Assessing the role of Māori communities in the restoration and protection of nature in New Zealand.

An ever-increasing number of species and ecosystems are threatened in countries across the globe. However, despite the best efforts of conservationists and land managers, the needs of the environment are often considered secondary to the economic need for development, urbanisation and intensive agriculture. This results in the ongoing fragmentation and degradation of natural environments, which in turn often leads to Human populations having reduced interactions with the living world. Despite widespread concerns about such issues, attempts to minimise or reverse the loss of nature often fail to take into account the views of local peoples and indigenous groups, and there has been little serious examination of how projects led by such groups can contribute to the loss of biodiversity.

Communities considered to be 'indigenous' inhabit about 22% of the Earth's land surface, but that area is home to over 80% of the world's biodiversity. Furthermore, many have strong cultural links to the natural world, and a deep understanding of the environments they inhabit. In theory, this should give indigenous groups the opportunity to play a major role in protecting the environment and stemming biodiversity loss. However, many indigenous groups have also been subjected to land theft, dispossession, and political marginalisation. Against this background it is useful to be able to assess the contributions which indigenous peoples are involved in, and finding ways to claim leadership of, environmental projects in countries with Western legal systems.

In a paper published in the journal Philosophical Transactions B on 22 January 2026, Erana Walker of the University of Waikato and Te Pūnaha Matatini, Murray Cox also of Te Pūnaha Matatini, and of the College of Sciences at Massey University, and the Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland, Hēmi Whaanga, again of Te Pūnaha Matatini, and of the School of Māori Knowledge at Massey University, and Priscilla Wehi, once again of Te Pūnaha Matatini, and of the University of Otago, examine ways in which contemporary Māori contribute to conservation efforts as part of wider endeavours to preserve their cultural identity. 

The traditional mātauranga knowledge system emphasises that people are part of their environment and interdependent with it, rather than separate from it. Elements of nature such as mountains, rivers, forests, and living things are seen as relatives, and incorporated into cultural ceremonies and identities as such. Interactions with the natural world should be seen as reciprocal rather than extractive.

The kaitiakitanga cultural system sees place-based activities such as medicinal harvesting, weaving and gardening as linked to local species and ecosystems, and the transmission of such practices between generations is seen as a way to preserve both the language and culture, and the link to the natural world. This creates, for the Māori, a need to protect nature in order to fulfil their obligations to past, present, and future generations. 

The philosopher Kyle White has emphasised the link between social and environmental justice for indigenous peoples, and that the loss of traditional rights to harvest from or inhabit lands over which they traditionally held stewardship can result in grave social injustices. Following on from this reasoning, activities which destroy the natural world can be seen as attacks on the traditional lifeways of the such peoples, and therefore the ability of their culture to survive. Thus activities such as protest marches or land occupations should be seen as attempts to preserve both the traditional culture of indigenous peoples and the natural environment in which that culture is based. This is often at odds with the legal systems of former European colonies, which typically see law and nature as being unrelated systems.

In New Zealand, protests by Māori groups have been recorded since the nineteenth century, beginning shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi) in 1840 by Māori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown, as tensions began to rise over whether the guarantee of self-determination of the Māori found in the treaty also implied continued governance over land and waters. Subsequent legislation by the government of New Zealand sought to first claim and confiscate Māori lands and natural resources, and then dismantle the culture, language and familial structures of Māori communities, in an attempt to assimilate them into colonial society.

By 1960 less than 5% of the land of New Zealand was under Māori ownership, and the majority of the Māori population was found in cities, further accentuating their isolation from their traditional territories. This is a common problem for indigenous peoples, who often become absorbed into urban environments which have expanded over traditional lands, but which are built with little consideration, or even acknowledgement, of their cultural practices. Urban sprawl is a significant cause of the loss of biodiversity around the world, with more than 50% of the world's population, including more than 80% of the Māori, now living in urban centres. Environments such as waterways, wetlands, and forests, are particularly threatened by urban expansion, with natural areas consequently decreasing in size and species richness, while simultaneously suffering the effects of pollution and environmental degradation. 

In the Kirikiriroa/Hamilton conurbation, one of the fastest growing urban centres in New Zealand, less than 10% of the land is now covered by native biodiversity, presenting a significant challenge for Māori groups in the Waikato area to preserve their culture. A similar trend has been observed in other urban areas in New Zealand, leading to calls for ecological restoration projects in these areas, particularly from Māori groups who see such projects as vital to the preservation of their culture.

