmental management more widely, there is still a significant gap between the translation of this theory into practice. In response to this observation, this thesis explores community involvement in wetland restoration highlighting barriers and opportunities towards community involvement in this process and examines how community values and knowledge are (or are not) being integrated into the restoration of wetland environments. This research utilises a mixed-methods case study of the Waikato peat lakes in New Zealand and draws upon data gathered from a web-based questionnaire disseminated to the Waikato community by organisations connected to the peat lakes and community groups and pages on Facebook, and semi-structured interviews with both members of the community and members of organisations involved in the restoration of the peat lakes. The analysis reveals the range of values communities hold towards wetlands, including cultural, historical, and social values. But these values are often not prioritised within restoration as highly as ecological values, which have a strong focus within wetland restoration. The research also highlights the barriers indigenous Māori face to have their mātauranga (Māori knowledge) included alongside scientific knowledge to help inform wetland restoration. The findings of this research further suggest the important role that building relationships and collaborating with the community can have in integrating their values and knowledge into wetland restoration projects and increasing their involvement more generally. In addition, this thesis argues that environmental education can play a major role in increasing community involvement in restoration projects through generating a greater sense of care towards them.