title: Regional Tourism Organisations in New Zealand from 1980 to 2005: Process of Transition and Change

authors: Zahra, Anne Louise

subjects: Regional Tourism Organisations

abstract: This thesis is a historical case study tracing the establishment and evolution of Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) in New Zealand. It describes their role, structure and functions and the political processes that have influenced how they have operated and changed from 1980 to 2005. RTOs are examined in the context of government policies, local and national politics and tourism private and public sector relationships. RTOs were central to many of the key recommendations of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010 (NZTS 2010) released in 2001. The NZTS 2010 attempted to address a range of tourism policy gaps created by a policy vacuum in the 1990s whereby the public and private tourism sectors focused mainly on international marketing. This strategy shaped government policy during this decade. The research findings show that although public and private sector institutional arrangements impacting on RTOs have changed, there remains, as in the past, no uniformity in their role, structure, functions and their future financial and political viability remains insecure. 

The NZTS 2010 raised destination management and its alignment with destination marketing as a major policy issue that needed to be addressed in the decade leading up to 2010 with RTOs having a pivotal role. A generic regional destination management model is presented. Structures and processes incorporated into this model include: a national destination management tourism policy; support for tourism by local government at the national level; a well defined destination management team; community collaboration; and tourism being integrated into the wider planning processes of local government. The model identified requisite building blocks to support regional destination management such as: the provision of staff and financial resources for regional tourism; the building of a high tourism profile in the community; the availability of statistics and research data at the regional level; local government planners acknowledging the impacts of tourism; and the existence of a legal mandate for tourism at the regional and/or local government level. When applying this model to the New Zealand context, it was found that a number of the structures and processes required for effective regional destination management were lacking, such as regional statistics and research data, staffing and financial resources for both RTOs and local government, the ability of council planners to understand and integrate tourism into the wider planning processes and a legislative mandate for tourism. The thesis concluded that a vacuum remains in the alignment of destination marketing and management.

The historical and political processes of RTO change were also examined in the context of chaos and complexity theory. Chaos and complexity theory provided a complementary and different means to view change. This thesis also presented the opportunity to reflect upon the research process which led to the adoption of a multi-paradigmatic and bricoleur research methodology. Further reflexivity and reflection towards the end of the research process articulated ontological and epistemological philosophical investigations that underlay the multi-paradigmatic approach. A model is presented emphasising that a multi-paradigmatic research approach rests on ultimate reality (metaphysics) which informs the ontology. The model then highlights that ontology precedes and directs epistemology and that both inform the multi-paradigmatic research framework.

text: Regional Tourism Organisations in New Zealand from 1980 to 2005: Process of Transition and Change This thesis is a historical case study tracing the establishment and evolution of Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) in New Zealand. It describes their role, structure and functions and the political processes that have influenced how they have operated and changed from 1980 to 2005. RTOs are examined in the context of government policies, local and national politics and tourism private and public sector relationships. RTOs were central to many of the key recommendations of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010 (NZTS 2010) released in 2001. The NZTS 2010 attempted to address a range of tourism policy gaps created by a policy vacuum in the 1990s whereby the public and private tourism sectors focused mainly on international marketing. This strategy shaped government policy during this decade. The research findings show that although public and private sector institutional arrangements impacting on RTOs have changed, there remains, as in the past, no uniformity in their role, structure, functions and their future financial and political viability remains insecure. 

The NZTS 2010 raised destination management and its alignment with destination marketing as a major policy issue that needed to be addressed in the decade leading up to 2010 with RTOs having a pivotal role. A generic regional destination management model is presented. Structures and processes incorporated into this model include: a national destination management tourism policy; support for tourism by local government at the national level; a well defined destination management team; community collaboration; and tourism being integrated into the wider planning processes of local government. The model identified requisite building blocks to support regional destination management such as: the provision of staff and financial resources for regional tourism; the building of a high tourism profile in the community; the availability of statistics and research data at the regional level; local government planners acknowledging the impacts of tourism; and the existence of a legal mandate for tourism at the regional and/or local government level. When applying this model to the New Zealand context, it was found that a number of the structures and processes required for effective regional destination management were lacking, such as regional statistics and research data, staffing and financial resources for both RTOs and local government, the ability of council planners to understand and integrate tourism into the wider planning processes and a legislative mandate for tourism. The thesis concluded that a vacuum remains in the alignment of destination marketing and management.

