Te Tira Tūwatawata

Protecting What We’ve Inherited

The Challenge We Face

When pests arrive, they don’t just destroy ecosystems, they disrupt whakapapa, silence manu, and unravel the balance that has held us for generations.

Aotearoa New Zealand is facing an escalation of biosecurity crisis. Yet, we pride ourselves on the state of our biosphere, the birds, the bugs, the bush, the whakapapa (ancestral connections), even our bioeconomy. Nowhere else on earth is quite like us. From the tūī to the tōtara, from the moana (sea) to the maunga (mountain), our unique species are treasures not just of place, but of identity. We are who we are because of the world we’re in. And yet, the very systems designed to protect it, fall short.

But here's the kicker. The greatest threat isn’t the pests, it's the exclusion of the people best placed to stop them.

Despite the promises of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori continue to be shut out of the biosecurity system. Tangata whenua, the first defenders, the watchers, the wise, are still being told to wait at the gate while others decide what’s worth protecting.

Yet we know, there is no biodiversity without biosecurity, and no biosecurity without Indigenous leadership.

If we are to protect what matters, our whenua, our whakapapa, our future, then the system must change. Not someday. Not after another incursion. Now.

Te Tira Tūwatawata: The Māori Biosecurity Network, operating under Te Tira Whakamātaki Pou Te Mana ō ngā Koiora, was created in response to this exclusion.

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Defending Our Biosphere

The name Te Tira Tūwatawata comes from the words Tira meaning group or network, and tūwatawata, meaning fortification. The name signals purpose to work as a network to not only protect Aotearoa from invasive species, but also to fortify the biosecurity system in a Māori way, for the protection of our biosphere.

Te Tira Tūwatawata: The Māori Biosecurity Network does exactly that, protecting and defending the health of our environment, ecosystems, and communities from biosecurity threats, through Indigenous-led solutions.

Established in 2017 during the myrtle rust crisis, Te Tira Tūwatawata is Aotearoa New Zealand's first and only Māori-led biosecurity network, connecting over 800 kaitiaki, practitioners, scientists, and rangatahi across the country and the globe. We are Te Tira Whakamātaki's first and founding network — the model that inspired our broader Indigenous environmental movement.

What Makes Us Unique

Indigenous Leadership: We do not simply participate in systems. We lead, shape, and design them from the ground up.

Cultural Integration: Biosecurity isn’t just about keeping things out; it's about securing the health of the entire biosphere.

Community Connection: Our members are already on the whenua and moana, with generations of knowledge and presence. They spot threats first and are committed to the long-term protection of their places.

Innovation Through Tradition: We develop solutions that honour traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous solidarity while embracing cutting-edge science and technology.