Krushil Watene

Many of the implications of climate change for Aotearoa (New Zealand) remain unclear. To identify so‐far unseen or understudied threats and opportunities related to climate change we applied a horizon‐scanning process. First, we collated 171 threats and opportunities across our diverse fields of research. We then scored each item for novelty and potential impact and finally reduced the list to ten threats and ten opportunities through a prioritisation process. Within the 20 items presented in this paper, we uncover a range of climate‐related costs and benefits. Unexpected opportunities evolve from economic reorganisation and changes to perspectives. The threats we highlight include the overall failure to interconnect siloed policy responses, as well as those relating to extreme events and feedbacks, as well as pressures that undermine the coherence of society. A major theme of our work is that climate change effects in Aotearoa are likely to transgress the boundaries of research disciplines, industry sectors and policy systems, emphasising the importance of developing transdisciplinary methods and approaches. We use this insight to connect potential responses to climate change with Aotearoa's culture and geography.

Introduced species that spread and become invasive are recognised as a major threat to global biological diversity, ecosystem resilience and economic stability. Eradication is often a default conservation management strategy even when it may not be feasible for a variety of reasons. Assessment of the substantive socioeconomic and ecological impacts of invasive alien species (IAS), both negative and positive, is increasingly viewed as an important step in management. We argue that one solution to IAS management is to align models of alien species management with Indigenous management frameworks that are relational and biocultural. We make the theoretical case that centring Indigenous management frameworks promises to strengthen overall management responses and outcomes because they attend directly to human and environmental justice concerns. We unpack the origins of the ‘introduced species paradigm’ to understand how binary framing of so‐called ‘aliens’ and ‘natives’ recalls harmful histories and alienates Indigenous stewardship. Such a paradigm thereby may limit application of Indigenous frameworks and management, and impede long‐term biodiversity protection solutions. We highlight how biocultural practices applied by Indigenous Peoples to IAS centre protecting relationships, fulfilling responsibilities and realising justice. Finally, we argue for a pluralistic vision that acknowledges multiple alternative Indigenous relationships and responses to introduced and IAS which can contribute to vibrant futures where all elements of society, including kin in the natural world, are able to flourish. Read the freePlain Language Summaryfor this article on the Journal blog.

While the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were inclusive in their design, the reliance on official measurement infrastructures has upheld narrow definitions of both the terms of sustainability and development. Indigenous and non-Indigenous “governance beyond the state” approaches call these definitions into question. They highlight that disaggregated official data are unable to fully reflect alternative grounds and aspirations of living sustainably with the environment and non-human world. Relational Indigenous epistemologies and practices contribute to alternative epistemic infrastructures. In this paper, three examples from the Andean-Pacific region provide an alternative lens through which to reconceptualize and remake the SDG landscape. Together this suite of cases highlights the importance of bottom-up articulation processes, knowledge inclusion, and alternative epistemic harmonization for operationalizing the SDGs. In particular, we highlight the urgent need to renegotiate the relationship between Indigenous communities and the global measurement infrastructure in order to pursue and realize global sustainability goals.

(2018). Introduction: new paths in reconciliation, transitional and Indigenous justice. Journal of Global Ethics: Vol. 14, Special Issue: Reconciliation, Transitional and Indigenous Justice, pp. 133-136.