The historical and political processes of RTO change were also examined in the context of chaos and complexity theory. Chaos and complexity theory provided a complementary and different means to view change. This thesis also presented the opportunity to reflect upon the research process which led to the adoption of a multi-paradigmatic and bricoleur research methodology. Further reflexivity and reflection towards the end of the research process articulated ontological and epistemological philosophical investigations that underlay the multi-paradigmatic approach. A model is presented emphasising that a multi-paradigmatic research approach rests on ultimate reality (metaphysics) which informs the ontology. The model then highlights that ontology precedes and directs epistemology and that both inform the multi-paradigmatic research framework.

year: 2006

title: An exploratory model and economic evaluation of the use of bio-reengineered trees in plantation forestry

authors: Bohorova, Svetlana Ognianova

abstract: The research embodied in the thesis represents a broad conceptual framework regarding the recent developments in the science of biotechnology and their applications to the commercial goals of plantation forestry. The specific developments of tree biotechnology are outlined, with a particular interest in Eucalyptus grandis and its hybrids. A brief overview of the international regulatory schemes for protecting intellectual property rights, as well as for safeguarding the biosafety of commercial deployment of genetically engineered plants is developed in order to outline the advantages and disadvantages in investment decisions regarding plantation forestry of bio-reengineered eucalyptus trees. A more detailed examination of investment potential in this area is undertaken for New Zealand and Argentina, considering their favourable site-specific characteristics for maximizing the growth potential and the quality of eucalypts. To make the picture of investment in the production and growing of bio-reengineered trees even more focused, the goals of a company are matched to the engineered properties of the natural resource and their effects on the marginal changes of the overall chain of production in the forestry industry. 
Given the above broad framework of developments in tree biotechnology, an economic analysis is conducted in order to evaluate the gains associated with producing, growing and utilizing bio-reengineered trees for the production of specific wood products (e.g. mouldings). A detailed model is developed in which each stage of the production process (selection and re-engineering; plantation forest management; processing and reprocessing; market) is examined in its own merit, and stage-specific assumptions about input/output relationships, as well as cost-benefit factors are established. 
The qualitative assumptions made in the exploratory model are the base for conducting an economic evaluation of the gains associated with the use of bio-reengineered trees. It is found that the gains in net present value terms from growing the bio-reengineered trees in a shorter rotation length are significant. Such gains, however, are due to both the intertemporal changes involved in shortening the rotation period, as well as to changes of in the product worth due to the higher quality of the grown trees. Thus, an evaluation of the specific gains associated with quality change is also undertaken, where the contribution of each genetic trait of interest (herbicide resistance, insect resistance, lignin enhancement) to changes in the product worth is examined separately. A simple sensitivity analysis is developed to help examine the effects of each trait on the profitability of growing bio-reengineered trees. The internal rate of return of growing the 'superior' trees seems to be more sensitive to changes in the factors associated with lignin enhancement. This, however, is not a general rule and it is susceptible to alterations dependent on the magnitude of the cost factors associated with the other two traits. Given that the gains captured from growing -the bio-reengineered trees are attributed to both the technologist and the grower, royalty schemes are developed to suggest the alternative ways of distributing the gains from technological innovation. Finally, it is found that the gains from utilization of bio-reengineered trees are not only captured at harvest, but also a significant increase in the internal rate of return is associated with processing better and more uniform logs for specific high-quality wood products.

