Climate Change & Sustainability
Te Heke Mai i Raro - Navigating our Future Together
Ngāti Toa is an iwi of resilience. Our tūpuna faced immense challenges in their migration south, adapting to new whenua and moana to ensure our survival. Today, we are again faced with the need to adapt - this time to the impacts of climate change.
Climate change is not a future issue - it is happening now.
Our whenua and moana are experiencing rising sea levels, coastal erosion, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss. These changes threaten our marae, kāinga, wāhi tapu, taonga species, and people.
Ngāti Toa Rangatira is taking a proactive approach to ensure that we, as an iwi, are prepared for the challenges ahead and ensure our mokopuna inherit a thriving future.
Our Mahi
Ngāti Toa Rangatira has been actively addressing climate change through the following kaupapa:
Kaitiakitanga and Environmental Restoration
Coastal and wetland restoration projects to protect our rohe from rising sea levels
Riparian planting to improve water quality and restore biodiversity
Pest control and native species recovery to safeguard our ecosystems
Protecting our Moana and Marine Ecosystems
The Te Ara o Raukawa Moana Research Project was developed to strengthen our understanding and katiaki role over Raukawa Moana
Monitoring the health of kaimoana and fisheries in partnership with ESR
Partnering with various research projects to understand climate impacts on our kaimoana.
Climate Resilience for our Marae and Communities
Supporting our whānau and marae to develop marae-based emergency plans for flooding, drought, and extreme weather events
Exploring sustainable housing solutions to ensure whānau have warm, dry homes
Partnering on innovating water storage and renewable energy use across our rohe
Emissions and Waste Reduction
Working with Toitū to establish our baseline emissions and waste as a Rūnanga
Exploring pathways to reduce our emissions and waste
Climate Education, Partnerships and Rangatahi Leadership
Hosting and delivering climate wānanga for our iwi, including Māitiiti Taiao for our tamariki
Influencing climate policies at local and national levels
Embedding climate education across iwi initiatives
Delivering the first Tiriti-based Porirua Citizens Assembly to ensure a community-led approach to climate change in Porirua
What’s Next?
Ngāti Toa Rangatira is continuing to build on our climate and sustainability initiatives, including:
Climate Change Strategy
We are currently developing a Climate Change Strategy that will guide how we as an iwi respond to and mitigate climate impacts and ensure a sustainable future for our people. We aim to have this completed by June 2025.
This strategy will align with and be informed by:
Our whakapapa and Te Heke Mai i Raro
Ngāti Toa mātauranga and tikanga
Current and future climate and sustainability practices
The work completed through Te Ara o Raukawa Moana
We continue to engage with our whānau on this strategy and encourage you to attend our wānanga, provide feedback, and get involved.
Action Plan
Once we’ve developed our Climate Change Strategy, we aim to develop an action plan that outlines specific actions we need to take to achieve our strategic goals.
This action plan will help us build climate resilience, adapt to climate impacts and drive our emissions down.
Mana Whenua Assembly - Porirua Citizens Assembly on Climate Change
We’ve been holding our own Mana Whenua Assemblies, a dedicated space within the Porirua Citizens Assembly where we:
Discuss our climate priorities across our rohe
Wānanga on potential climate solutions and ideas
Ensure our voices shape our own future
Get Involved!
Climate action is for everyone because it needs us all to determine our future together.
Online Forum: Connecting our Whānau
The Ngāti Toa Online Climate Forum is an interactive, online space for whānau to:
Discuss climate issues and share whakaaro
Access videos, reports, and wānanga resources
Participate in the Mana Whenua Assembly kōrero
Stay updated on iwi-led climate initiatives
Other Opportunities
There will be other opportunities to get involved.
Join our wānanga and hui
Be a kaitiaki
Reduce your impact
Support our rangatahi
Follow us on Instagram @ahureataiao to keep informed about upcoming opportunities to get involved.
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