A Green Theory Perspective on the Legal Personhood of the Whanganui River, New Zealand
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32492/JPP.V10i1.10110Keywords:
Whanganui River, Te Awa Tupua Act 2017, Green Theory, Legal Personhood, New ZealandAbstract
This study addresses the global environmental crisis caused by modern anthropocentric paradigms that detach humans from nature, reducing ecological entities to mere commodities. It specifically explores the legislative transformation of the Whanganui River in New Zealand through the enactment of the Te Awa Tupua Act 2017. Utilizing Matthew Paterson’s Green Theory framework, this research examines how this landmark legal reform functions as a structural response to ecological degradation. Methodologically, this study is conducted as a qualitative case study that analyzes historical policies, colonial legal frameworks, and environmental conflicts within the Whanganui River system The principal conclusion demonstrates that by granting legal personhood to the river, the Te Awa Tupua Act 2017 offers a conceptual challenge to the deep structures of modernity, including the state system, capitalism, knowledge, and patriarchy. This shift from anthropocentrism to eco-centrism provides a pathway to reconstruct environmental governance, redistribute ecological risks, and serve as an influential model for global decolonization and ecological justice.
References
Cross, S., & Bargh, B. (1996). The Whanganui District (Waitangi Tribunal Rangahaua Whanui series). Waitangi Tribunal Division,.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publication Inc.
Kauffman, C. M., & Martin, P. (2021). The politics of rights of nature: Strategies for building a more sustainable future. The Mit Press.
Paterson, M. (2000). Understanding global environmental politics: Domination, accumulation, resistance. St. Martin’s Press ; Basingstoke.
Selin, H., & Kalland, A. (2003). Nature across cultures: Views of nature and the environment in non-western cultures. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Journal Article with DOI
Argyrou, A., & Hummels, H. (2019). Legal personality and economic livelihood of the Whanganui River: A call for community entrepreneurship. Water International, 44(6–7), 752–768. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2019.1643525
Banner, S. (2000). Conquest by Contract: Wealth Transfer and Land Market Structure in Colonial New Zealand. Law & Society Review, 34(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.2307/3115116
Cribb, M., Macpherson, E., & Axel Borchgrevink. (2024). Beyond legal personhood for the Whanganui River: Collaboration and pluralism in implementing the Te Awa Tupua Act. The International Journal of Human Rights, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2024.2314532
Forster, M. (2019). Restoring the Feminine of Indigenous Environmental Thought. Genealogy, 3(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy3010011
Iorns, C. (2015). Nature as an Ancestor: Two Examples of Legal Personality for Nature in New Zealand. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3532319
Kauffman, C. M., & Martin, P. L. (2018). Constructing Rights of Nature Norms in the US, Ecuador, and New Zealand. Global Environmental Politics, 18(4), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00481
McAllister, T., Beggs, J., Ogilvie, S., Kirikiri, R., Black, A., & Wehi, P. (2020). Kua takoto te mānuka: Mātauranga Māori in New Zealand ecology. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 43(3). https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.43.41
Moewaka Barnes, H., Eich, E., & Yessilth, S. (2018). Colonization, whenua and capitalism: Experiences from Aotearoa New Zealand. Continuum, 32(6), 685–697. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2018.1525918
Moon, P. (1996). THE HISTORY OF MOUTOA GARDENS AND CLAIMS OF OWNERSHIP. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 105(3), 347–365. https://doi.org/10.2307/20706671
Pecharroman, L. C. (2018). Rights of Nature: Rivers That Can Stand in Court. Resources, 7(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources7010013
Smith, M. (2022). Culture Shock: The legacy of the 1960s power generation schemes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Architectural History Aotearoa, 19, 61–82. https://doi.org/10.26686/aha.v19i.8049
Online Journal Article (No DOI)
Brownlie, S. (2023). How to Live Together with Incommensurable Ontologies: The Case of the Whanganui River Settlement – Journal NaKaN. NaKan, (3). https://nakanjournal.com/how-to-live-together-with-incommensurable-ontologies-the-case-of-the-whanganui-river-settlement/
Collins, T., & Esterling, S. (2019). FLUID PERSONALITY: INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND THE TE AWA TUPUA (WHANGANUI RIVER CLAIMS SETTLEMENT) ACT 2017 IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND. Melbourne Journal of International Law, 20. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgibin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/meljil20§ion=12