text: An exploratory model and economic evaluation of the use of bio-reengineered trees in plantation forestry The research embodied in the thesis represents a broad conceptual framework regarding the recent developments in the science of biotechnology and their applications to the commercial goals of plantation forestry. The specific developments of tree biotechnology are outlined, with a particular interest in Eucalyptus grandis and its hybrids. A brief overview of the international regulatory schemes for protecting intellectual property rights, as well as for safeguarding the biosafety of commercial deployment of genetically engineered plants is developed in order to outline the advantages and disadvantages in investment decisions regarding plantation forestry of bio-reengineered eucalyptus trees. A more detailed examination of investment potential in this area is undertaken for New Zealand and Argentina, considering their favourable site-specific characteristics for maximizing the growth potential and the quality of eucalypts. To make the picture of investment in the production and growing of bio-reengineered trees even more focused, the goals of a company are matched to the engineered properties of the natural resource and their effects on the marginal changes of the overall chain of production in the forestry industry. 
Given the above broad framework of developments in tree biotechnology, an economic analysis is conducted in order to evaluate the gains associated with producing, growing and utilizing bio-reengineered trees for the production of specific wood products (e.g. mouldings). A detailed model is developed in which each stage of the production process (selection and re-engineering; plantation forest management; processing and reprocessing; market) is examined in its own merit, and stage-specific assumptions about input/output relationships, as well as cost-benefit factors are established. 
The qualitative assumptions made in the exploratory model are the base for conducting an economic evaluation of the gains associated with the use of bio-reengineered trees. It is found that the gains in net present value terms from growing the bio-reengineered trees in a shorter rotation length are significant. Such gains, however, are due to both the intertemporal changes involved in shortening the rotation period, as well as to changes of in the product worth due to the higher quality of the grown trees. Thus, an evaluation of the specific gains associated with quality change is also undertaken, where the contribution of each genetic trait of interest (herbicide resistance, insect resistance, lignin enhancement) to changes in the product worth is examined separately. A simple sensitivity analysis is developed to help examine the effects of each trait on the profitability of growing bio-reengineered trees. The internal rate of return of growing the 'superior' trees seems to be more sensitive to changes in the factors associated with lignin enhancement. This, however, is not a general rule and it is susceptible to alterations dependent on the magnitude of the cost factors associated with the other two traits. Given that the gains captured from growing -the bio-reengineered trees are attributed to both the technologist and the grower, royalty schemes are developed to suggest the alternative ways of distributing the gains from technological innovation. Finally, it is found that the gains from utilization of bio-reengineered trees are not only captured at harvest, but also a significant increase in the internal rate of return is associated with processing better and more uniform logs for specific high-quality wood products.

year: 1997

title: Toi tu te whenua, toi tu te tangata: A holistic Māori approach to flood management in Pawarenga

