Saving Raukūmara: Iwi-Led Action at Massive Scale (with Ora Barlow)

“The Raukūmara was never prioritised. It was forgotten."

For generations, local iwi Ngati Porou and Te Whanau-a-Apanui watched their ancestral forest degrade. The Raukūmara reached breaking point. Deer had stripped the understory bare, and possums and rats had multiplied unchecked, reaching catastrophic levels. The question became urgent: how could they save their dying forest?

In this episode of the People Helping Nature Podcast, Ora Barlow, who played an instrumental role, shares the remarkable journey of the Raukūmara Pae Maunga Restoration Project - an iwi-led conservation initiative that's become the largest of its kind in the world.

"The ngāhere is such an honest storyteller of its own story. It tells its story. It doesn't lie. Once you see it, you can't unsee it."

Listening to their ngāhere (forest) and understanding its crisis sparked a revolutionary movement where locals mobilised when nobody else would, turning years of voluntary advocacy into the largest Māori-led 1080 operation to date.

What makes Raukūmara Pae Maunga’s approach unique isn't just pace and scale, but how they ensured community support. Through marae-based wānanga and forest visits, they created safe spaces where difficult conversations about conservation tools could happen openly. They built understanding and support first, creating a strong foundation of trust before any 1080 rollout and deer culling began.

The results have been dramatic. But the most powerful aspect? This project shows that taking people on the journey isn't just about overcoming resistance. It's about creating intergenerational resilience that ensures results are lasting and permanent.

Here are some of the key topics we discussed:

• The significance Raukūmara holds as ancestral land for Te Whanau-a-Apanui and Ngati Porou.
• The unique strengths of iwi-led conservation compared to other approaches.
• Why conservation at pace and scale is critical for NZ's biodiversity future.
• How the Raukūmara ecological collapse was having ripple effects from mountain to sea.
• The powerful approach of humanising conservation: "seeing for yourself" rather than telling people about problems.
• The journey to understand and implement 1080 and deer culling at scale.
• The importance of creating safe spaces for difficult conversations.
• Why conservation requires shifting from siloed approaches to collaborative knowledge-sharing.
• And much more…

👩About Ora:

Ko Ora Barlow no Te Whanau-a-Apanui, Ngai Tai, Whakatohea, Ngati Porou

Involved in the Raukūmara project from the early stages of community activation and planning, Ora is currently a Governor on Raukumara Pae Maunga and also works as a Pou Uruao a Motu (National Engagement) for Save the Kiwi.

She has a strong involvement in māori environmental kaupapa and conservation projects with a range of iwi, and advocates restoring native forests at scale.

🔗Learn more:

• Raukūmara Pae Maunga’s website: www.raukumara.org.nz
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/KoTeRaukumaraTeNgahere
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/raukumarapaemaunga

🎙️Learn more about the podcast at www.conservationamplified.org