The Hikurangi Foundation

The Hikurangi Foundation and the ASB Community Trust, both currently fund environmental issues in different ways. They both are looking to be more strategic in their funding and to support the wider grant giving community in understanding the issues and how they can make a difference. This survey is one contribution they are making to the debate in the wider sector and New Zealand.

Our environment is important to New Zealand for numerous economic, social and cultural reasons. New Zealand≠s economy is highly dependent on its agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fishing and tourism industries and all of these industries require natural resources and healthy ecosystems. The maintenance of acceptable living standards, health, wellbeing, community development and equality are all driven by the quality of the environment.

In Māori culture, all things have a mauri - a life force. Damage to this mauri, or human attempts to dominate it result in the mauri losing its energy and vitality. Any loss of mauri affects the lives of people themselves as well as the resilience of ecosystems.

The environment is highly valued by New Zealanders in their leisure and sense of identity. Yet many indicators of sustainability in New Zealand are going in the wrong direction with, for example biodiversity under extreme pressure, household consumption levels rising and environmental related health concerns at high international levels. Within this, climate change is an issue which many say is the greatest environmental threat the world faces.

See more on the Survey at http://www.hikurangi.org.nz/?p=468 or see the Hikurangi website at www.hikurangi.org.nz