Manu is an activist and biotechnology entrepreneur who has lived in Tairāwhiti for over 25 years. Manu has worked as a community organiser, teacher, elected councillor, RMA Commissioner,environmental advocate and business leader. Most recently Manu has been leading research projects on the health and wellbeing impacts of extreme weather events, public policy for sustainable land use and the renewal of local government through participatory and deliberative decision-making processes.
Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti: A Case Study in Community Activism & Political Mobilisation for Ecological Protection
For more than a decade woody debris from pine plantation harvesting has clogged waterways, destroyed orchards and homes, covered beaches and deposited logs and branches across wide areas of coastal marine areas. In early January 2023 an unprecedented volume of debris was deposited as a result of ex-tropical cyclone Hale hitting Tairāwhiti. This event was the catalyst for a small group of residents to get organised and launch a petition to try and change the situation. Within two weeks 10,000 people had signed the petition and it led to a Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use in Tairāwhiti, a series of proposed regional plan changes and a number of court proceedings against forestry companies. This presentation will discuss the key elements and lessons learnt from the consecutive campaigns Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti has waged over the last two years to try and arrest the environmental degradation of the region in the face of an economy highly dependent on the land uses that are wrecking the region–and offer some glimpses of what a truly sustainable future economy for the region might look like
