Customary Rights Screening & Guidance Tool

Te Putaiao Trust conttinues the development of a Customary Rights Screening Tool to support early assessment of proposals that may affect marine or coastal areas.

The tool:

helps identify when customary rights may be impacted
encourages direct engagement with affected iwi or hapū
supports councils, applicants, and communities to avoid harm before formal consent processes

This tool is guidance only.
It does not replace iwi or hapū authority, statutory obligations, or council processes.

[Accessing the Screening Tool will be available soon as a link from this site]

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Services

We offer a range of specialized services tailored to meet your individual needs. Our approach is focused on understanding and responding to what you require, providing effective and practical solutions.

BASIC

We offer a range of specialized services tailored to meet your individual needs.

COMMUNITY PROJECTS

We are keen to collaborate with groups on environmentl non-commercial related projects,, in particular hatchery projects.

SCREENING TOOL

We plan to offer a range of specialized services tailored to meet your individual needs. Screening tool coming to this site soon

Contact us

Independence and Integrity

Te Putaiao Trust is independent and non-commercial.

We do not:

promote extractive development
act on behalf of government or private industry
replace iwi, hapū, or rūnanga authority

Our role is to support clarity, protection, and responsible decision-making in relation to the moana.

Why This Work Matters

The marine environment of Aotearoa faces increasing pressure from:

coastal development
infrastructure expansion
mining and extractive proposals
pollution and cumulative environmental harm

History shows that once marine ecosystems are degraded, recovery is slow and uncertain.
Care for the moana must therefore be guided by wisdom, restraint, and responsibility — not only what is technically permissible, but what is right.

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