title: A trans-national analysis of equitable utilisation and minimisation of environmental harm under environmental laws at international, federal and national levels

authors: Hasan, Qaraman

subjects: International Environmental Law

abstract: Due to increasing demand for various human needs and climate change issues, rivers are now under enormous pressure. With increasing pressure on these valuable natural resources, responses among state and non-state actors are insufficient in the Anthropocene. To fill the gap, International Environmental Law (IEL) provides several principles for better management of these resources. Equitable utilisation and minimisation of environmental harm are among the most important principles of the IEL. From a theoretical perspective, these principles should lead to the sustainability of these resources and promote cooperation among relevant actors.

However, many river basins are still not allocated equitably and suffer from environmental damage. By using comparative, doctrinal, and empirical research methods, this thesis evaluates the two principles at the international level in Tigris and Euphrates River Basin, the federal level in Murray Darling Basin and at the local level in the Waikato River catchment. The research discovered major challenges for implementing the two principles. One major challenge is sovereignty, another is a lack or weakness of local voices and transparency. As the nature and status of all basins are different, the challenges are not exactly the same. For example, hearing local voices and better information transparency have significantly improved in the Waikato River.

As the challenges for implementing the two principles are not purely legal, the responses should blend legal solutions with political and socio-economic solutions. Therefore, this thesis strongly supports shared sovereignty among states at the international level as well as shared sovereignty with indigenous and minority groups at the national level. Cooperation among national and international actors in the river basins is also crucial for implementing the two principles effectively. Finally, there is the opportunity to establish basin institutions or organisations to manage river basins integrated and sustainable. This is vital in the case of TE-RB because the basin still lacks an institution. Furthermore, the basin institution in the MDB requires more robust compliance and monitoring power because the provisions of the Water Act 2007 and the basin plan still have not been implemented effectively.

Finally, the thesis concludes with two common lessons in comparing these cases. The first lesson is that equitable utilisation cannot be implemented effectively if it is not accepted by the local community in a broad and deep meaning. It means that the equitable allocation should be extended from only the riparian states to equitable allocation among the people within each state. The second lesson is that the minimisation of environmental harm cannot be implemented without determining the minimum flow of rivers, particularly transboundary rivers. Determining an environmental impact assessment for water projects and taking advantage of available solutions of nature contributes significantly in implementing the two principles and sustainable management of our rivers.

text: A trans-national analysis of equitable utilisation and minimisation of environmental harm under environmental laws at international, federal and national levels Due to increasing demand for various human needs and climate change issues, rivers are now under enormous pressure. With increasing pressure on these valuable natural resources, responses among state and non-state actors are insufficient in the Anthropocene. To fill the gap, International Environmental Law (IEL) provides several principles for better management of these resources. Equitable utilisation and minimisation of environmental harm are among the most important principles of the IEL. From a theoretical perspective, these principles should lead to the sustainability of these resources and promote cooperation among relevant actors.

However, many river basins are still not allocated equitably and suffer from environmental damage. By using comparative, doctrinal, and empirical research methods, this thesis evaluates the two principles at the international level in Tigris and Euphrates River Basin, the federal level in Murray Darling Basin and at the local level in the Waikato River catchment. The research discovered major challenges for implementing the two principles. One major challenge is sovereignty, another is a lack or weakness of local voices and transparency. As the nature and status of all basins are different, the challenges are not exactly the same. For example, hearing local voices and better information transparency have significantly improved in the Waikato River.

As the challenges for implementing the two principles are not purely legal, the responses should blend legal solutions with political and socio-economic solutions. Therefore, this thesis strongly supports shared sovereignty among states at the international level as well as shared sovereignty with indigenous and minority groups at the national level. Cooperation among national and international actors in the river basins is also crucial for implementing the two principles effectively. Finally, there is the opportunity to establish basin institutions or organisations to manage river basins integrated and sustainable. This is vital in the case of TE-RB because the basin still lacks an institution. Furthermore, the basin institution in the MDB requires more robust compliance and monitoring power because the provisions of the Water Act 2007 and the basin plan still have not been implemented effectively.

Finally, the thesis concludes with two common lessons in comparing these cases. The first lesson is that equitable utilisation cannot be implemented effectively if it is not accepted by the local community in a broad and deep meaning. It means that the equitable allocation should be extended from only the riparian states to equitable allocation among the people within each state. The second lesson is that the minimisation of environmental harm cannot be implemented without determining the minimum flow of rivers, particularly transboundary rivers. Determining an environmental impact assessment for water projects and taking advantage of available solutions of nature contributes significantly in implementing the two principles and sustainable management of our rivers.

