Allen, W., Kingi, T., Young, B., Percy, H., Tamepo, R., White, T. T., Walker, G., Cichota, R., Spencer, N., & Whitehead, J. (2026). Balancing future land use decisions: Embracing co-design in the Pohewa Pae Tawhiti (PPT) research program. Preprint. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18618997
Preprint under review with Environmental Management.
Abstract
In many parts of the world, land-use planning faces increasing pressure to deliver outcomes that are environmentally sustainable, culturally responsive, and socially just. Yet conventional, often technocratic approaches can overlook the place-based values and lived realities that shape decisions. These limits are particularly evident in Indigenous contexts, where relationships with land are closely tied to identity, governance, and long-term stewardship. In Aotearoa New Zealand, for example, Māori land governors must balance environmental, economic, and cultural goals within a distinctive tenure system. However, most existing decision-support tools prioritize production and short-term returns, often overlooking community values and intergenerational aspirations.
To address this gap, the Pohewa Pae Tawhiti (PPT) (Visualising Horizons) research program, led by Te Arawa Arataua (Te Arawa Primary Sector Inc.), developed a co-design approach that integrates Māori cultural knowledge and mātauranga Māori (the Māori worldview and system of knowledge) with scientific tools and planning methods. This paper reflects on the co-design process behind the PPT framework, sharing practice-based patterns that emerged through iterative reflection, shared leadership, and culturally grounded facilitation. By positioning Māori land trustees as co-creators from the outset, the program developed a framework that supported decisions aligned with broader and longer-term outcomes. The experience offers a context-specific but transferable contribution to co-design practice, particularly for Indigenous and place-based initiatives seeking to align land-use planning with environmental, cultural, and social goals.
Keywords
Co-design; Indigenous land governance; Mātauranga Māori; Participatory environmental management; Land-use decision-making; Sustainability transitions.
Why this work matters
This paper builds on earlier work developing the PPT framework as a practical decision-support tool. Here, the focus shifts from the tool itself to the co-design process that shaped it. Several features stand out.
First, Māori land trustees were not positioned as consultees, but as co-creators. The core team combined governance practitioners, Te Arawa researchers, and technical specialists. Many held overlapping roles. This embedded structure shaped both the content and the process.
Second, the work moved beyond single-loop refinement of tools. Through reflective practice and action research, the team engaged in double- and triple-loop learning, questioning not only how decisions were made, but how the framework itself was designed.
Third, co-design was treated not as a stage or method, but as a relationship. Values, facilitation, storytelling, distributed leadership, and iterative prototyping were woven together into a culturally grounded process.
While grounded in Te Arawa governance and Māori land contexts, the experience offers wider relevance. In settings where land-use decisions intersect with cultural identity, environmental responsibility, and intergenerational stewardship, co-design can help reorient planning towards shared values and long-term outcomes.
Related publications and resources
- Helen Percy, Tanira Kingi, Will Allen, Reina Tamepo, Rogerio Cichota, Bill Young, Te Taru White (2024). Pohewa Pae Tawhiti (Visualising Horizons): a Māori holistic approach to the co-design of land-use systems. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2024.2427824 [This earlier paper introduces the PPT framework itself and its integration of Māori values with modelling tools.]
- Kingi T, Percy H, White TT, Cichota R, Allen W, Tamepo R, Spencer N, Whitehead J, Reid J, Walker G, Young B (2024). Pohewa Pae Tawhiti: Visualising Horizons – Process Guidelines. Our Land and Water. https://ourlandandwater.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PPT_Process-Guidelines_WEB.pdf [This report provides practical guidance for applying the framework in governance contexts.]
You may also be interested in related reflections and practical resources on co-design and collaborative programmes across the Learning for Sustainability site. These include pages on systemic co-design and participatory practice, design thinking, facilitation, and social learning in multi-actor settings.