He tino taonga tēnei
Wairuakohu (Radula marginata) is a very special plant,
nurtured over hundreds of millions of years in Aotearoa –
we are only just beginning to understand this treasure.
A multi-faceted kaupapa
Multiple groups are working on a wide range of activities associated with this special plant – below are some of the areas we’re focused on.
Indigenous Rights & Regulatory Pathways
Ensuring Māori rights and responsibilities as kaitiaki are given effect to within the projects and within regulations.
Providing the plant and the ecosystems that have nurtured it, a strong voice in decisions about how Intellectual Property derived from the taonga, is developed and utilised.
We’re also very interested in the Taonga Rangatiratanga / Rights of Nature opportunities – and what might be required to protect and enhance wild populations.
Building Relationships
Developing trusted partnerships that protect the taonga while creating high value products that make a real difference for people in need.
Relationships take time and in this case there are lots of stakeholders engaged and yet to be engaged, which is exciting and challenging, but it has been an awesome journey so far!
We welcome interest from other stakeholders and experts who may be interested in connecting with this kaupapa.
Biodiscovery
Researching the characteristics of the plant in the wild and in controlled environments.
We have been working for a number of years to understand how the taonga grows, reproduces itself, produces certain compounds in different environments.
We have been studying the genomics, chemistry and physiology of the taonga and its ecosystem.
Pre-Clinical Studies
Studying compounds derived from the plant and how they interact with living cells and human biology to see how they might help heal and protect people.
Production Systems
Developing ways of mimicking what the plant does to reproduce systems it has developed over millions of years.
Freedom to Operate, Ownership, Access & Benefit Sharing
Monitoring the work of others who are doing similar activities and assessing our own and others compliance with global agreements and standards.
An array of resources
We’re publishing some of the discoveries we’re making along the way.
Key issues
- Ecological protections.
- Participation of legitimate rights holders at the appropriate stages.
- Building research collaborations while protecting the rights of kaitiaki and the taonga itself.
Connect with us as:
- a member of a kaitiaki community.
- a researcher interested in collaboration.
- a potential co-investor in our research.
Beneath the Southern skies, so vast, so blue,
Where towering tawa grow old and true,
In shadowed realms, where few would ever tread,
The liverworts of Aotearoa in silence spread.
Soft carpets cling to forest floors and stone,
A hidden kingdom, quiet and alone.
With leaf-like fronds of green, so small, so bright,
They catch the mist and drink the morning light.
By silver streams, on rain-soaked roots they cling,
A whispered story in the breath of spring.
Unseen by many, yet they weave their part,
In nature’s grand and intricate heart.
Though tiny, fragile, fleeting to the eye,
These humble plants beneath the ferns still lie,
A testament to life’s enduring thread,
A quiet bloom where giants dare to tread.
In the Shade of Fern and Moss
Ann-Marie Searchfield
(with assistance from a machine)
Watch, Read, Listen
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