year: 2023

title: Ngā niho tēte o Pekehāua: An indigenous articulation of governance

authors: Mahuika, Rangimarie

subjects: Indigenous Governance

abstract: This thesis originally set out to examine the structures and models available within New Zealand for a post-settlement tribal governance framework that would meet the Office of Treaty Settlements requirements while empowering the needs and aspirations of Ngāti Rangiwewehi. During the course of the study, as a result of the fast-tracking of our tribal settlement this emphasis changed. With Ngāti Rangiwewehi electing to utilise the government recommended templates for the post-settlement entity, the research shifted to consider the evolution of governance within the tribe, looking at the ways tribal governance had developed from traditional practices to our current governance frameworks. It was anticipated that gaining a deeper understanding of the factors that have shaped and influenced our governance would also give us the necessary insights to adapt the Crown model the tribe had adopted to ensure it was able to meet Ngāti Rangiwewehi’s future aspirations. This belief was grounded in an understanding that prior to the arrival of Pākehā to Aotearoa/New Zealand Ngāti Rangiwewehi, along with all other iwi Māori, had their own systems of Governance. Our governance frameworks, encapsulated within our tikanga and kawa, operated to produce a strong, vibrant, and self-determining society. Through colonisation, and its imposed Western frameworks for governance within Aotearoa New Zealand, traditional Māori frameworks for law and governance were undermined, deconstructed, or marginalised to make way for the civilizing discourses and structures of the Settler, as enforced by the British Crown. Although the dominant system of law and frameworks for governance may have changed, Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Māori desires for self-determination have not.
Against this background the central question of this study has itself evolved, initially contemplating to what extent Ngāti Rangiwewehi might be able to remain self-determining in and through their post-settlement governance arrangements. The overwhelming conclusion the study could not avoid was that any governance approach drawn from the settler-colonial Eurocentric system currently dominant in New Zealand would be incapable of supporting tribal aspirations for self-determination. What was equally evident was the continued determination that the tribe, collectively and individually, maintained to mediate the imposed governance frameworks that interfere in our ability to fully exercise our tino rangatiratanga, or in our iwi-specific context, our tino Rangiwewehitanga. This observation led to the final iteration of the thesis question which asks what frameworks for governance would best empower Ngāti Rangiwewehi to be self-determining in and beyond this post-settlement governance era? Throughout the research what became apparent was the potential to utilise our traditional frameworks for governance, described and encapsulated within this study as Rangiwewehitanga, a decolonial paradigm for tribal governance. Viewed in this way, Rangiwewehitanga expands our understanding of governance beyond the limited perspectives imposed through colonization and requires our people to recognise and return to the wisdom of our ancestral teachings to craft the most appropriate pathways forward.

text: Ngā niho tēte o Pekehāua: An indigenous articulation of governance This thesis originally set out to examine the structures and models available within New Zealand for a post-settlement tribal governance framework that would meet the Office of Treaty Settlements requirements while empowering the needs and aspirations of Ngāti Rangiwewehi. During the course of the study, as a result of the fast-tracking of our tribal settlement this emphasis changed. With Ngāti Rangiwewehi electing to utilise the government recommended templates for the post-settlement entity, the research shifted to consider the evolution of governance within the tribe, looking at the ways tribal governance had developed from traditional practices to our current governance frameworks. It was anticipated that gaining a deeper understanding of the factors that have shaped and influenced our governance would also give us the necessary insights to adapt the Crown model the tribe had adopted to ensure it was able to meet Ngāti Rangiwewehi’s future aspirations. This belief was grounded in an understanding that prior to the arrival of Pākehā to Aotearoa/New Zealand Ngāti Rangiwewehi, along with all other iwi Māori, had their own systems of Governance. Our governance frameworks, encapsulated within our tikanga and kawa, operated to produce a strong, vibrant, and self-determining society. Through colonisation, and its imposed Western frameworks for governance within Aotearoa New Zealand, traditional Māori frameworks for law and governance were undermined, deconstructed, or marginalised to make way for the civilizing discourses and structures of the Settler, as enforced by the British Crown. Although the dominant system of law and frameworks for governance may have changed, Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Māori desires for self-determination have not.
Against this background the central question of this study has itself evolved, initially contemplating to what extent Ngāti Rangiwewehi might be able to remain self-determining in and through their post-settlement governance arrangements. The overwhelming conclusion the study could not avoid was that any governance approach drawn from the settler-colonial Eurocentric system currently dominant in New Zealand would be incapable of supporting tribal aspirations for self-determination. What was equally evident was the continued determination that the tribe, collectively and individually, maintained to mediate the imposed governance frameworks that interfere in our ability to fully exercise our tino rangatiratanga, or in our iwi-specific context, our tino Rangiwewehitanga. This observation led to the final iteration of the thesis question which asks what frameworks for governance would best empower Ngāti Rangiwewehi to be self-determining in and beyond this post-settlement governance era? Throughout the research what became apparent was the potential to utilise our traditional frameworks for governance, described and encapsulated within this study as Rangiwewehitanga, a decolonial paradigm for tribal governance. Viewed in this way, Rangiwewehitanga expands our understanding of governance beyond the limited perspectives imposed through colonization and requires our people to recognise and return to the wisdom of our ancestral teachings to craft the most appropriate pathways forward.

