Dan Hikuroa honoured for research by Royal Society Te Apārangi

Associate Professor Daniel Hikuroa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato-Tainui, Ngaati Whanaunga) has been awarded the Te Puāwaitanga Research Excellence Award by the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

The award recognises his pioneering work weaving mātauranga Māori with Western science to restore the mauri, or life force, of Aotearoa’s ecosystems.

Based in the Faculty of Arts at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, Hikuroa says bridging two knowledge systems has been key to delivering solutions, noting that both mātauranga Māori and Western science together can achieve huge results.

“Many of the solutions we arrive at couldn’t be reached from just one perspective,” he says. “Mātauranga Māori and science are very similar in some ways and very different in others. By weaving them together, we can imagine futures and solutions that honour both.

“Mātauranga Māori is a treasure trove of codified information about this place [Aotearoa]. By combining it with science, we can address complex challenges and create sustainable, meaningful solutions.

“It’s incumbent on us as researchers to draw from all the knowledge available and to do so respectfully.”

He highlights how mātauranga, often encoded in pūrākau (stories) from tūpuna, also provides valuable insights. One pūrākau Hikuroa shares describes a taniwha in the form of a lizard with a flicking tail in a river. While some dismiss this as myth, Hikuroa says the story actually maps a river’s behaviour over time.

“These narratives contain centuries of observations about how environments function and change, offering crucial guidance for decisions today.”

Hikuroa's research reflects a commitment to serving communities. His projects address diverse environmental challenges, from industrial contamination of lakes and wetlands to the health of kaimoana and coastal ecosystems.

“The majority of the research I do with communities is about restoring mauri. Mauri is a universal Māori concept, understood as the life-supporting capacity of air, water, and soil. When ecosystems thrive, the mauri thrives. Conversely, when ecosystems suffer, the mauri suffers,” he says.

Hikuroa has contributed to restoring mauri locally and across Aotearoa New Zealand, including the clean-up of MV Rena off the coast of Tauranga, one of New Zealand’s worst maritime environmental disasters involving up to 2,000 tonnes of oil spill.

“The mauri of the area was significantly impacted. Birds were covered in oil, dying on beaches, and seafood was unsafe to harvest for months. But now, the mauri has been largely restored. Birds have returned, and kaimoana can be safely collected again.”

One proactive measure that Hikuroa advocates for in times of environmental or natural disasters is rāhui, or temporary resource bans, to restore balance.

“Rāhui work best when placed before ecosystems become too degraded. Sometimes, though, the damage is so severe that species become ‘functionally extinct,’ meaning they can no longer recover without intervention. This is why early action is vital,” he says.

Hikuroa's expertise has also been instrumental in supporting iwi aspirations. His collaboration with Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust addressed development projects that often overlooked iwi priorities.

“We framed the research around mauri, incorporating mātauranga Māori alongside technical and economic considerations. We highlighted iwi stories of connection to the land and the cumulative impacts of upstream activities like pulp and paper-mill waste. This ensured Ngāti Rangitihi’s voice was heard and their priorities respected,” he says.

As natural disasters intensify due to climate change, Hikuroa advocates for weaving mātauranga and science to inform future planning.

“We’ve made mistakes in where we’ve built infrastructure, particularly on floodplains. Mātauranga tells us these areas are prone to flooding, often encoded in pūrākau about taniwha. If we had considered this knowledge earlier, we might have avoided some of today’s challenges.”

By integrating mātauranga and science, Hikuroa ensures decisions benefit not just today’s communities but future generations.

“I see myself less as an academic and more as a servant of the people – or more realistically, in service of our grandchildren and their grandchildren,” he says.