In order to better understand these phenomena, Walker et al. began by examining attitudes to kaitiakitanga among Māori living in the Kirikiriroa/Hamilton urban area, then how these were reflected in social and environmental actions. In order to do this they examined Māori-led environmental and land protests since 1975, as well as funding for environmental restoration projects in New Zealand.

Between January and December 2019, Erana Walker carried out a series of semi-structured interviews with Māori residents of Kirikiriroa/Hamilton. During this process she was careful to shape the interviews as an opportunity to share knowledge, and emphasise respect for the knowledge and views of the participants. 

During this time she interviewed twenty participants, between the ages of twenty and fifty, ten male and ten female, all Māori and all living within the city environment. Seven identified themselves as belonging to tribes from within or close to the city boundary, while thirteen came from further away. Regardless of this, all shared similar views about kaitiakitanga, and emphasised a connectivity between Humans and the environment. All thought that environmental activities were connected to the protection of tribal resources. All understood that the natural world was under considerable pressure, and thought that traditional knowledge made sustainable usage important.

Most interviewees stated that knowledge of both kaitiakitanga and biodiversity had been passed down from older generations, and that they in turn felt obliged to pass this on. Commonly, such knowledge had come from multiple members of the community, often across tribal groups, rather than a single instructor.

All those interviewed has been introduced to the concept of kaitiakitanga as children, along with traditional harvesting practices, and the need to share resources with others and care for the community. Cultural practices were closely associated with nature, and it was important to be close to forests, marine areas, and cultural spaces to develop and maintain traditional practices and an ethos of caring for nature.

Maintaining a sense of kaitiakitanga away from their own traditional tribal areas was complex for the interviewees. They wished to maintain their close links to nature, but did not want to override the kaitiakitanga of other groups, which could make it harder to maintain this connection. This was particularly true when living among non-Māori communities who did not necessarily understand or appreciate kaitiakitanga, which could make it hard to express such relationships.

Interviewees also noted that, while the availability of natural and cultural spaces helped to maintain a sense of belonging, different interpretations of kaitiakitanga could also cause problems. One respondent reported having encountered a concept of economic kaitiakitanga, which appeared to run directly contrary to the idea of environmental sustainability. Another noted that without direct support from government and local councils, it was difficult to maintain the knowledge associated with kaitiakitanga in complex urban environments. 

Walker et al. also sought to construct a timeline for Māori environmental protests between 1975 and 2024, concentrating on this period because, while there were many protests in the immediate aftermath of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, there were few during the first part of the twentieth century, when many Māori were struggling simply to survive and preserve their culture. They have, however, included some protest movements from the 1960s, where  these were widely reported in both the academic and non-academic literature. As well as looking at protests around traditional lands and sites of cultural significance, they also looked at the role of Māori protesters in protesting activities such as mining and offshore resource extraction.

This analysis showed that for the Māori, environmental, cultural and social issues were deeply interconnected. The restoration of traditional Māori rights, including land rights, was deeply tied to a desire to preserve the environment for future generations. Notable areas of contention were land occupation for communities in the rural north, land reclamation around Whaingaroa/Raglan,  the  protection of ancestral burial sites at Rotokākahi and seabed mining along the Taranaki coast. While some protests were local in nature and involved a single tribal group, others were organised by pan-tribal coalitions to promote wider cultural and/or environmental issues, such as the  1975 Land March led by 79-year-old Māori elder Whina Cooper and the group Te Rōpū Matakite, where protesters walked 1000 km to Parliament in order to protest the continuing loss of Māori land. The 2024 Treaty Principles Bill, which also sought to redefine the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, also resulted in a protest march attracting hundreds of thousands, as well as more than 307 000 written submissions, 92% of which were opposed to the changes.

Participants in the 1975 Land March arriving outside New Zealand's parliament in Wellington on 13 October 1975. Archives New Zealand/Wikimedia Commons.

Next, Walker et al. searched the New Zealand Legislation website for environmental legislation which included terms such as kaitiakitanga, kaitiakitanga, or Māori, which might reflect the incorporation of the views of the Māori in drafting such legislation. In doing this they excluded laws that arose as a consequence of grievance settlements relating to the Treaty of Waitangi, or which sought to enact legal personhood for nature, as these were clearly driven by Māori perspectives. 

The results of this search were less clear, but there did seem to be a correlation between Māori protest actions and the adoption of measures relating to these, albeit often with a significant time lag.

