A Shared Resource on
Climate Action
Climate Action Aotearoa signals the beginning of a collective that is ready to take considered action on climate change in Aotearoa. This resource provides guidance for signatories to the Funders Commitment, for the philanthropic sector and for the communities of Aotearoa, towards a just, equitable, and tika transition that reflects our unique Aotearoa context.
Philanthropy has an important role to play in the climate action ecosystem, through resourcing change-makers and movements for collective impact.
Being tika is about taking right action. It is about trust and being flexible, and it begins when we begin to know one another. This is how we start a tika transition.
Introduction to the
Tika Transition
for Philanthropy
“A tika transition to a low-emissions economy is one that embraces tikanga Māori as a source of solutions, upholds the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi and is consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”. Associate Professor Maria Bargh, 2019, ‘A tika transition’, in D. Hall (Editor.), A Careful Revolution: towards a low-emissions future.
The process of getting to a low-carbon future is as important as the end goal.
In Aotearoa, tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi must sit at the heart of our climate action response. A Tika Transition, developed by Maria Bargh and used here with permission, is what a just transition looks like in Aotearoa.
Principles of a
Tika Transition
Whanaungatanga
Relationships
Kaitiakitanga
Guardianship
Utu
Balance
Mana
Authority
Whanaungatanga embraces whakapapa, kinship and relationships.
Whanaungatanga is premised on positive and enduring human connections and interactions.
Kaitiakitanga is the exercise of environmental guardianship. In te ao Māori, all living things are inter-connected and it is the role of kaitiaki to protect and preserve our environment.
In the tika transition context, kaitiakitanga ensures that climate transition strategy, policy and action considers all resources, peoples and places.
The concept of utu or balance rests on the idea that ‘for everything given or taken a return of some kind [is] required’.
This is a fundamental component of take-utu-ea, part of the framework behind this resource (see below).
Mana has to do with the place and leadership status of the individual in the group.
Relationships are always mediated and guided by the high value placed upon mana.
Click on the links below to learn more about implementing a Tika Transition in key aspects of philanthropy, including access to key resources.
Tika concerns ‘that which is right or just’.
A tika transition calls for everyone to play their individual part in achieving climate justice. As philanthropic funders whose assets are held for the public good, how we partner with communities to support a Tika transition to a low carbon society is a critical responsibility.
Hirini Moko Mead discusses the process termed "take-utu-ea" where take (the issue) is identified as a breach of tikanga, or what is right. Utu (recompense) becomes a motion toward balance, and ea (resolution) is found when restoration has occurred.
Note that in the “take-utu-ea” approach, all three elements would be collaboratively discussed, developed and agreed by stakeholders. The approach has been adapted here for the purposes of this site.
We encourage users of this resource to use take-utu-ea as the basis of their tika transition journey: