Te Kūwaha and Māori

Sharing knowledge with Māori communities and empowering Māori business with the latest science.

We are NIWA, Taihoro Nukurangi - Te Reo
Te Kūwaha, NIWA’s National Centre for Māori Environmental Research is a dedicated Māori research team, with a vision to work in partnership with others to enable complementary knowledge systems to support kaitiakitanga and provide environmental research excellence that enhances the social, environmental and economic aspirations of whānau, hapū and iwi, Māori communities and Māori business.

  • CKS2020 - Building Aotearoa-New Zealand Research Capability

    In collaboration with the University of Waikato, the CKS team has also supported five graduate students and three summer research scholarship interns through a variety of practical experiences.
  • CKS2020 - Developing tools and frameworks

    This programme developed approaches to enable the recognition and prioritisation of cultural keystone species (CKS) in co-management, restoration and monitoring to help sustain the social, economic and ecological health and wellbeing of Aotearoa-New Zealand’s freshwater ecosystems.
  • CKS2020 - Protecting our taonga together

    Research projects within the Cultural Keystone Species programme where Mana Whenua undertake the fundamental research required to inform their unique responsibilities as kaitiaki.
  • CKS2020 - Communicating state and trends

    New ways to communicate the state and trends of taonga populations.
  • Taonga Species Series: Īnanga

    Feature story
    What does science tell us about New Zealand's migratory galaxiids?
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    Report: Trends analysis for selected indicators of Waikato River health and wellbeing 2010-2019

    Service
    Report: Trends analysis for selected indicators of Waikato River health and wellbeing 2010-2019
  • Protecting our taonga together

    Feature story
    Alex Fear looks at the Cultural Keystones Species research programme, a research partnership that grew out of the vision of a Ngāti Hau kaumatua.
  • Taonga Species Series: Piharau

    Feature story
    What does science tell us about New Zealand lamprey?
  • Freshwater species show vulnerability to climate change

    Media release
    A new study has identified seven freshwater species native to Aotearoa-New Zealand that will likely be highly or very highly vulnerable to climate change.
  • We are NIWA, Taihoro Nukurangi video

  • Tuna: NIWA working with Ngāti Maniapoto

  • Maniapoto Cultural Assessment Framework

    Research Project
    Te Nehenehenui (previously Maniapoto Māori Trust board) and NIWA are working collaboratively to support Ngāti Maniapoto whānau to reconnect with and participate in the assessment of their freshwater according to their values.