Abstract
Ngā uri o Taranaki (descendants of Taranaki mounga) understand climate change through our expressions of tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) to enhance our hauora (wellbeing). Te Rau o Rongo1 presents an understanding of climate change from ngā uri o Taranaki that is grounded in the importance of hauora. Climate change is the most pressing global issue of our generation (IPCC, 2023); our human activities, both historical and current, have put significant pressure on the environment. The subsequent increase in extreme weather events and environmental degradation have had a detrimental impact on our connection to the taiao (environment) (Harmsworth et al., 2016). The existing literature affirms that climate change risk and vulnerability is exacerbated for whānau (family), hapū (sub-tribes) and iwi Māori (Awatere et al., 2021). Therefore, there is urgency in our need to understand climate change from a te ao Māori (Māori worldview) perspective.
The aim of this research was to understand climate change and hauora Māori from the perspective of ngā uri o Taranaki. This was explored through three key research questions: (1) What are Taranaki understandings of climate change? (2) What are Taranaki understandings of hauora? (3) How can we apply ngā uri o Taranaki understandings of climate change to better enhance hauora?
This research honours that we must understand hauora and climate change within knowledge that is distinctive to Taranaki. Therefore, the implications for this rangahau will first and foremost contribute to our communities of Taranaki but also importantly in the wider national and international arena because the need for Indigenous2 perspectives on climate change is a global issue (IPPC, 2021). This thesis will contribute to research that demonstrates a ngā uri o Taranaki commitment to our taiao and identifies new hauora perspectives which provide benefit for wider iwi Māori and Indigenous peoples worldwide.