The most important lesson that I learnt from my placement year in New Zealand did not come from my supervisor, a colleague or a friend. It came between the mountainous coastline of Kaikōura and the windswept farmland of Southland, and it changed my outlook on sustainability completely.
Before landing in New Zealand, I thought sustainable travel was about reducing my environmental footprint. Throughout my placement, I made a conscious effort to do exactly that. I travelled the South Island in a shared Campervan rather than choosing to take multiple domestic flights, I used the Department of Conservation website (https://www.doc.govt.nz) and CamperMate (https://www.campermate.com.au) to locate responsible campsites that support conservation efforts, carried reusable bottles and food containers, and recycled where facilities existed. These active choices aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 13, Climate Action, ensuring that I was reducing waste and emissions while exploring the South Island of New Zealand.
Travelling through Aoraki National Park reinforced to me the importance of these sustainable development goals. Standing beneath glaciers that have lost 42% of their total volume between 2005 and 2023 (https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/annual-glacier-ice-volumes-data-to-2023/), on top of mountains and hearing the rush of the Haast River, I felt a responsibility to protect this landscape for future generations. The Māori principle of Kaitiakitanga, guardianship of the natural world, became more than a word I had heard during my placement. It aligned with SDG 15, Life on Land, and it became something I could see all around me.
Then I entered Southland.
Roadside signs that read “The Paris Agreement is destroying us” appeared outside farms. I was confused. How could people whose livelihoods depend on the land oppose policies designed to protect it? As we drove further south, passing through struggling rural communities, I realised sustainability is not as simple as it appears.
I began to reflect on how the UN sustainable development goals are interconnected. Policies supporting SDG 13 (Climate Action) must also consider SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Protecting the environment cannot come at the expense of the communities who depend on it. Through the lens of Kaitiakitanga, I began to understand that caring for the land also means caring for the people who belong to it.
This lesson has shaped how I now think about sustainable travel. Using resources such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals website (https://sdgs.un.org/goals) to educate myself on reducing emissions, minimising waste and respecting protected environments remain essential, but meaningful sustainability also involves supporting local communities, understanding different perspectives and recognising that environmental solutions work best when they benefit both nature and people.
When I arrived in New Zealand, I believed that sustainability was about leaving no trace. I left believing our greatest responsibility as humans is to leave places, and the people who call them home, in a better position than when we found them. So now, whenever I hear the word sustainability, I also hear the word Kaitiakitanga.