year: 2019

title: Oceanographic and morphodynamic monitoring of a multi-purpose reef at Mount Maunganui, New Zealand

authors: Weppe, Simon Bastien

subjects: multi-purpose reef

abstract: The innovative concept of an offshore submerged multi-purpose reef combining a
coastal protection function with recreational benefits including improved surfing,
diving, or fishing conditions provides an appealing solution for the management
of beaches. However, since the technology is relatively recent, there is still a lack
of empirical knowledge about its performance in the field. The present research
monitored the effect of the prototype  research  reef constructed at Mount
Maunganui in New Zealand on the local beach morphodynamics and
oceanographic conditions, being primarily concerned with implications on the
coastal protection function of the technology.
The beach morphodynamic response to the reef was investigated from a set of
already available high resolution bathymetric surveys imaging the foreshore and
surfzone morphology prior to, and throughout reef construction, and a new postconstruction
survey collected as a part of this research. The reef implementation
was found to disturb the pre-existing beach state functioning including the
onshore/offshore migration of the underlying long shore bar, rather than cause a
persistent salient response. A possible additional beach width of ~ 20 m,
extending ~ 150 m alongshore was identified in the lee of the reef from shoreline
analysis, but the pattern was transient throughout the monitoring period since it
was superimposed on comparatively large pre-existing fluctuations. In addition,
the reef structure provided a control point on the offshore morphology able to trap
sediment updrift and erode sediment downdrift.
Both field measurements and numerical modelling of waves and currents were
used to monitor the effect of the reef on the oceanographic conditions. Wave
propagation over the reef without breaking (H less than 0.5 m) resulted in transmitted
heights larger than incident by up to a factor of 2. When the reef triggered
breaking, transmitted heights were reduced by up to ~40 %. A concurrent process
was the shift of the wave energy spectra towards higher frequencies landward of
the reef that resulted in reduced transmitted wave periods. Wave modelling
showed that the wave shadowing was associated with significant wave rotation
around the reef that induced two zones of divergent wave angles near the
shoreline in the lee of the reef. The hydrodynamic response to the wave energy
dissipation was the development of stronger onshore directed currents landward of
the reef. Hydrodynamic modelling indicated that the reef-induced flow forced a
cellular circulation in the lee side under shore normal waves, and an onshore
deviation of the ambient (unidirectional) long-shore currents under oblique waves.
The research provided a rare empirical test to the theoretical design concepts, and
potential supplements or refinements. To obtain the required beach protection, the
reef impact on the beach morphodynamic coupling including wave
transformation, nearshore hydrodynamics, and small/large scale beach state
response needs to be carefully assessed.

text: Oceanographic and morphodynamic monitoring of a multi-purpose reef at Mount Maunganui, New Zealand The innovative concept of an offshore submerged multi-purpose reef combining a
coastal protection function with recreational benefits including improved surfing,
diving, or fishing conditions provides an appealing solution for the management
of beaches. However, since the technology is relatively recent, there is still a lack
of empirical knowledge about its performance in the field. The present research
monitored the effect of the prototype  research  reef constructed at Mount
Maunganui in New Zealand on the local beach morphodynamics and
oceanographic conditions, being primarily concerned with implications on the
coastal protection function of the technology.
The beach morphodynamic response to the reef was investigated from a set of
already available high resolution bathymetric surveys imaging the foreshore and
surfzone morphology prior to, and throughout reef construction, and a new postconstruction
survey collected as a part of this research. The reef implementation
was found to disturb the pre-existing beach state functioning including the
onshore/offshore migration of the underlying long shore bar, rather than cause a
persistent salient response. A possible additional beach width of ~ 20 m,
extending ~ 150 m alongshore was identified in the lee of the reef from shoreline
analysis, but the pattern was transient throughout the monitoring period since it
was superimposed on comparatively large pre-existing fluctuations. In addition,
the reef structure provided a control point on the offshore morphology able to trap
sediment updrift and erode sediment downdrift.
Both field measurements and numerical modelling of waves and currents were
used to monitor the effect of the reef on the oceanographic conditions. Wave
propagation over the reef without breaking (H less than 0.5 m) resulted in transmitted
heights larger than incident by up to a factor of 2. When the reef triggered
breaking, transmitted heights were reduced by up to ~40 %. A concurrent process
was the shift of the wave energy spectra towards higher frequencies landward of
the reef that resulted in reduced transmitted wave periods. Wave modelling
showed that the wave shadowing was associated with significant wave rotation
around the reef that induced two zones of divergent wave angles near the
shoreline in the lee of the reef. The hydrodynamic response to the wave energy
dissipation was the development of stronger onshore directed currents landward of
the reef. Hydrodynamic modelling indicated that the reef-induced flow forced a
cellular circulation in the lee side under shore normal waves, and an onshore
deviation of the ambient (unidirectional) long-shore currents under oblique waves.
The research provided a rare empirical test to the theoretical design concepts, and
potential supplements or refinements. To obtain the required beach protection, the
reef impact on the beach morphodynamic coupling including wave
transformation, nearshore hydrodynamics, and small/large scale beach state
response needs to be carefully assessed.

year: 2010