Thirdly. Walker et al. sought to examine the actions of Māori-led conservation groups and projects since 1975, with a particular emphasis on their funding. This concentrated particularly on the Jobs for Nature fund, which was created as part of the New Zealand government's COVID recovery package to support job creation and enable communities to restore and care for nature, and the Te Wai Māori fund.

This revealed that successive governments in New Zealand had been willing to fund conservation projects which were Māori-led or had strong Māori involvement, particularly in areas such as forest conservation, marine protection, biodiversity restoration, pest management and water care. Thus was (perhaps unsurprisingly) particularly true when projects were located in areas with large Māori populations, such as Northland and the East Cape area of the North Island. This appeared to be at least partly connected to the impact of extreme weather events such as Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023, which badly affected these areas.

Also notable was that in some areas Māori-led conservation projects appeared to gain very little funding. This included the Tūhoe–Te Urewera region of the North Island, which has both a large Māori population and an active Māori involvement in local government. Māori-led projects also received less funding on South Island, although here a far lower proportion of the population identify as Māori.

Māori populations and corresponding data pertaining to funded Māori-led restoration work in Aotearoa New Zealand. The North and East Cape of the North Island show higher populations of Māori and greater money spent on Māori-led restoration sites. Walker et al. (2026).

Walker et al.'s research shows that for most Māori, the concept of kaitiakitanga, is central to their identity, and that this in turn requires a connection to, and requirement to care for, the natural world. This is something which has been shown for other indigenous groups around the world, and which can play a key role in the conservation of biodiversity. They suggest that supporting Māori culture is therefore a way to promote the protection of the natural environment in New Zealand, even in areas far from traditional tribal lands. Despite the losses to biodiversity suffered in New Zealand over the past two centuries, this still remains central to Māori cultural identity, as does the desire to preserve the natural world for the benefit of future generations.

The ability to connect to, preserve, and restore nature was as true for Māori who were removed from their traditional lands and living in urban centres as it was for those still living on those traditional lands. Since more than 80% of Māori now live in urban areas, a wider understanding and recognition of this commitment could potentially improve the conservation of nature in urban areas. 

All of those interviewed by Erana Walker showed a concern for nature and the loss of biodiversity which formed a core part of their cultural identity, and that the ability to conserve nature and to preserve their culture were strongly interlinked. This was linked to early exposure to both culture and nature, which was then preserved throughout their lives; something which has been reported for other peoples around the globe.

Interviewees raised a number of concerns, particularly about the loss of the natural environment and how their cultural values were understood and validated by wider society. This is similar to the problems reported by members of indigenous groups in other parts of the world. However, while these factors had placed a strain on the Māori participants in the study, all still felt a strong commitment to the natural world, intertwined with their concerns about social justice.

The combination of an expressed commitment to nature among urban Māori, Māori involvement in environmental protests, and the number of Māori-led environmental projects suggests that the kaitiakitanga cultural system, with its view on the interconnectedness of the Human and natural worlds, remains central to the identity of most Māori today. However, this does not mean that this kaitiakitanga-concept is never misused, with some evidence that it is sometimes exploited to gain control of resources.

Māori protest movements have been growing in size and activities since the 1960s, and have campaigned about issues affecting both the Māori culture and the natural environment, including gaining official recognition and protection for the Māori language. Walker et al. speculate that in future this could lead to a better understanding by the legislature of the needs of the Māori, which could in turn have an impact on future environmental legislation. The findings also suggest that protest movements remain an effective way to facilitate social change.

Collective action is often an effective way to gain recognition of both the needs of indigenous communities (and other people) and the natural environment, but in many parts of the world is still met with aggression by the state, often causing great harm to those involved. One option for indigenous groups faced by such challenges is to try to raise global awareness of the issues they face, thereby gaining support from people outside the reach of their own governments. Activism also presents indigenous peoples to reassert stewardship roles over ancestral lands from which they have been separated by colonial processes. 

The achievements of previous generations of protesters in getting the legal system of New Zealand to better recognise Māori viewpoints and cultural values creates the potential for a greater future Māori involvement in and leadership of environmental projects. However, this has not entirely been a one-way process, with numerous Acts of Parliament having sought to strip Māori of agreed rights, which means that any assessment of the potential for future progress must include a degree of caution.

One cause for optimism is the willingness of successive New Zealand governments to fund environmental projects through the Jobs for Nature fund, with more than 50% of projects receiving funding being either Māori-led or Māori-supported. This has included significant funding for projects in socially and economically deprived areas, such as Northland and the East Cape, and has often acknowledged Māori leadership on climate, social and environmental issues, particularly following extreme weather events and the Covid-19 pandemic. Such funding has contributed to the protection and restoration of natural systems in many areas, as well as the Māori society associated with these systems. However, these successes should be measured against an understanding that such funding is temporary in nature, and may not translate directly into a longer term support for these activities. 

