Brenda Tahi of Ruatāhuna believes Indigenous Peoples hold many of the solutions that governments around the world are seeking to help protect the planet’s rapidly declining biodiversity.
The Te Tuawhenua Trust Executive Trustee has recently returned from Kenya, where she attended the Indigenous and Local Knowledge Dialogue Workshop, held under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Tahi was the only representative from Aotearoa invited to the gathering. While there, she shared the Māori concept of wānanga as an example of how Indigenous knowledge systems can strengthen global efforts to protect and restore the natural environment.
Speaking from her office in Ruatāhuna, Tahi reflected on the significance of the workshop and the work that now lies ahead.
“This initiative brings together governments from around the world to examine the issues affecting our lands, rivers, oceans, forests, animals, birds, and all living things on Earth.”
Tahi is now working alongside four other Indigenous authors and researchers from different parts of the world to prepare a report on Indigenous knowledge and biodiversity. Governments will use the report internationally to help guide environmental policies and decision-making.
She said the greatest challenge is ensuring Indigenous knowledge is meaningfully incorporated into the wider work of IPBES.
“At present, Indigenous Peoples are not really being listened to on these issues. Governments are carrying out their work without turning to or valuing the knowledge and expertise held by Indigenous communities.”
Established in 2012, IPBES was created to strengthen the connection between scientific knowledge and government decision-making on biodiversity and ecosystem services. In recent years, the organisation has increasingly recognised the value of Indigenous knowledge as an essential part of addressing global environmental challenges.
According to Tahi, Indigenous Peoples remain the custodians of the knowledge needed to restore the natural world.
“Indigenous Peoples are those who hold the deepest knowledge and continue to safeguard the wisdom needed to address these issues and restore the environment.
“Around one million species are disappearing. The world’s biodiversity is in decline. We all know how serious this has become here in Aotearoa. Bird numbers have fallen dramatically, and for us in Ruatāhuna, birds are among our greatest treasures.”
Her comments align with the findings of an earlier global IPBES assessment, which identifies Indigenous and local knowledge as a vital pillar of biodiversity conservation. The report found that species decline occurs more slowly on lands managed by Indigenous Peoples than elsewhere.
Tahi hopes that through wānanga and meaningful dialogue, stronger solutions to the world’s environmental challenges can emerge.
“The hope is that we continue to come together in meetings and wānanga to discuss, deliberate and explore the issues being addressed by IPBES from a global perspective.”
Before the end of this year, Tahi will travel to Thailand to meet with her fellow authors and researchers as they continue work on the report, which is expected to be published in 2028.