authors: Proctor, Elizabeth-Mary

subjects: flood management

abstract: This thesis is a study of how tikanga Māori principles could be used in practice in the management of natural hazards and in particular flooding in a rural area, Pawarenga. The aim was to investigate and document Te Uri O Tai Hapū preferred strategies for reducing flood risk in Pawarenga and to consider opportunities to use tikanga Māori principles and values in emergency response. The identification of key concepts and principles of tikanga Māori customs and their connections to whānau and hapū of Te Uri O Tai is key to this study. I used kaupapa Māori research methodologies as a guiding framework since researching in my own community required me to manage accountability both to its members and to the university. In particular it was important to obtain permission from the community before beginning, to ensure my research processes were acceptable, and to return my findings to the community. Qualitative data was gathered from a series of hui and interviews with local community members. Data was analysed inductively and organised into thematic networks. Two major organising themes were identified: resilience and vulnerability. Participants described a broad range of strengths inherent in the community that enabled them to respond to crises such as flood events. A number of cultural, social, physical, economic and political vulnerabilities were also identified; most of these were fundamental aspects of people‘s daily lives and did not prevent them from responding positively when floods occurred, but may have limited the scope of their responses. Tikanga was not a subject that participants felt comfortable talking about, but from the descriptions of how people actually responded during floods I was able to see examples of how tikanga was used. The resilience of the Pawarenga community is taken for granted by residents. When disasters such as floods occur, their resiliencies and strengths are brought into play to ensure the safety of all in the community. Tikanga Māori is an inherent part of this resiliency, and marae structures and protocols already in place provide a vital framework for flood response. I conclude that tikanga already has enormous value in flood response, and for Māori communities is an obvious choice as a foundation for a flood emergency management strategy. Furthermore, the value of tikanga as a flood emergency management strategy should be more explicitly recognised and supported by all authorities involved in disaster response and management. It was also clear that multiple dimensions of vulnerability (physical, cultural, social, economic and political) affect the Pawarenga community, and to some extent limit their capacity to respond. In particular political processes that exclude them from participating in decision-making and planning around environmental management generally have left people feeling marginalised, since they are unable to fulfil their kaitiaki role. With civil defence emergency management policies explicitly focused around resilience, participation of Te Uri O Tai Hapū in planning for emergency management should allow for their existing resilience, which stems from the upholding of tikanga, to be recognised and strengthened. However, this will only happen if relationships with the various authorities involved in emergency and natural hazard response are fostered, full participation in decision-making and in responding to natural hazard events is facilitated, and resources are available to support the community with their endeavours.

text: Toi tu te whenua, toi tu te tangata: A holistic Māori approach to flood management in Pawarenga This thesis is a study of how tikanga Māori principles could be used in practice in the management of natural hazards and in particular flooding in a rural area, Pawarenga. The aim was to investigate and document Te Uri O Tai Hapū preferred strategies for reducing flood risk in Pawarenga and to consider opportunities to use tikanga Māori principles and values in emergency response. The identification of key concepts and principles of tikanga Māori customs and their connections to whānau and hapū of Te Uri O Tai is key to this study. I used kaupapa Māori research methodologies as a guiding framework since researching in my own community required me to manage accountability both to its members and to the university. In particular it was important to obtain permission from the community before beginning, to ensure my research processes were acceptable, and to return my findings to the community. Qualitative data was gathered from a series of hui and interviews with local community members. Data was analysed inductively and organised into thematic networks. Two major organising themes were identified: resilience and vulnerability. Participants described a broad range of strengths inherent in the community that enabled them to respond to crises such as flood events. A number of cultural, social, physical, economic and political vulnerabilities were also identified; most of these were fundamental aspects of people‘s daily lives and did not prevent them from responding positively when floods occurred, but may have limited the scope of their responses. Tikanga was not a subject that participants felt comfortable talking about, but from the descriptions of how people actually responded during floods I was able to see examples of how tikanga was used. The resilience of the Pawarenga community is taken for granted by residents. When disasters such as floods occur, their resiliencies and strengths are brought into play to ensure the safety of all in the community. Tikanga Māori is an inherent part of this resiliency, and marae structures and protocols already in place provide a vital framework for flood response. I conclude that tikanga already has enormous value in flood response, and for Māori communities is an obvious choice as a foundation for a flood emergency management strategy. Furthermore, the value of tikanga as a flood emergency management strategy should be more explicitly recognised and supported by all authorities involved in disaster response and management. It was also clear that multiple dimensions of vulnerability (physical, cultural, social, economic and political) affect the Pawarenga community, and to some extent limit their capacity to respond. In particular political processes that exclude them from participating in decision-making and planning around environmental management generally have left people feeling marginalised, since they are unable to fulfil their kaitiaki role. With civil defence emergency management policies explicitly focused around resilience, participation of Te Uri O Tai Hapū in planning for emergency management should allow for their existing resilience, which stems from the upholding of tikanga, to be recognised and strengthened. However, this will only happen if relationships with the various authorities involved in emergency and natural hazard response are fostered, full participation in decision-making and in responding to natural hazard events is facilitated, and resources are available to support the community with their endeavours.

year: 2010