12 posts tagged with "Ngā Poutama Matawhenua"

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.

The 2026 Ngā Poutama Matawhenua series includes a practical session on using earthquake and earth-science information in Māori GIS work: Te Mārama ki ngā Rū Whenua - Using Earthquake and Earth Science Data for Māori GIS & Mapping Kaupapa.

Watch the recording on YouTube

Hazard data is often presented as if the important thing is the finished technical layer. For Māori GIS the useful question is usually closer to home: what does this information mean for the people, whenua, marae, access routes, taonga and responsibilities connected to the kaupapa? A fault line or shaking model matters because of the relationships and decisions around it, not because the polygon itself is impressive.