May 26, 2023
Māori push tiriti focus in school climate strike
Te Waka Haurua, the Māori advocacy group for climate change, says supporting indigenous rights needs to be a critical part of any action.
School Strike 4 Climate NZ has declared an Aotearoa Climate Strike today, with multiple events around the country.
Te Waka Haurua spokesperson Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn says a tiriti-centric approach to climate justice recognises that 80 percent of the planet’s remaining bio-diversity is concentrated on indigenous whenua which makes up only 20 percent of the earth’s surface.
“What is this telling us? It’s telling us that tangata whenua here in Aotearoa and in the Pacific and around the world have always and are still doing the lion’s share of effective ecosystem conservation and management, whether that’s on land or in the marine environment,” she says.
Te Waka Haurua is calling for an end to carbon offsets and 100 percent regenerative agriculture by 2030.