CROSS-CULTURAL DYNAMICS IN THE ECO-CITY - WAITAKERE CITY, NEW-ZEALAND

In recent years, New Zealand has undergone fundamental economic, insti tutional and administrative restructuring, One outcome of this has bee n the implementation of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), Fundam ental to the RMA is sustainable management of natural resources at a r egional scale, However, there are no prescriptive definitions for sust ainable management in the act; rather the act allows regional and loca l government flexibility in developing policy and plans for economic d evelopment and environmental preservation, Recognizing the importance of biculturalism in New Zealand society; a further requirement of the Act grants Maori a significant role in the management of natural resou rces, Within this institutional context, Waitakere City, located on th e western margin of the Auckland region, has adopted the principles of Agenda 21, The City Council has designated itself as an eco-city with a ''greenprint'' for future development and growth, A significant com ponent of Agenda 21 is the explicit recognition of indigenous rights, Within its development plans, Waitakere City has adopted Maori concept s for resource management specifically for environmental preservation, water quality and sustainable management, This paper discusses the cr oss-cultural dynamics of natural resource management in Waitakere City , The first section describes the role of Agenda 21 and RMA in creatin g the eco-city and its relationship to the greater Auckland region, Th e second part examines the influence of biculturalism in implementing the goals of the eco-city, The final part considers the arenas in whic h the principles for sustainability with regard to Maori will be teste d in the future. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd