This article was first published on RNZ.

A group of 10 rangatahi Māori have been selected from more than 60 applicants to represent their iwi at one of the world’s largest climate change conferences.

They will travel to Brazil in November for the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30. It’s the first time an official delegation of rangatahi Māori has travelled to COP.

The rangatahi group will travel on behalf of te Pou Take Āhuarangi, the climate change arm of the National Iwi Chairs Forum (NICF), but they received financial backing from their iwi.

They’ve been given the name of Te Kāhu Pōkere (the black hawk), a significant symbol of kaitiakitanga for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, who hosted the groups first wānanga.

Taane Aruka Te Aho (Ngāti Koroki-Kahukura, Ngāti Māhuta, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau a Apanui) explained the significance of the hawk to the work they will do in Brazil.

“Ko tō mātau mahi ko te mea nui kia Kāhu Pōkere te rere, ko te kāhu pōkere he manu kaitiaki ae, engari he momo manu rangahau, ka rere ka tirotiro whenua ka kohikohi i ngā mātauranga hou katahi ka hoki ki te kāinga.”

“Our job is to be like the kāhu pōkere, this is a bird that is a guardian but it’s also one the investigates, it flies about looking over the land, gathering new information, then bringing that back home.”

Aruka Te Aho will be representing his Ngāti Koroki-Kahukura whakapapa at the conference but said it would be hard not to represent his Tairāwhiti side as well.

He is looking forward to exchanging knowledge with other indigenous peoples and bringing that back to support the environment for generations to come.

“He matenga poto, he oranga roa ... what are the small sacrifices that we can make on a daily basis to ensure that our taiao lives on,” he said.

‘I’m just someone who sees the consequences of extreme weather events’

All three rangatahi who spoke to RNZ were candid about the effect climate change is having on their marae, iwi and communities.

Kyla Campbell-Kamariera (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Taranaki Tūturu) said her marae in Mitimiti, north of Hokianga, is located right beside the beach and is vulnerable to coastal erosion and flooding.

“And we have terrible roads as well that just get washed away with extreme weather events, rain and things like that. So I’m a not a typical climate change, environmentalist expert, I’m just someone who sees the consequences of extreme weather events.”

Climate change has consequences on locals ability to attend their marae and it will have strong impacts on connecting with their culture as well, she said.

“That’s sort of what interests me in this space to learn alongside the other rangatahi and our leaders as well is to gain that exposure, to gain that matauranga so I can literally take that home and help to have an effect.”

Aruka Te Aho said there are different problems in different contexts, on his Tairāwhiti side five marae will need to be relocated, while his Ngāti Koroki-Kahukura whānau are facing droughts.

“My mum’s from an inland people and our problem is due to droughts we’re getting less access to water. On my father’s side our marae and our urupā are situated in places vulnerable to extreme weather and rising sea levels.”

He said what he can do at COP30 is showcase what his people are already doing but find as many solutions as possible from other indigenous people to ensure the taiao is thriving.

Shannon Mihaere (Rangitāne o Tamaki-Nui-a-Rua, Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Waikato-Tainui) said her whānau along the Manawatū river near Dannevirke are facing flooding and the environmental degradation of the river.

“My whānau have been in the same whare on the same street for three generations and we’ve seen the changes in our awa, from being a bountiful place for our whānau to collect kai in times of hardship to no longer having any ika, any sustenance for our people.”

Coming from a rural community it can be difficult to affect change but she said even if she can bring back a little bit of knowledge on a solution from Brazil to her people that will be enough.

‘It’s time for us to be there represented’

Mihaere said it’s a humbling opportunity to be a part of the conference on behalf of her iwi Rangitāne.

“Even though we are a small people ... we are mighty, but we don’t necessarily always get to have these kōrero and discussions, so it’s really exciting to be able to bring that to our kāinga, to our home.”

While young Māori have attended COP in the past this is the first official delegation and Mihaere said it’s a chance to be a part of the conversation.

“Show that Māori actually we do care, we do this all the time at home, it’s time for us to be there represented by our people for our people, rather than by the New Zealand government,” she said.

Mihaere said the group are still in wānanga over what their role at COP30 will be, but that will include policy briefings and could even involve taking part directly in negotiations via an “intervention from the floor.”

It’s important for the rangatahi to bring the knowledge they gain in Brazil back home to their iwi, she said.

“I think there’s a little bit of hesitance on ‘why do we send a group over to this [conference] that’s far away from us’ and that’s important that we hold that accountability and show whānau this is what you can get there, this is how we can be of service here and we can take our mātauranga but we can also bring stuff back for our people.”

Campbell-Kamariera said being the only member of the delegation from Te Tai Tokerau is an added responsibility but she is feeling fortunate to have the blessing of her iwi Te Rarawa.

“I feel a huge sense of responsibility, but [it’s] just a natural progression of my childhood, being raised up home and the responsibilities I’ve stepped into now as an adult.”

The promise of this delegation is that they all come from different iwi, and Campbell-Kamariera is excited about the prospects for future relationships gained from the delegation and the potential for inter-iwi collaboration.

“For me it’s a chance to mingle amongst rangatahi again and remind myself that although I’m at maybe, possible different stages in my iwi leadership and governance mahi it’s cool to reconnect with other people my age who are also doing similar mahi across their different iwi and in the industries they work in too.”

Campbell-Kamariera said she is keen to learn from and alongside the other rangatahi and to upskill each other so they can contribute to te ao maori in the future.

By Pokere Paewai of RNZ.