Me Tū ā-Uru: An Action Plan for a Flourishing and Abundant Environment

An action plan developed by leading Māori researchers and practitioners that calls for shared authority of Aotearoa’s special places to ensure a flourishing environment for future generations was launched yesterday at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s Rutherford House.

Road through trees

“Aotearoa’s environmental and social relationships are out of balance. We are facing multiple, inter-related crises including climate change, biodiversity decline, poverty, and homelessness,” says Professor Maria Bargh from Victoria University of Wellington, who co-led the research group who produced the action plan.

“To solve these crises, and for the benefit of present and future generations in Aotearoa, and the environment that sustains us, we must work together to reconnect our relationships to the environment and to reconnect relationships between tangata whenua, tangata Tiriti, and the Crown.”

The action plan lays out past harms to the environment, celebrates those that are already leading more sustainable and caring environmental projects, and provides guidance for personal and collective action to continue the critical work of protecting our environment into the future.

“Me Tū ā-Uru is guided by a vision of a flourishing and abundant environment that sustains and nurtures all people of Aotearoa, where we work together to care for and enjoy our special places and communities in ways that benefit all of us,’ says Dr Carwyn Jones, co-leader of the research group.

The action plan provides direction for government, tangata whenua, and tangata Tiriti on how to achieve strong relationships with each other and the environment that will help Aotearoa survive and thrive. It includes suggestions for reworking relationships between government and local authories and hapū and iwi, and acknowledgement of the experience and rights of mana whenua in environmental management. It also encourages tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti to learn more about existing relationships between people and the land, and how those relationships can work better to protect Aotearoa’s natural world.

“While much has been done, there is still some way to go. Yet, with continued good will and a commitment to working together, across differences and difficulties, in just and equitable relationships, those challenges can be faced,” says Professor Bargh.

The research group and this report are supported by New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. The research group plan to continue working and developing advice in this area.