Blogs
New Zealand: Colonial Context
- How does your footprint reflect the economy of your country, including its colonial relations?
NZ relies on our dairy industry, which exports a lot of milk. This means our carbon footprint is increased, as waterways are polluted and our CO2 emissions increase. Our strong tourist industry has negatively impacted important land resources such as forests and wildlife. For example, many tourists who come to New Zealand to hike trample on plants on the forest floor, and litter can damage the land.
Maori, our indigenous people, have a limited voice and their beliefs about the environment aren’t projected onto how we should run our economy, including our dairy and tourist industries. The NZ government makes the policies which affect each industry, however Maori have sustainable practises and a more interconnected view of nature, which would create less carbon emissions.
- How are the effects of climate change related with power imbalances among countries or within countries?
During the Goldrush in Australia, the total population of Australia increased by over 250,000 in four years, and its economy earned over $87 million (in British currency) by exports due to increasing production. The Governor of each of Australia’s five colonies was responsible for selling and leasing land for mining, and generally forced Aborigines off their tribal lands. Aborigines had no interest in gold, and had no say in the matter even though they were the indigenous people of Australia. Due to continual mining of tribal lands, creek water is muddy, undrinkable, and clean water is hard to come by. The power imbalance between the Australian Government and the Indigenous Australians created a lack of space for the Aborigines to voice their own values and beliefs about the environment.
Seven countries within central America-Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El salvador and South Mexico came together to document what are the socio political and environmental situations within each of them. Panama we heard of how a family lost their home to a large company. Honduras we heard from a citizen speaking about construction without notification, this refers to how large companies begin construction without notifying the citizens of the territory so the citizens don’t have a say on what can and cannot be built on their land. An elder from Costa Rica spoke of non-indigenous people posing as natives and how the introduction of palm oil has an effect on the Farming industry in a negative way. These are only a few stories that show the imbalance of power within countries which is represented in how larger companies (higher power) activities or action have affected the lives of the citizens within those countries/territories. Citizens face the loss of both agriculture and the possible risk to their lives due to the pollution created by the larger companies.
Before Western education was brought to Papua New Guinea the men did not know what ‘contracts’ were, due to that problem the ‘White’ men signed the contract ‘for’ them. White men would bring large machines and new equipment and start cutting down their rainforests. The indigenous men didn’t have any other jobs available so they were forced to help with the deforestation. Climate change is partly caused by the devastation of rainforests, and Papua New Guinea’s rainforests have been devastated for many decades, because of colonisation in Papua New Guinea the large amounts of wood/ timber being cut down have caused Papua New Guinea’s home/land getting destroyed and climate change increasing in the country and the world.
