Speakers:
Marc Tadaki
Senior Lecturer\, Department of Environmental Management\, Lincoln Un
iversity\, New Zealand
Jane Kitson\,
Ecologis
t and environmental scientist with ancestral connection to Murihiku/Southla
nd\, New Zealand
Talk title:
Environmental
Justice and the Indigenous Governance of Introduced Species
A typical wild goldfish found in Lake Rotoehu\, 2016.
Photo: Ian Kusabs
Talk Abstract: Intensifying global trade\, r ecreational travel\, and ecological degradation are all providing pathways and reasons for species to travel beyond their historical ranges\, bringing people into contact with ‘new neighbours’. What to do with these new neigh bours is a matter of politics and struggle\, with possible approaches rangi ng from technocratic elimination to laissez faire accommodation. Environmen tal justice advocates have argued that undoing the harms of settler-colonia lism requires removing introduced species as they represent ongoing disenfr anchisement of Indigenous peoples from their lands and waters.
In Aot earoa New Zealand\, the story of introduced species is both unique and comp licated. On the one hand\, due to New Zealand’s unique biogeography\, there is widespread understanding and concern about introduced species and the h arms that these species have caused ecosystems and people. This has led to popular support and significant state investment in ‘Predator Free 2050’ an d other programmes and policies aimed at removing introduced species. The conditions for removing introduced species are ripe.
On the other han d\, while most introduced species were introduced through settler-colonial processes\, some species have been adopted and valued by Indigenous communi ties. This raises prospects that removing introduced species without Indige nous consent will further disenfranchise Indigenous communities and disconn ect them from governance of their land and waters.
In this colloquium we consider how two introduced species in Aotearoa New Zealand – wild gold fish (Carassius auratus) and Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) – are challenging us to rethink how we conceptualise and manage introduced species. Both spe cies are introduced\, both have meaningful positive associations for some M āori communities – yet that does not mean that these communities wish to si mply have them unregulated. By looking at what Indigenous governance of int roduced species looks like\, and by considering how that differs from burea ucratic science-driven decision making\, we can draw insights to support ad aptive\, effective\, and legitimate conservation decision making for a worl d that is constantly changing.
After the talk\, please join Marc\, Ja ne\, and others with the Fish Futures C ollaborative for an informal discussion about Indigenous environmental governance issues and practices\, from 2 - 4 PM\, in room 215D.
S peaker Bios:
Dr Marc Tadaki (Pākehā) is an academic geographer at Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University with interests in freshwater go vernance\, environmental policy\, and critical physical geography. An alumn i of UBC Geography (PhD 2019)\, Marc spent six years in New Zealand’s appli ed research sector researching freshwater policy\, catchment groups\, and e nvironmental values\, before moving back into a university environment in 2 025. Marc co-leads Fish Futures wi th Jane Kitson\, Robin Holmes\, and Joanne Clapcott.
Dr Jane Kitson (Kāi Tahu\, Kāti Mamoe\, Waitaha) is an e cologist and environmental scientist with ancestral connection to Murihiku/ Southland\, New Zealand. Jane’s work is grounded in the principles of kaupa pa Māori\, which guide her approach to research spanning freshwater\, estua ries\, customary harvest\, and cultural monitoring\, and contributing to na tional\, regional\, and tribal policy development. Jane co-leads Fish Futures (2021-26)\, a transdisciplinary research programme focused on understanding and strengthening people’s conn ections with freshwater fish.
This is hybrid even t hosted in Geog 229 and on zoom.
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CATEGORIES:Featured Events LOCATION:Geography building GEO:49.266015;-123.256221 URL;VALUE=URI:https://geog.ubc.ca/events/event/geography-colloquium-series- marc-tadaki-and-jane-kitson/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://geog.cms.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2026/01/TadakiKitsonColloquiumFeatureImage_COL_20260105_Rev0-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 DTSTART:20251102T090000 TZNAME:PST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR