مشارکت گروه های بومی در نظارت توسعه پایدار: دلایل و مثال از نیوزیلند

Over the past decade, many government policies have been aimed at the elusive concept of ‘sustainable development’. Over the same period there has been a growing awareness of the need to evaluate the progress of these policies as well as the need to encourage broad community participation in that monitoring. Unfortunately, it appears the participation of one important group, indigenous communities, in many sustainability programmes (including the selection and use of indicators in their monitoring and evaluation) is limited. This paper seeks to understand the role of sustainability monitoring and indigenous community participation in that monitoring within ecological economics and transdisciplinary research. We find that there is a strong need for sustainability indicators and a compelling rationale for indigenous community participation, both from ecological economic theory and from international and national policies. We also find that the present level of engagement of indigenous groups and communities in New Zealand in sustainability monitoring remains low, under-resourced, and uncoordinated. To improve the worldwide quality of sustainability indicators there is an urgent need to address this poor participation.

Over the past decade, many government policies have been aimed at the elusive concept of ‘sustainable development’ (for example, New Zealand's “Sustainable Development Programme of Action” (Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2003)). Over the same period there has been a growing awareness of the need to evaluate the progress of these policies. One tool increasingly being used for this purpose is the sustainable development indicator. Indeed, such indicators are a pervasive feature of both practical application and research literature (Jollands, 2006). Interest in monitoring the progress of sustainable development initiatives is not the sole preserve of governments. Community groups are increasingly interested in becoming involved in the development and implementation of monitoring programmes. This is because awareness is growing that those involved in defining the indicators control what is measured and reported. Indigenous groups and communities are an important sector of society that have a strong mandate to be involved in sustainable development programmes, monitoring and evaluation. For example, in New Zealand Māori have a strong interest in monitoring a wide range of sustainable development policies and outcomes that impact on their communities. Further, groups such as iwi and hapū (Māori tribes and sub-tribes) are significant owners of natural resources (e.g., through settlement of Treaty claims — see below) and articulate a unique cultural–historical connection with the natural environment. Unfortunately, like indigenous groups elsewhere, the participation of Māori in many sustainability programmes is limited. This paper seeks to understand the importance of sustainability reporting within ecological economics research. We begin first by briefly exploring the theory behind sustainability indicators and the important role they play in ecological economics. We then explore the rationale for indigenous community participation in sustainable development monitoring before describing New Zealand's experience in this area. We use specific case studies to illustrate the lessons we have learnt from the cross-cultural tensions involved in indigenous community participation in sustainable development indicators and monitoring projects.

There is a strong case for sustainable development indicators derived from ecological economic theory and the need to monitor and evaluate policy. There are also several compelling reasons for indigenous community participation in sustainability indicator development and implementation. Given this context, it is concerning to find that the level of engagement of indigenous communities in sustainability monitoring is generally limited. This indigenous level of engagement in sustainability monitoring in New Zealand remains low, under-resourced and uncoordinated. Many New Zealand agencies have tried to remedy this situation. For example, when in the late 1990s the lack of Māori participation in the environmental reporting area became a political issue, the New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment attempted to improve the situation through a number of targeted strategies and actions intended to make the environmental performance indicator programme (EPI) more inclusive. Many problems were encountered, and the solutions that were set in place were essentially too late to change the overall direction of the national EPI programme and therefore gain full Māori support through the MEMG. However, there are signs of hope that participation by Māori in sustainability monitoring is increasing. Examples in this paper show that indigenous groups in New Zealand are active locally in setting sustainability goals, particularly in environmental guardianship (e.g., through assessment, monitoring and activity) and also in the Māori health delivery and outcome area. These indigenous groups tend to define sustainability through a holistic worldview that is outside purely ‘economic’ views of development. This worldview, with its inclusive management concepts and practice, sits comfortably with innovative transdisciplinary approaches advocated through ecological economics. From the case studies in this paper we have highlighted a number of critical success factors for increasing indigenous community participation in government-led sustainability programmes: • Process is very important. As with any community, indigenous communities need to be engaged at the beginning of the process. It is also important that the process is appropriate for the community involved. • Resourcing is essential. Indigenous communities often do not have the resources necessary to participate in official, and often drawn out, processes. If the communities are to be involved, adequate resources need to be allocated at the outset. • Openness to different perspectives is essential. Cross-cultural interaction will often lead to tensions as different world views collide. It is only a genuine openness to learning from each other that can take advantage of the lessons from the diversity of opinions for sustainable development. We also find that the most enduring participation of Māori in indicator development is in those activities initiated by the indigenous groups themselves. However, these initiatives pose several challenges: • They are often inadequately resourced • Groups often lack the capacity to engage in broader sustainability programmes • They often lack coordination and an effective means of disseminating the approaches and lessons to other communities and groups. All monitoring of sustainable development goals, such as the use of indicators, provides a useful means for measuring the progress towards desired social, cultural economic, and environmental goals and outcomes. It is important that communities are included in this goal setting and that within this framework the aspirations of indigenous groups are taken into account, clearly articulated and understood. In conclusion, it is important to understand that different communities will define sustainable development goals differently. It is important to embrace these different value systems and worldviews as a way of enhancing our overall understanding of sustainability and to build a more inclusive and equitable society.