title: Taranaki Biodiversity Priorities Forum discussion report

authors: Kirby, Catherine Louise

abstract: On February 26th 2016 the Taranaki Biodiversity forum for regional priority setting was attended by around 75 people who represented Taranaki Biodiversity Trust members and interested parties. The objective of the forum was to identify priority areas for, and approaches to, the protection and enhancement of native biodiversity in the Taranaki region on a landscape scale. These priorities will inform and direct the work of the Taranaki Biodiversity Trust members.
The forum discussions were framed by the four following focus questions and responses were
analysed using a basic framework analysis.
1. What are our priority places/locations in Taranaki?
2. What types of ecosystems are a priority in Taranaki?
3. Where and how can we make connections?
4. Project ideas
The number of recorded responses for each question ranged from 28 to 96 with many common themes. The key recommendation from analysis of these responses is that the Taranaki Biodiversity Trust coordinates a regional, collaborative project that protects and enhances native biodiversity in a range of ecosystems, links existing projects across the landscape, and connects with local people and communities.

text: Taranaki Biodiversity Priorities Forum discussion report On February 26th 2016 the Taranaki Biodiversity forum for regional priority setting was attended by around 75 people who represented Taranaki Biodiversity Trust members and interested parties. The objective of the forum was to identify priority areas for, and approaches to, the protection and enhancement of native biodiversity in the Taranaki region on a landscape scale. These priorities will inform and direct the work of the Taranaki Biodiversity Trust members.
The forum discussions were framed by the four following focus questions and responses were
analysed using a basic framework analysis.
1. What are our priority places/locations in Taranaki?
2. What types of ecosystems are a priority in Taranaki?
3. Where and how can we make connections?
4. Project ideas
The number of recorded responses for each question ranged from 28 to 96 with many common themes. The key recommendation from analysis of these responses is that the Taranaki Biodiversity Trust coordinates a regional, collaborative project that protects and enhances native biodiversity in a range of ecosystems, links existing projects across the landscape, and connects with local people and communities.

year: 2016

title: Negotiated identities: Christianity and ethnicity in a diasporic Cambodian church

authors: Watson, Peter

abstract: As a global religious movement, Christianity has throughout history come into conflict with the traditional cosmologies of those who choose to convert, drastically changing the ways in which people express their spirituality. While much work within anthropology has focused on the cultural rupture that inevitably comes with conversion to Christianity, in this thesis I contribute to a growing body of work that understands conversion as incorporating both the changing and continuation of culture. This thesis is an ethnography of a Khmer language church in Aotearoa/New Zealand that provides a unique opportunity to examine a faith community embodying both radical change and strong connections to tradition. My investigation into the lived experiences of Cambodian Christians in the diaspora explores how initial decisions to convert, as well as church members’ engagements with society in both Aotearoa/New Zealand and Cambodia reflect both rupture and continuity. As evidence of this I show that Khmer migrants’ decisions to convert to Christianity have been heavily impacted by their ethnic identity, as they, like most Cambodians, look to religion as a way to establish order in a chaotic world. Alongside this, I examine ways in which Cambodian Christians relate to both their own cultural heritage and the wider religious landscape of Aotearoa/New Zealand, showing that the Christian life of CCF members is heavily influenced by both aspects of their Khmer identity and a desire to faithfully worship the Christian God. In exploring these aspects of Christian conversion, I join others in arguing for the need to view conversion as a dynamic and multifaceted process involving more than just rupture or simple syncretism.

text: Negotiated identities: Christianity and ethnicity in a diasporic Cambodian church As a global religious movement, Christianity has throughout history come into conflict with the traditional cosmologies of those who choose to convert, drastically changing the ways in which people express their spirituality. While much work within anthropology has focused on the cultural rupture that inevitably comes with conversion to Christianity, in this thesis I contribute to a growing body of work that understands conversion as incorporating both the changing and continuation of culture. This thesis is an ethnography of a Khmer language church in Aotearoa/New Zealand that provides a unique opportunity to examine a faith community embodying both radical change and strong connections to tradition. My investigation into the lived experiences of Cambodian Christians in the diaspora explores how initial decisions to convert, as well as church members’ engagements with society in both Aotearoa/New Zealand and Cambodia reflect both rupture and continuity. As evidence of this I show that Khmer migrants’ decisions to convert to Christianity have been heavily impacted by their ethnic identity, as they, like most Cambodians, look to religion as a way to establish order in a chaotic world. Alongside this, I examine ways in which Cambodian Christians relate to both their own cultural heritage and the wider religious landscape of Aotearoa/New Zealand, showing that the Christian life of CCF members is heavily influenced by both aspects of their Khmer identity and a desire to faithfully worship the Christian God. In exploring these aspects of Christian conversion, I join others in arguing for the need to view conversion as a dynamic and multifaceted process involving more than just rupture or simple syncretism.

year: 2023

title: Book review: Beyond the scene: Landscape and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand – Edited by Janet Stephenson, Mick Abbott and Jacinta Ruru

authors: Beattie, James John

subjects: book review

abstract: This article reviews the book: “Beyond the scene: Landscape and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand”, edited by Janet Stephenson, Mick Abbott and Jacinta Ruru.

text: Book review: Beyond the scene: Landscape and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand – Edited by Janet Stephenson, Mick Abbott and Jacinta Ruru This article reviews the book: “Beyond the scene: Landscape and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand”, edited by Janet Stephenson, Mick Abbott and Jacinta Ruru.

year: 2010-12