Our Speaker Nona Taute

Story by RRH Michael Markrich

University of Auckland Engineering Research fellow, and Ph.D. candidate Nona Taute, grew up in Rotorua, which is famous for its geothermal hot springs. He learned the indigenous thought processes of the Maori culture, in which he grew up, and related it to the Western structured theories of modern science imported from Europe that he learned in school. This led him into the parallel worlds he lives in today as a geothermal energy engineer and Maori practitioner.

One world takes him into the world of his ancestral gods, Papatuanaku the Maori earth mother, and the Ranganui, the Maori Skyfather. These beliefs go back in time to approximately 1000-1300 AD when the Maori first settled in New Zealand, the place they call Aotearoa. ( “Long White Cloud”). It is said to have been named by the Polynesian navigator Kupe.

The other world is that of power generation and utility deal-making between the Maori community and the White English (Pakeha) community, which conquered and colonized the country in 1840. The White community also created the first electricity grid in New Zealand in 1888. Approximately 70 years later in 1958, the government of New Zealand created its first power grid using geothermal technology to make electricity. This world was all about money-making and engineering and had little to do with the Maori community, even though it took place primarily on their ancestral lands.

Maori communities were said to have been traumatized by the agreements that were made. In 1991, the laws were changed in the country to put decision-making into the hands of regional districts, many of which were dominated by Maori communities. The specific legislation was called the Regional Management Act. (RMA). Over the next twenty years, new legal programs were implemented including the Strategic Environmental Assessment Program and there were pushes for Staged Development.

The Maori people were sensitive to the environmental impact of early geothermal developments that resulted in the subsidence of areas that included culturally sensitive historic sites and the loss of steam pressure which resulted in the disappearance of steam geysers. Careful assessment of geothermal fields was mandated that took into account all the environmental and social impacts of geothermal development.

Since then the two cultures within New Zealand, Maori and White, have struggled to develop a fair method of extracting geothermal resources, protecting cultural and environmental resources, and using the electricity for the benefit of everyone. At the present time Maori communities and private companies that develop geothermal energy participate in joint ventures so that the Maori communities benefit.

To balance the needs of the two communities and the needs of the resource, Nona developed an innovative algorithm that mixes Maori religious practice with modern engineering theory. Taute’s algorithm makes use “of a comprehensive set of indicators of sustainability -including cultural indicators acknowledging Maori interests and environmental, societal and economic and considering their level of mauri or life force – represented by a scale.” (https://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/balancing-indigenous-culture-in-geothermal-development)

In this way, he quantifies the ancestral beliefs of his ancestors in terms of measurements related to the power and potential of geothermal energy sites. The North Island of New Zealand is said to have the greatest resource of geothermal energy in the world. At the present time this energy represents 17% of the power on New Zealand’s grid but that amount is likely to grow as New Zealand moves away from fossil fuel towards a 90 % renewable mix by 2025. It is currently estimated the geothermal energy capacity is 1000 MW installed with perhaps another 1000 potential. In a single year, the 17 geothermal plants produce 7,500 GW about 7,500,000 MW. (By comparison in Hawaii only 37 MW of geothermal power is produced annually from a resource as great as New Zealand’s),

According to the website of the Association of New Zealand Science Educators Nona has used highly specialized workshops known as wānanga to develop his mathematical models.

 “Nona’s wānanga (research) identified a “lack of early, meaningful and mutually understood engagement between engineers and Māori as the primary cause of disputes” about geothermal projects. He identifies Rūaumoko, the atua of earthquakes, volcanoes, and heat from the ground, as the foundation of Māori beliefs and decisions about earthquake hazards. “Māori believe that he is very powerful and non-forgiving”, and that when humans harm his mother Papatūānuku, he will respond by breaking the ground and flattening humanmade structures. Maori therefore fiercely protect geothermal resources. Nona says that earthquake engineering standards do not take account of Māori experience in building structural and community resilience to earthquakes and eruptions and that conflict between the value systems has been aggravated by a 2016 law that increased the minimum earthquake resilience standard for all buildings. Nona describes Mātauranga Māoribased decision-making as using the techniques and customary values from before European settlement. It includes tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship). “It ensures that Māori are able to grow in knowledge, hand it down and gain economically.” In earthquake engineering, it means that engineers act under the advice of Māori representatives to account for the role of Rūaumoko as the enforcer against damage to geothermal systems.”

Nona’s wānanga discussed Māori values related to geothermal resources and engineering; Nona compiled and quantified those into a mathematical geothermal assessment of social, environmental, and economic impacts, to create indicators of how those values are upheld. “We relayed it back to participants, got their feedback, and refined the assessment, to ensure that we had preserved the foundation of the Māori knowledge we’d used.”

According to the website “https://nzase.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2021-05-Nona-Hohepa-Taute-NZASE-scientist-profile.pdf

Nona is a canoe paddler and frequent visitor to Hawaii. He brings to us his broad cultural knowledge and his interest in Hawaii. We thank you Nona for taking the time to speak with us. Mahalo!