O’Donnell, E. L., & Talbot-Jones, J. (2018). Creating legal rights for rivers: Lessons from Australia, New Zealand, and India. Ecology and Society, 23(1). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26799037
Singh, A. (2025). Māori Women And The Native Land Court: Gendered Dispossession Through Colonial Land Law, 1865–1930. IJLLR Journal. https://www.ijllr.com/post/ma-ori-women-and-the-native-land-court-gendered-dispossession-through-colonial-land-law-1865-1930
Online Newspaper Article
Evans, K. (2020). The New Zealand river that became a legal person. Www.Bbc.Com. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200319-the-new-zealand-river-that-became-a-legal-person
Lurgio, J. (2019). Saving the Whanganui: Can personhood rescue a river? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/30/saving-the-whanganui-can-personhood-rescue-a-river
RNZ News. (2026). Apology for “immense harm” as Whanganui iwi sign landmark deal. RNZ. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/594185/apology-for-immense-harm-as-whanganui-iwi-sign-landmark-deal
Academic Theses
Argyrou, A., & Hummels, H. (2019). Legal personality and economic livelihood of the Whanganui River: A call for community entrepreneurship. Water International, 44(6–7), 752–768. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2019.1643525
Banner, S. (2000). Conquest by Contract: Wealth Transfer and Land Market Structure in Colonial New Zealand. Law & Society Review, 34(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.2307/3115116
Brownlie, S. (2023). How to Live Together with Incommensurable Ontologies: The Case of the Whanganui River Settlement – Journal NaKaN. NaKan, (3). https://nakanjournal.com/how-to-live-together-with-incommensurable-ontologies-the-case-of-the-whanganui-river-settlement/
Carpenter, S. (2019). The Native Land Laws: Global contexts of tenure reform, individual and collective agency, and the structure of “the Māori economy” -a “landless brown proletariat”? Ministry of Justice WELLINGTON. https://nzhistorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/carpenter-s-the-native-land-laws-in-global-context-taihape-inquiry-wai-2180-m29a.pdf
Caske, S. E. (1999). “Dammed by diversion”: The Tongariro Power Development Project and the clash between conservation and development, 1955-1983: A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in History at Massey University. In Handle.net. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/6291
Collins, T., & Esterling, S. (2019). FLUID PERSONALITY: INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND THE TE AWA TUPUA (WHANGANUI RIVER CLAIMS SETTLEMENT) ACT 2017 IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND. Melbourne Journal of International Law, 20. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/meljil20§ion=12
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publication Inc.
Cribb, M., Macpherson, E., & Axel Borchgrevink. (2024). Beyond legal personhood for the Whanganui River: Collaboration and pluralism in implementing the Te Awa Tupua Act. The International Journal of Human Rights, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2024.2314532
Cross, S., & Bargh, B. (1996). The Whanganui District (Waitangi Tribunal Rangahaua Whanui series). Waitangi Tribunal Division,.
Dewson, Z. (2021). A Review of Fisheries & Aquatic Biodiversity Information for the Whanganui River catchment Prepared for Department of Conservation. EOS Ecology Report. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/our-work/nga-awa-river-restoration/whanganui-river-restoration/fisheries-aquatic-biodiversity-whanganui-review-2021.pdf
Evans, K. (2020). The New Zealand river that became a legal person. Www.Bbc.Com. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200319-the-new-zealand-river-that-became-a-legal-person
Forster, M. (2019). Restoring the Feminine of Indigenous Environmental Thought. Genealogy, 3(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy3010011
Garrett, R., & Wood, S. (2020). Rights of Nature Legislation for British Columbia: Issues and Options Rights of Nature Legislation for British Columbia: Issues and Options. Centre for Law and the Environment. https://allard.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/2020-08/RON%20Legislation%20Working%20Paper%20-%20FINAL%20-%2019%20August%202020.pdf
Haami, M. (2022). He Whiringa Muka: The Relationship between the Whanganui River, Marae, and Waiata. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.19294628
Hanly, L. (2017). Brand Key: Personality Politics, the Kiwi Bloke and the Persistence of Colonial Identity. https://hdl.handle.net/2292/36952
Higgins, R., & Meredith, P. (2011). Te mana o te wāhine – Māori women. Teara.Govt.Nz. https://teara.govt.nz/en/te-mana-o-te-wahine-maori-women/print
Iorns, C. (2015). Nature as an Ancestor: Two Examples of Legal Personality for Nature in New Zealand. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3532319
Kauffman, C. M., & Martin, P. (2021). The politics of rights of nature: Strategies for building a more sustainable future. The Mit Press.
