Iwi Futures land and resource evaluation module (2008–2010)

The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology funded Iwi Futures: Integrated Māori Land Resource Development: A Decision Support Framework from late 2007. Landcare Research’s Garth Harmsworth and AgResearch’s Alec Mackay describe a Land and Resource Evaluation module developed from early 2008 to February 2010, guided by questions raised by Māori landowners and organisations.

Four case studies—Ngāti Hine Health Trust, Paehinahina-Mourea Trust, Waimarama Incorporation and Aohanga Incorporation—combined national and secondary datasets with field visits and participatory GIS. The inputs included Māori land-block information, NZLRI, soils, pasture potential, forestry, infrastructure and hydrology. The project produced GIS knowledge repositories, thematic layers, detailed resource maps, ready-to-print PDFs or JPEGs and data layers for desktop GIS.

The 2010 paper calls the generic Land and Resource Evaluation module a draft and describes a step-by-step web-accessible process for locating blocks, characterising resources and assessing alternative enterprises and development options. It does not establish that a public operational website or nationwide service was launched. The authors also identify cultural layers as confidential and access restricted; this history does not reproduce them.