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Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake in the Coquimbo Region of Chile.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake at a depth of 36.9 km, roughly 32 km to the southwest of the city of Ovale in Limari Province, part of the Atacama Coquimbo of Chile, slightly before 10.35 am local time (slightly before 1.35 pm GMT) on Thursday 12 February 2026. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, but people have reported feeling it as far away as Santiago, 400 km to the south.

The location of the 12 February 2026 Coquimbo Earthquake. USGS.

Chile is located on the west coast of South America, which is also the convergent margin between the Nazca and South American Plates. The Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the South American Plate and is sinking beneath the South American Plate. This is not a smooth process, the rocks of the two plates continuously stick together then, as the pressure builds up, break apart again, causing Earthquakes. As the Nazca Plate sinks deeper it is partially melted by the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of the melted material then rises up through the overlying South American Plate as magma, fuelling the volcanoes of the Chilean Andes.

The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center.

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Annular eclipse to be visible from parts of Antarctica.

An annular eclipse of the Sun (eclipse in which the Moon passes in front of the Sun, but does not completely block it, leaving visible ring of light) will be visible from parts of Antarctica on Tuesday 17 February 2026, with a partial eclipse visible from Tierra del Fuego, parts of Southern and East Africa, Madagascar. and the islands of the southwest Indian Ocean.

The Moon's shadow projected onto the Earth as the eclipse proceeds. The hemisphere of the Earth facing the Sun is shown. Contours show where various fractions of the Sun's disk is covered. Dominic Ford/In the Sky.

Eclipses are a product of the way the Earth, Moon and Sun move about one-another. The Moon orbits the Earth every 28 days, while the Earth orbits the Sun every 365 days, and because the two Sun and Moon appear roughly the same size when seen from Earth, it is quite possible for the Moon to block out the light of the Sun. At first sight this would seem likely to happen every month at the New Moon, when the Moon is on the same side of the Earth as the Sun, and therefore invisible (the Moon produced no light of its own, when we see the Moon we are seeing reflected sunlight, but this can only happen when we can see parts of the Moon illuminated by the Sun). 

The relative positions of the Sun, Moon and Earth during a Solar eclipse. Not to scale. Starry Night.

An Annular Eclipse is a type of Solar Eclipse, in which the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun while the moon is close to aphelion (when it is furthest from the Earth). The Moon has a variable orbit, getting considerably closer and further from the Earth at different times, which alters its size as seen from the Earth. Thus, when it is at its furthest from the Earth it appears considerably smaller than the Sun so an eclipse occurring at this time will produce a ring of sunlight, rather than a period of darkness. A Partial Annular Eclipse resembles a regular Partial Eclipse, in that the light of the Sun will be partially blocked by the Moon passing in from of it, though the disk of the Moon will be smaller.

An annular eclipse observed from Southern Utah on 28 October 2018. Wikimedia Commons.

However, the Moon does not orbit in quite the same plane as the Earth orbits the Sun, so the Eclipses only occur when the two orbital planes cross one-another; this typically happens two or three times a year, and always at the New Moon. During Total Eclipses the Moon entirely blocks the light of the Sun, however most Eclipses are Partial, the Moon only partially blocks the light of the Sun.

How the differing inclinations of the Earth and Moon's orbits prevent us having an eclipse every 28 days. Starry Skies.

Although the light of the Sun is reduced during an Eclipse, it is still extremely dangerous to look directly at the Sun, and eclipses should only be viewed with specialised equipment.

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Ethiopian Marburg Virus outbreak officially declared to have ended.

An outbreak of Marburg Virus in southern Ethiopia has been officially declared over, according to a press release issued by the World Health Organization on 26 January 2026. The epidemic was declared over following two consecutive incubation periods passing without any new cases being recorded (the incubation period for Marburg Virus is considered to be 21 days). Nineteen people are believed to have been infected during the outbreak, including fourteen who were confirmed to have the Virus by laboratory testing (nine of whom died), and five people who died of a disease consistent with Marburg Virus infection, and were buried by local communities before being tested. A total of 3800 people from the were tested for the Virus, with 857 people from the South Ethiopia and Sidama regions known to have come into contact with at least one victim additionally monitored for symptoms for 21 days. The epidemic was declared to have ended 42 days of the death of the last detected patient on 14 December 2025.

