Scientific modelling of the environment is useful to explain or predict phenomena that otherwise can be difficult to infer through direct observation. However, model complexity and their difficulty to be understood by non-scientific people often restrict their ability to help solve critical problems, creating a barrier between research and end users. Research findings may never reach/be accessible to those who really could benefit from them, e.g. the local populations. Broken or non-existent communication channels, high software costs, and profit pressures, make it difficult for the communities to have access to these tools that could make a significant impact in their planning and decision making.
In this project, open-source software and open data were used to address environmental challenges that an indigenous Māori community had experience with their local harbour, Te Awarua o Porirua. Ngāti Toa Rangatira is a Māori iwi (tribe) of Aotearoa-New Zealand and are the Kaitiaki (customary guardians) of Te Awarua o Porirua. The harbour plays a fundamental cultural and historical role and has spiritual significance for the iwi; it has also sustained them as a source of māhinga kai (food gathering) as well as being a place for cultural practice and recreation. However, since the 1940s, Te Awarua o Porirua has undergone significant environmental degradation resulting from cumulative impacts including land reclamation, pollution and wastewater discharge, changes in upstream land use and land cover, commercial activities and rapid urban expansion. In response, Ngāti Toa Rangatira have worked in partnership with local authorities and the wider community to develop and implement restoration strategies grounded in both indigenous knowledge and contemporary environmental management, such as Te Wai Ora o Porirua, an agreement between local partner organisations to improve the health of the harbour for future generations.
To help understanding the complexity of the harbour’s processes, the Geospatial Research Institute (GRI) was commissioned by the National Institute of Public Health and Forensic Science (PHF Science) to support their Indigenous-led wai (water) programme He Wai Māpuna. This programme focuses on Māori-led initiatives supported by dual knowledge systems of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and modern science. This partnership worked in conjunction with Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira to develop open-source modelling software, which simulates the harbour flow and enables water source tracing of its main constituents: river inflows, rainfall and tide. In addition, a user-friendly dashboard was developed for data visualisation, based on Cesium/ TerriaJS. The final products (open-source models and dashboard) together with the data remained with the community for their use and benefit.
In this talk, we will present the modelling work completed and provide reflections on the experience of the deep engagement between the Ngāti Toa Rangatira and the development team.
This project is a successful example of how open-source can enable complex science to be transferred, made accessible and easy to interpret by local communities in need and would benefit from it. Our aim is for this work to be disseminated and replicated elsewhere.