There’s ample evidence that colonial imprints and mindsets in many cities and towns around the world today still dominate the availability of green spaces and how they’re managed.
A veterinary scientist by training, Massey University Vice-Chancellor Jan Thomas has turned to the humanities to learn more about Māori. Here she explains why.
Two starkly different research projects at East Gippsland’s Cloggs Cave, 50 years apart, show the importance of Indigenous perspectives in archaeology.
Archaeologists used to dig primarily at sites that were easy to find thanks to obvious visual clues. But technology – and listening to local people – plays a much bigger role now.
Australian universities have committed to a process of Indigenisation. The University of Tasmania provides a case study in how to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into academic programs.
Our medicine, cosmetics and other everyday products contain compounds taken from nature. But Traditional Owners may not have given permission for the materials or their knowledge to be used.
Communities who are the custodians of the knowledge associated with African traditional medicinal plants must derive a fair economic return from these natural resources.
Western science often focuses on specific parts of complex ecosystems, but Indigenous knowledge systems consider all parts as interconnected and inseparable. This achieves better conservation results.
When our COVID-19 lockdowns end, we can’t afford to stop caring about collective well-being. NZ is well positioned to show the world how it’s done – if we listen to Māori and other diverse voices.
A new report on New Zealand’s lakes and rivers confirms that many freshwater ecosystems are in decline and warns that climate change will exacerbate existing threats.
In the 1950s, the African yam was exploited by drugs firm Boots to produce cortisone. But South Africans fought back against the plundering of a plant that they used for traditional healing.
There is a real risk a national inquiry could get bogged down in politics, or not lead to real change. But we need more federal action on bushfires. Our old approaches are broken.