The outbreak was first detected on 23 October 2025 when an adult patient presented at the Jinka General Hospital with symptoms including vomiting, loss of appetite, and abdominal cramps. Nineteen confirmed and probably cases were subsequently reported in the Jinka, Malle and Dasench woredas (districts) of South Ethiopia Region, and the Hawassa Woreda in Sidama Region.

Map of woredas (districts) reporting confirmed and probable Marburg Virus disease cases in Ethiopia, as of 25 January 2026. World Health Organization.

Marburg Virus Disease is a haemorrhagic fever, similar to the closely related Ebola Virus Disease. Both are caused by single-strand negative-sense RNA viruses of the Filoviridae family. Both are easily spread though contact with bodily fluids, and can also spread by contaminated clothing and bedding.

Negative stained transmission electron micrograph of a number of filamentous Marburg Virions, which had been cultured on Vero cell cultures, and purified on sucrose, rate-zonal gradients. Erskine Palmer/Russell Regnery/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Wikimedia Commons.

Marburg Virus has an incubation period of between two and 21 days, manifesting at first as a high fever, combined with a severe headache and a strong sense of malaise. This is typically followed after about three days by severe abdominal pains, with watery diarrhoea and vomiting. In severe cases the disease develops to a haemorrhagic stage after five-to-seven days, manifesting as bleeding from some or all bodily orifices. This typically leads to death on day eight or nine, from severe blood loss and shock. There is currently no treatment or vaccine available for Marburg Virus, although a number of teams are working on trying to develop vaccines. 

The high rate of infection of healthcare workers seen in Marburg Virus is particularly alarming, as this tends to weaken communities ability to resist the Virus. The Virus can spread quickly in healthcare settings, infecting people whose immune systems are already stressed by other conditions, and creating aa reserve which can feed infections in the wider community. This makes it important to screen all people potentially infected with the disease as quickly as possible, and to arrange for patients to be treated in isolation, as well as quickly tracing all known contacts of any cases, and screening them for infection too.

Marburg Virus is a zoonotic infection (disease transferred from Animals to Humans), with a wild-reserve of the Virus known to be present in Egyptian Fruit Bats, Rousettus aegyptiacus, which are found across much of Africa, the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, and South Asia. These Bats form large colonies in caves or sometimes mines. They are frugivores, and can be major pests of farmed fruits, bringing them into conflict with Humans, and are sometimes hunted for food, all of which create potential avenues for the Marburg Virus to pass from a Bat host to a Human one.

A colony of Egyptian Rousette Bats, Rousettus aegyptiacus. Giovanni Mari/Flikr/iNaturalist.

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Landslide at mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo kills at least 227.

The number of confirmed deaths following a landslide at a mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has now reached 227, with more people thought to be buried beneath the debris. The landslide struck at the Rubaya Coltan Mine in North Kivu Province on Wednesday 28 January 2026, and is thought to have been  caused by heavy rain, associated with the bi-annual rainy season. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall. The victims of the event are reported to include women and children.

The Rubaya Mine is the world's single largest producer of coltan, an abbreviation for columbite–tantalites, the ore for the metals niobium and tantalum, which are vital to a the modern electronics industry. The Rubaya Mine produces somewhere between 15 and 30% of the world's supply of coltan, but is not a modern mining facility, instead being largely worked by artisanal miners with basic tools, digging into the side of Rubaya Hill. This sort of mining activity leaves sites particularly vulnerable to landslips as it creates exposed slopes with no vegetation to bind soils in place. The site is in an area under the control of the M23 rebel group, who are thought to earn about US$800 000 per year from the mine, although local labourers typically earn only a few dollars per day.

Mining activity at the Rubaya Mine. Hasan Lali/BBC.

The M23 militia (officially the Mouvement du 23 mars) was formed in 2012 by former members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People, a Rwandan-backed rebel group which had become part of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo following a 2009 peace agreement, but left following alleged human rights violations by that group. The M23 militia now controls a large area of North Kivu Province, including many coltan and gold mining sites. It is widely thought to be associated with government of Rwanda, and the be selling minerals via that country, although the Rwandans deny this.

North Kivu Province  two Rainy Seasons per year, with a rainy season that runs from August to January and another that lasts from February to July. Such a double Rainy Season is common close to the equator, where the Sun is highest overhead around the equinoxes and lowest on the horizons around the solstices, making the solstices the coolest part of the year and the equinoxes the hottest.

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