Thursday, May 29, 2008

New Zealand... One of the many trail-blazers towards "Sustainability"


Wellington ( the capital)
May was New Zealand's fall so I got to see beautiful autumn leaves like this everywhere

The City Council just passed a bill to provide street recycling in Wellington! FANTASTIC!
These stickers were on every single outlet!
It's a part of their culture... sustainability is not a new idea... neither is supporting Fair Trade
Local Brews




If I had planned the last leg of my trip instead of being burnt out by trying to cram too many places in such a little time, I would have stayed in New Zealand for longer than I did. Not to mention New Zealand was one of the most expensive destinations and I had already gone over budget.

Because of a number of factors New Zealand boasts some pretty fantastic scenery . The government has strict regulation about the amount of logging that they will allow for grazing sheep and cattle. Apparently there are more sheep in New Zealand than people. Many of the cities have very active Municipal Councils and participation of people in local initiatives. In the capitol or Wellington the City Council passed to have recycling bins outside in the streets of Wellington. Everywhere you go you see people recycling, using environmentally friendly bags, products etc...

The indigenous people's of New Zealand , the Maori who had originally came from Tahiti and before that from South East Asia had developed a very respectful relationship to the land and all things natural. There are a number of Maori proverbs that still have the same or not even more relevance. My favorites that I got from an exhibit from the National Museum "Te Papa" in Wellington were:

  • What is given by the land should return to the land

  • Swift to fall, long to resurrect

  • I will never be lost/I am a seed of this land

  • Embrace the past / Prepare for the future
These beliefs stem from a Maori concept of sustainability called "Kaitiakitanga" ( I hope I spelled that right ) which means "balance with nature."

These ideas are implemented in everything from legislation to commerce. In 1991 Rudolf Steiner pushed for the Resource Management Act which maintains biodiversity. Though allot of New Zealand's forest is being cut down for sheep and cattle farming, there is a quota and limit to how much forest is cut and in what time frame. In addition there will be a project of replanting of trees to ensure that the cycle is sustainable.

Auckland is the most populated city in New Zealand. While in Auckland I noticed the pr essence of many immigrant communties. There are allot of Chinese, Japanese, Indian, as well as Turkish, and Lebanese immigrants. It was nice to see the diversity after being in more homogeneous places for a few months. After talking to New Zealanders though, you get mixed reviews about how they feel about Auckland and how they feel about immigrants. With an election this year, I heard allot about trying to get new immigrants to participate and be more engaged in the election. In addition, there was also some talk in the media about getting Maori communities to be more engaged in the election, as high numbers of Maori people are not registered to vote and do not participate in the election.

New Zealand was a very expensive destination for me to travel on my struggling student budget. I stayed in hostels, bought my own groceries, and learned to be as thrifty as possible. It was easy with all the great hostels. I bought a package in which I traveled around the North Island on a bus and could hop on or off at any point. Most of my days consisted of going to museums, taking photos, walking around the city and talking to as many people as I could. Many tourists are attracted to New Zealand for adventure sports. It wasn't high on my agenda and I didn't care because I didn't have any money to do any of them anyways. I was happy to find out just that they had an engaged citizenry. Strong municipalities, vibrant and diverse towns and cities as well as a sustainable model of development. Hats off to New Zealand for blazing an exemplary model. I hope to be back again to check out the South Island!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very cool blog. I have enjoyed reading the entries. Grows much produce for thought as I think about my own journeys to be.

I find a few questions here.

I imagine this type of trip to be life changing. Having done it, would you agree?

Is it the big kind where a new direction is found with deep personal changes to be made?

Or is it many small changes that ripple outward. New perspectives, new goals, and so on?

Or is it both??

I can not fathom that the trip could be undertaken without those smaller ripples of change propogating outward and touching many things. But I wonder about big changes. What may be in store for one's consciouness and dreams? What sharp turns may the road take? What inside will be outgrown, what will be grown into?

Will the journey satisfy the urge to go here and there and there? How do we reconcile the ecological impact of travel? It's been said that one flight is the equivalent of driving a Hummer for a year. Is there a justification? Are there ways to minimize that carbon usage?

Were many of these same questions present before the trip? How have they been answered?

Anonymous said...

You beat me!!! Damn you. Get in touch, I want to hear more.