Useful video: finding council GIS maps, data and BayMaps
A useful 2026 Ngā Poutama Matawhenua recording looks at how to find and use council GIS information: Accessing Council GIS Maps, Data and Resources: Bay of Plenty Regional Council BayMaps, a Case Study.
Watch the recording on YouTube
There is also a companion StoryMap on accessing council GIS maps and data, published in March 2026.
Council GIS can be extremely useful because iwi, hapū, marae, Māori trusts and whānau regularly have to work with planning, hazards, infrastructure, environmental monitoring and regulatory systems. The important caution is that a council viewer represents the world through council functions and datasets. It can tell you a great deal about planning zones, infrastructure or monitored environments, but it does not become the authority on whenua, whakapapa, local history or cultural relationships simply because the layer is official.