Indigenous co-governance of volcanoes

Talwar S. 2021. Indigenous co-governance of volcanoes. Lower Hutt (NZ): GNS Science. 22 p. (GNS Science report; 2021/15). doi:10.21420/Z18Z-8922.

Abstract
Westernised nations typically conceptualise nature and landscapes as being subject to property-based ownership. Whether owned by private individual(s) or by the state, the owner has the right to modify its features, to permit its modification by others, and the right to take action against those who modify or impact the resource through their actions. By contrast, traditional or indigenous relationships with nature and landscapes are rooted in a very different paradigm of human-nature relations. This paradigm is typified by strong links to cultural identity. Frequently, personhood is attributed to key features in natural landscapes, such as rivers, mountains, volcanoes and forests. The aim of this report is to make an initial contribution to a longer-term project on the co governance of volcanoes, looking at ways in which cultural understandings of indigenous communities interface with modern hazard management and risk mitigation practices. This report does the following: Undertakes a desktop study of the contrasting paradigms of human-nature relationships internationally and within Aotearoa New Zealand, Reviews case law examples of ‘environmental personhood’ both internationally and within Aotearoa New Zealand, and Provides recommendations for next steps in this research, with a focus on culturally embedded methodologies. The report finds that experiments across the world around granting rights to nature can act as a bridge between two world views, i.e. between westernised legal systems and indigenous cultural values. Aotearoa New Zealand’s legal innovation in relation to the Te Urewera protected area and Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui river) has inspired similar efforts elsewhere in the world. After exploring these experiments with rights to nature or ‘environmental personhood’, this report makes an initial analysis of two recent co-governance initiatives around volcanoes in Aotearoa New Zealand: (a) the formation of the Maunga Authority in relation to volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field, and (b) volcanoes in the Tongariro National Park. The report concludes with suggestions for taking this work forward. Exploring these initiatives in greater detail would hold useful lessons for indigenous communities in other parts of the world who are concerned with issues of self-determination and cultural identify linked to these natural landscapes, as well as to environmental campaigners who hope these innovations will result in the improved environmental health and management of these landscapes. (auth)