Kauffman, C. M., & Martin, P. L. (2018). Constructing Rights of Nature Norms in the US, Ecuador, and New Zealand. Global Environmental Politics, 18(4), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00481
Lurgio, J. (2019). Saving the Whanganui: Can personhood rescue a river? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/30/saving-the-whanganui-can-personhood-rescue-a-river
McAllister, T., Beggs, J., Ogilvie, S., Kirikiri, R., Black, A., & Wehi, P. (2020). Kua takoto te mānuka: Mātauranga Māori in New Zealand ecology. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 43(3). https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.43.41
Miller, R., & Death, R. (2023). Whanganui Catchment Ecological Health Assessment -Year One. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/our-work/nga-awa-river-restoration/whanganui-river-restoration/whanganui-catchment-ecological-health-assessment-report.pdf
Moewaka Barnes, H., Eich, E., & Yessilth, S. (2018). Colonization, whenua and capitalism: Experiences from Aotearoa New Zealand. Continuum, 32(6), 685–697. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2018.1525918
Moon, P. (1996). THE HISTORY OF MOUTOA GARDENS AND CLAIMS OF OWNERSHIP. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 105(3), 347–365. https://doi.org/10.2307/20706671
New Zealand Government. (1903). Coal-mines Act Amendment Act 1903. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1903/80/en/latest/#LMS1266126
New Zealand Government. (1988). Whanganui River Trust Board Act 1988. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1988/230/en/latest/
Ngā Tāngata Tiaki. (2025). Ruruku Whakatupua. Www.Ngatangatatiaki.Co.Nz. https://www.ngatangatatiaki.co.nz/our-story/ruruku-whakatupua/
Ngata, T. (2021). New Zealand’s wahine Māori have more to contend with than ordinary sexism | Tina Ngata. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2021/feb/05/new-zealand-wahine-maori-sexism
O’Donnell, E. L., & Talbot-Jones, J. (2018). Creating legal rights for rivers: Lessons from Australia, New Zealand, and India. Ecology and Society, 23(1). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26799037
Paterson, M. (2000a). Understanding global environmental politics: Domination, accumulation, resistance. St. Martin’s Press ; Basingstoke.
Paterson, M. (2000b). Understanding global environmental politics: Domination, accumulation, resistance. St. Martin’s Press ; Basingstoke.
