ABSTRACT

The increasing use of participatory processes in environmental governance and management has implications for the way different conceptualisations of nature and the environment are recognised within environmental decision-making. This article draws on a case study of the Ōngātoro Maketū estuary restoration initiative in Aotearoa, New Zealand, to examine how shifting discourses of nature and the environment intersect with the exercise of power to influence decision-making on the estuary. The study is based on a qualitative analysis of an archive of historical policy and planning documents, and 25 in-depth interviews with participants involved in the restoration initiative. The analysis demonstrates that despite a participatory process that often reinforced the dominant cultural paradigm and power relations, it created the space for different knowledge forms including western science and Māori knowledge to help improve the quality of decisions. We argue that well-designed participatory processes have much potential to address the growing complexity and uncertainty underpinning environmental governance and management.

摘要

在环境治理和管理中越来越多地使用参与式过程，这对在环境决策中识别自然和环境的不同概念的方式产生了影响。本文借鉴了新西兰奥特阿罗阿 Ōngātoro Maketū 河口修复计划的案例研究，以研究自然和环境的变化话语如何与影响河口决策的权力行使相交。该研究基于对历史政策和规划文件档案的定性分析，以及对参与恢复计划的参与者的 25 次深入访谈。分析表明，尽管参与过程经常强化主导文化范式和权力关系，它为不同的知识形式创造了空间，包括西方科学和毛利知识，以帮助提高决策质量。我们认为，精心设计的参与过程具有很大的潜力，可以解决支撑环境治理和管理的日益复杂和不确定的问题。