Land rights group takes forestry concerns to UN
A group concerned about land use practices in Tairawhiti have appeared before the United Nations asking it to investigate harm caused by the pine industry. Renee Raroa (Ngati Porou, Te Whanau-a-Takimoana) represented Mana Taiao Tairawhiti at the 22nd Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. Speaking afterwards, Raroa said Mana Taiao Tairawhiti was simply a group of residents concerned about the severe impacts of forestry and slash on the regions rivers, beaches and people. It's got to a point that it just really has to be heard. And so we're taking our pleas to as many forums and spaces as we can to make change happen, she said. READ MORE: * Maori should be front and centre of climate change and weather disaster responses * An environmental disaster was waiting to happen in Tolaga Bay. No one listened * Government orders inquiry into forestry slash after Cyclone Gabrielle Appearing at the UN was a huge responsibility, said Raroa, because the problem of slash in particular had been ongoing for a long time. After Cyclone Gabrielle, the nation's eyes were locked on areas like the East Coast and Hawkes Bay, but this faded over time. So it was really important to continue to make these stands, and continue to shine a light on what's happening because it's not going to disappear overnight, said Raroa. It doesn't stop when the media goes off and goes on to the next hot topic. It's still very real for us. Raroa wanted to make clear that this was not a blame game. Hundreds of years of deforestation had led to the situation now, and it was truly an intergenerational concern. While at the UN, Raroa and Mana Taiao Tairawhiti called for an immediate moratorium on clear-felling and the restoration of biodiverse native tree cover. Additionally, Raroa requested an investigation into the Aotearoa pine industry by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment and encouraged all member states to centre the wellbeing and rights of indigenous people when considering climate solutions. We believe in having indigenous voices at the centre of it, because peoples have lived on those lands for so long and have really got insights into the solutions. For Raroa, it was important to emphasise the importance of a united solution, working with the forestry industry rather than against it. During her time at the UN, Raroa said it had become clear the government had a role to play under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. When it comes to things like our Maori landowners not having any option but to really encourage more pine forests, because that's the only viable economic solution that they're presented with, then it shouldn't be on them to hold that responsibility, she said. It's actually the responsibility of the government to remedy that and open those options up. That could take the form of policy changes, resourcing improvements or both, she said.