A Different Starting Point
For Pou Take Āhuarangi, climate change is framed in connection to the natural world, the rivers, the land, the sea. There are relationships that have always existed between people and place; hapori Māori are some of the most vulnerable to climate impacts due to often being coastal, in low land flooding areas and rurally placed. Practically, climate change risks severing hapori Māori from intergenerational homelands so Pou Take Āhuarangi is mandated to advocate for iwi climate resilience on the ground with whānau, through to policy advocacy with the Crown, and enhancing visibility of the climate challenges Māori face on the global stage.
Who They Are
Pou Take Āhuarangi is the climate pou of the National Iwi Chairs Forum (NICF) – a collective of 88 iwi entities across Aotearoa. They are formally mandated by these iwi to advocate for and progress climate resilience and just transition for whānau, hapū and iwi across the motu.
The primary purpose of NICF is to enable the aspirations, and discuss the challenges, of iwi and Māori in cultural, social, economic, environmental, and political development, while acknowledging and respecting the mana and autonomy of individual iwi with respect to their relationship with the Crown and the engagement, initiatives and courses of action they may wish to pursue. The vision of NICF is guided by the whakataukī:
He waka kootuia kaahore e tukutukua ngaa mimira - A canoe that is interlaced will not become separated at the bow.
This kōrero embodies and reflects NICF’s vision of kotahitanga and the strength of collaboration between iwi.
The work of Pou Take Āhuarangi operates across four interlocking priorities of adaptation, emissions reduction, emergency management and data. They advocate for the climate change needs for iwi directly with the Crown, work to raise awareness of climate impacts in hapori, advocate for emissions reduction, and run the national iwi emergency management response in times of national crisis.
On the Ground
The most immediate expression of Pou Take Āhuarangi's work is ensuring that Māori are resourced to become resilient and are supported to lead themselves in times of a climate-caused crisis, as well as building awareness about place-based adaptation and emissions reduction through hands on wānanga.
Pou Take Āhuarangi has developed over 200 marae exposure assessments, with funding flowing directly to those marae to act on the findings. This ranges from flood mitigation, solar energy, water storage, papakainga protection, and community resilience hubs across the country, as well as having hosted community wānanga across the country on climate adaptation and climate emissions reduction.
Marae are the cultural repositories for hapori Māori but also serve whole communities. During extreme weather events, marae become emergency centres that provide safe havens for anyone who needs it. While building marae resilience is an act of cultural preservation, the benefits of strengthening them act as practical safe-harbouring infrastructure for everyone.
Pou Take Āhuarangi have also conducted a number of regional climate risk and resilience wānanga across the country, where they gather communities together to hear from climate experts, understand the risks facing their rohe, and develop their own resilience plans. Pou Take Āhuarangi describes these wānanga as practical measures to raise awareness and resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Te Kāhu Pōkere: Rangatahi on the World Stage
In November 2025, nine rangatahi travelled to Belém, Brazil, as Te Kahū Pōkere - the first independent, iwi-endorsed rangatahi Māori delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
At COP30, they presented on the climate challenges unique to Aotearoa, engaged with Indigenous leaders from around the world, and returned with a deeper understanding of what their communities face and what others are doing about it. The delegation was funded through philanthropic support, with Pou Take Āhuarangi securing the resourcing to make it happen.
Te Kahū Pōkere is an investment in the next generation of Māori climate leaders, people who will carry this work forward with knowledge, relationships, and confidence.
The Work
Pou Take Āhuarangi’s approach is reaching communities that neither the mainstream climate movement nor government-led initiatives are engaging with.
Many hapori have expressed that in times of climate caused severe weather events, no one is coming to save them. So climate resilience for hapori is at the forefront of Pou Take Āhuarangi’s work. This can be a matter of life or death – and the risks are increasing. Iwi know that and are moving to become more and more self reliant – because the reality is Māori communities are often the last cab off the rank when it comes to being looked after in times of crisis.
Pou Take Āhuarangi also works at the policy level and engages on significant national policy such as the National Adaptation Framework, the Emissions Trading Scheme and Emergency Management reforms. Their mandate is to ensure Māori are recognised as Te Tiriti o Waitangi partners and are seen across every part of the system.
Internationally, Pou Take Āhuarangi brings the Māori voice to global climate negotiations, ensuring that the perspectives of tangata whenua here are part of the conversation shaping policy everywhere.
Why We Funded Pou Take Āhuarangi
The climate movement in Aotearoa cannot be complete without Māori leadership at its centre, as a founding principle of how climate action is designed and delivered.
Pou Take Āhuarangi is doing that at a national scale. They are building climate literacy and resilience in communities that have already been hit hard by climate impacts. They are developing the next generation of Māori climate practitioners and negotiators. They are holding the government accountable to its commitments to Māori on climate. All of this from a foundation of iwi mandate and mātauranga Māori.
This is what Māori-led climate action looks like. We are proud to be part of helping make it possible.
Pou Take Āhuarangi is one of four organisations funded through The Climatics' 2026 funding round. Their work aligns with two of our focus areas: "Support Māori-led Action" and "Build the Movement." Learn more at nicf.iwi.nz
This blog post was co-authored with the team from Pou Take Āhuarangi.
