Thursday 19 September 2019 9:11am
Professor Merata Kawharu (Ngāti Whatua, Ngāpuhi) from the Centre for Sustainability, has been awarded NZ$7,248,016 over five years for an initiative aimed at empowering Māori communities to respond to climate change.
This innovative research pioneers the development of marae-based and marae-led platforms and processes to help reduce carbon emissions in the community.
Professor Kawharu explains the project will enable Māori communities to identify the issues and build from a community and culture values perspective to find solutions that help to lower carbon emissions that are cost-effective and help to restore the health of landscapes and communities.
“For example, we may build on successful projects like zero waste marae and look to greenhouse gas mitigation at ancestral landscape levels, considering alternative non-synthetic fertiliser and other non-intensified farm practices; then looking at household energy options that are cost-effective and also asking what local energy sources can be harnessed long term.”