Indigenous Knowledge to Tackle Climate Change
The AUT-led Nature-based Urban design for Wellbeing and Adaptation in Oceania (NUWAO) project has released a series of podcasts discussing the development of nature-based urban design solutions in Aotearoa and beyond.
Hosted by Maija Stephens and Mercia Abbott, each episode features informative kōrero with people doing important mahi in their fields of expertise, that respond to the changing climate with nature-based solutions rooted in local indigenous knowledges.
Interviewees across the 10 episodes include AUT’s Professor Albert Refiti (School of Art & Design) and School of Future Environments Associate Professors Amanda Yates and Fleur Palmer, and lecturer Sibyl Bloomfield.
The NUWAO project, which is funded through the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund, aims to develop nature-based urban design solutions, rooted in Indigenous knowledges, that support climate change adaptation and individual and community wellbeing in different contexts across Aotearoa and Oceania.
Project lead, Associate Professor Maibritt Pedersen Zari of Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau, Auckland University of Technology, says she’d like the podcasts to help spread knowledge held by those doing work related to climate change adaptation, systems change, and Indigenous knowledge and practice in Oceania far and wide.
“The hope is that these podcasts will inform, inspire and call people to action,” she says.
Episodes:
1. Introduction to the NUWAO podcasts
Welcome to the official podcast of NUWAO (Nature-based Urban design for Wellbeing and Adaptation in Oceania). Hosted by Maija Stephens and Mercia Abbott, in this introductory episode they cover who they are, what they stand for and what’s to come. Stick around with the hosts as they share kōrero with awesome people doing important mahi in their fields of expertise, all working towards today’s climate issues and how we can respond with nature-based solutions together with local cultural identities.
Join us in conversation with Professor Albert Refiti, a research leader in the field of Pacific spatial and architectural environment at Auckland University of Technology. Refiti speaks on his upbringing, influences and the process of decolonising and indigenising knowledge.
“The second part of the movement or decolonisation is indigenisation. That is - for me and for anyone who is indigenous - to have access to their knowledge. Not just access but also for them to try to build their own worldview from that knowledge.”
Suli Vunibola shares his journey revitalising ancestral knowledge on his Fijian home soil and speaks on themes of indigenous innovation and resilience.
“For indigenous innovation it’s always about the collective. It’s always about the whenua. It’s always about making sure that the future generations can also - not only appreciate what we have in terms of resources - but make sure that they keep learning about our knowledge systems.”
4. Māia-te-oho Holman-Wharehoka
Māia-te-oho takes us through the process of her Masters project, in creating her own pūrākau to address the health of Waiwhetū stream.
“I think in fields of climate change and climate adaptation there’s a lot of these views from scientists that we need to do something to stop whatever is happening but if you think of our Atua as people or as someone that looks after you there’s no way that you can actually control it to the extent that you think you can.”
Mr. Vaimu’a Muliava (member of New Caledonia Government in charge of innovation, and digital transition) emphasises the importance of respecting women as an integral part of respecting and caring for the land and ocean.
“In our history of navigation, we call the land the whenua, and the whenua is placenta. So the vocabulary of our culture, is the vocabulary of women. That is why I truly understand we have to take care of women. Because without women, no life.”
Associate Professor at Huri Te Ao Hoahoanga — School of Future Environments, Auckland University of Technology Amanda Yates (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) works with local councils, iwi and communities exploring place-based, indigenous-led strategies and actions for urban transformation in an era of climate and biodiversity emergency. The hosts speak with Yates about her practice and the changes that need to occur in our system.
Hosts Stephens and Abbott speak with Professor James Renwick, School of Geography, Environment, and Earth Sciences at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. He is a researcher with broad knowledge of climate change, studying the weather and climate of Aotearoa and the Pacific. He is also an author on the last three IPCC Assessment reports. Renwick speaks on the urgency of change and how he deals with climate anxiety.
Willy Missack is a Doctorate Student at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. He is advisor to the Vanuatu Climate Action Network secretariat working with the community-based organisation (CBO). He is also Vanuatu’s Negotiator on Loss and Damage and Founder & Executive Director of Learn to Serve Vanuatu, a youth-led CBO. The hosts speak to him about his upbringing and how he aims to uplift communities to have agency over how they manage climate adaptation back home in Vanuatu.
Sibyl Bloomfield (Waikato Tainui, Ngāti Maniapoto & Ngai Te Rangi) is a Landscape Architect and Senior Lecturer at Huri Te Ao Hoahoanga – School of Future Environments, Auckland University of Technology. The hosts speak with Sibyl about her practice, her values and experience as a lecturer, as well as the complexities that surround using indigenous knowledge systems toward climate adaptation plans.
Associate Professor Fleur Palmer (Te Rarawa/Te Aupōuri/Ngāti Awa o Tāmaki Makaurau) at Huri Te Ao Hoahoanga – School of Future Environments, Auckland University of Technology speaks on housing issues in Aotearoa and how her architectural practice and research is aiding in shifting the way the system operates. The hosts discuss Māori identity, Pākehā and Māori worldviews, and inherent connections to the environment.
Maibritt Perderson Zari (Te Wānanga Aronui O Tāmaki Makau Rau, Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand), is the Primary Research Investigator and Project Coordinator of NUWAO. The hosts speak with her to get some insight into what the intentions of NUWAO are and how it aims to nurture the next generations to come through.
Sam Wood (tangata whenua), talks on his masters project, smart cities, his involvement in law, and how he reconnects with his maoritanga through engaging with projects concerned with climate adaptive policy change.
“I think it’s just been a perfect marriage of sort of positive environmental outcomes but also learning a bit more about my identity.”
This article is shared with permission from Architecture Now.