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The spiritual sons and daughters of Paptuanuku are the
guardians (kaitiaki) of her various realms. Tangaroa is
the kaitiaki of the ocean and as such, all life in the ocean is
under his care. And whilst humans are free to harvest those
resources they are duty bound to honour and give thanks for
his generosity. They also have a responsibility to manage their
behaviour, through kaitiakitanga, so that resources are not
depleted and the natural cycles of regeneration are protected.
The responsibility of monitoring the health of tribal marine
areas lies with the Tohunga, who holds the accumulated
ecological knowledge of their marine environment. If any
resource depletion is identified, various guardianship customs
(Titanga tiaki) can be employed to redress the imbalance.
This is often in the form of Rahui or tapu, which can include
a range of restorative measures, from total bans to restricted
access or limitations on fishing or harvesting shellfish. Rahui
can also be instigated to protect ecosystems from pollution.10
Similar systems of close, participatory guardianship customs
are widely used throughout Oceania as the primary marine
resource management tool (Marsden, 1992).
Towards an Ecological World View of the Ocean
A key understanding of kaitiakitanga is that guardianship
does not confer ownership of natural resources. Rather,
it reinforces the knowledge that the resources of the earth
do not belong to humans but instead, humans belong to the
earth. We have the same privileges of use as all other beings
but also carry the responsibility to manage our usage so that
ecological balance is maintained (Marsden, 1992).
This concept of guardianship and respect for the balance
of nature is also a common theme in most major religions
including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Jainism
Buddhism, Baha´i, and Taoism (Palmer, 2003). The
following are selected quotes from the ‘Faith Statements
on Ecology’, first articulated as the ‘Assisi Declarations’ on
Religion and the Environment in 1986, but since refined and
added to by each faith.
Baha´i:
‘Nature reflects the qualities and attributes of God
and should, therefore, be greatly respected and cherished.
All things are interconnected and flourish according to the
law of reciprocity.’
Buddhism:
‘The health of the whole is inseparably linked
with the health of the parts, and the health of the parts is
inseparably linked with the whole.’
Christianity:
‘The integrity of creation has a social aspect
which we recognize as peace with justice, and an ecological
aspect which we recognize in the self-renewing, sustainable
character of natural ecosystems.’
Daoism:
‘People should take into full consideration the limits
of nature›s sustaining power, so that when they pursue their
own development, they have a correct standard of success. If
anything runs counter to the harmony and balance of nature,
even if it is of great immediate interest and profit, people
should restrain themselves from doing it, so as to prevent
nature›s punishment.’