Managing People for the Benefit of the Land: Practicing Earth Jurisprudence in Te Urewera, New Zealand

Abstract

In 2014, New Zealand’s Te Urewera Act was adopted, recognizing the forest Te Urewera as a legal person with rights. This law emerged from treaty settlement negotiations resolving historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of the Tūhoe Iwi (tribe) in relation to Te Urewera, their homeland. The Te Urewera Act gained international recognition for its provision that recognizes the forest as a legal person with “all the rights, powers, duties, and liabilities of a legal person” [s 11(1)]. It also recognizes the Tūhoe view of Te Urewera as a living, spiritual being with its own mana (spiritual authority) and mauri (life force) [s 3(2)]. The Act also requires guardians to be appointed and obliges them to represent the forest in both legal and policy arenas. These guardians are embedded in a new governance system charged with managing the ecosystem in a way that ensures the forest’s health and well-being. This gives...

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