Pecharroman, L. C. (2018). Rights of Nature: Rivers That Can Stand in Court. Resources, 7(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources7010013
RNZ News. (2026). Apology for “immense harm” as Whanganui iwi sign landmark deal. RNZ. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/594185/apology-for-immense-harm-as-whanganui-iwi-sign-landmark-deal
Selin, H., & Kalland, A. (2003). Nature across cultures: Views of nature and the environment in non-western cultures. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Singh, A. (2025). Māori Women And The Native Land Court: Gendered Dispossession Through Colonial Land Law, 1865–1930. IJLLR Journal. https://www.ijllr.com/post/ma-ori-women-and-the-native-land-court-gendered-dispossession-through-colonial-land-law-1865-1930
Smith, M. (2022). Culture Shock: The legacy of the 1960s power generation schemes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Architectural History Aotearoa, 19, 61–82. https://doi.org/10.26686/aha.v19i.8049
United Nations Development Programme. (2016). Climate Change in the Pacific. Exposure. Undp.Org. https://stories.undp.org/climate-change-in-the-pacific?utm_source=
Waitangi Tribunal. (2015a). He Whiritaunoka (Vol. 2). Legislation Direct, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE58412485
Waitangi Tribunal. (2015b). He Whiritaunoka: The Whanganui Land Report (Vol. 1). Lower Hutt, New Zealand : Legislation Direct. https://natlib-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1s57t7d/NLNZ_ALMA11354060930002836
Waitangi Tribunal. (2015c). He Whiritaunoka: The Whanganui Land Report. (Vol. 3). https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE58412485
Waitangi Tribunal. (2021). How resources were held and managed in Māori society | Waitangi Tribunal. Waitangi Tribunal. https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/en/inquiries/kaupapa-inquiries/mana-wahine/te-kete-puputu/briefs-of-evidence-5/new-content-page-2
Warren, S. (2016). Whanganui River and Te Urewera Treaty Settlements: Innovative developments for the practice of rangatiratanga in resource management [University of Illinois at Chicago]. In INDIGO (University of Illinois at Chicago). https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.17058218
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Website
Higgins, R., & Meredith, P. (2011). Te mana o te wāhine – Māori women. Teara.Govt.Nz. https://teara.govt.nz/en/te-mana-o-te-wahine-maori-women/print
Ngā Tāngata Tiaki. (2025). Ruruku Whakatupua. Www.Ngatangatatiaki.Co.Nz. https://www.ngatangatatiaki.co.nz/our-story/ruruku-whakatupua/
Ngata, T. (2021). New Zealand’s wahine Māori have more to contend with than ordinary sexism | Tina Ngata. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2021/feb/05/new-zealand-wahine-maori-sexism
United Nations Development Programme. (2016). Climate Change in the Pacific. Exposure. Undp.Org. https://stories.undp.org/climate-change-in-the-pacific?utm_source=
Waitangi Tribunal. (2021). How resources were held and managed in Māori society | Waitangi Tribunal. Waitangi Tribunal. https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/en/inquiries/kaupapa-inquiries/mana-wahine/te-kete-puputu/briefs-of-evidence-5/new-content-page-2
Website Document
Carpenter, S. (2019). The Native Land Laws: Global contexts of tenure reform, individual and collective agency, and the structure of “the Māori economy” -a “landless brown proletariat”? Ministry of Justice WELLINGTON. https://nzhistorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/carpenter-s-the-native-land-laws-in-global-context-taihape-inquiry-wai-2180-m29a.pdf
Dewson, Z. (2021). A Review of Fisheries & Aquatic Biodiversity Information for the Whanganui River catchment Prepared for Department of Conservation. EOS Ecology Report. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/our-work/nga-awa-river-restoration/whanganui-river-restoration/fisheries-aquatic-biodiversity-whanganui-review-2021.pdf
Garrett, R., & Wood, S. (2020). Rights of Nature Legislation for British Columbia: Issues and Options Rights of Nature Legislation for British Columbia: Issues and Options. Centre for Law and the Environment. https://allard.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/2020-08/RON%20Legislation%20Working%20Paper%20-%20FINAL%20-%2019%20August%202020.pdf
Miller, R., & Death, R. (2023). Whanganui Catchment Ecological Health Assessment -Year One. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/our-work/nga-awa-river-restoration/whanganui-river-restoration/whanganui-catchment-ecological-health-assessment-report.pdf
New Zealand Government. (1903). Coal-mines Act Amendment Act 1903. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1903/80/en/latest/#LMS1266126
New Zealand Government. (1988). Whanganui River Trust Board Act 1988. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1988/230/en/latest/
Waitangi Tribunal. (2015a). He Whiritaunoka (Vol. 2). Legislation Direct, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE58412485
Waitangi Tribunal. (2015b). He Whiritaunoka: The Whanganui Land Report (Vol. 1). Lower Hutt, New Zealand : Legislation Direct. https://natlib-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1s57t7d/NLNZ_ALMA11354060930002836
Waitangi Tribunal. (2015c). He Whiritaunoka: The Whanganui Land Report. (Vol. 3). https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE58412485
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Gertha Gultom, Yoga Ramadhani, Farisa Azzahra Abidin Putri, Amarillyn Narestara Khalisha Kandhi, Putri Alyaa Safira, Bintang Corvi Diphda
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
