FORGING A BIODIVERSITY ETHIC IN A MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT

New Zealand belongs to the Pacific region, a part of the world where human impacts have been both very recent and extreme in their effect. The New Zealand natural environment is rich in endemic taxa, but these are poorly equipped to cope with the effects of invasion by humans and exotic animals and plants. Polynesian immigrants brought to New Zealand a distinctive world view which gave rise to both tribal traditions and living traditions of the Maori. The resultant environmental ethic emphasises guardianship and stewardship, establishment of the right to use a resource, kinship obligations, and a balance between pairs of opposites. Nineteenth-century European colonists were ambivalent in their view of the environment, although a world view which emphasises 'dominion' has tended to dominate. Two recent developments which are important factors in development of a multicultural biodiversity ethic are the enactment of the Resource Management Act 1991 and legal recognition of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The intersection of these developments provides an opportunity to develop a new approach to environmental ethics especially in conceptualising 'significance', consultative processes, and developing a holistic and ecocentric use of resources.