VOA新闻杂志2025--New Zealand Recognizes a Mountain as a Legal Person

New Zealand's parliament recently passed a law that gives a mountain all the rights and responsibilities of a human being.

The indigenous¹ Māori people of New Zealand consider the mountain their ancestor.

The mountain is now known by its Māori name, Taranaki Maunga. The Māori people of New Zealand represent about 15 percent of the country's population.

Taranaki Maunga is a dormant² volcano on New Zealand's North Island. Snow covers the top of the 2,516-meter-high mountain. It is a popular place for tourism, hiking and snow sports.

The legal recognition of the mountain is one of the steps New Zealand's government has taken to make up for harm the indigenous population suffered in the past. The new law makes it known that the Taranaki area was stolen from the Māori after New Zealand was colonized³.

The new law gives Taranaki Maunga all the rights, powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a person. The law says a newly created group will be "the face and voice" of the mountain. Four members from local Māori tribes and four members appointed by the country's conservation minister will be in the group.

Paul Goldsmith is the lawmaker responsible for the legal settlements between the government and Māori tribes. In a speech to Parliament, he said, "The mountain has long been an honored ancestor, a source of physical, cultural and spiritual sustenance⁴ and a final resting place."

Britain colonized New Zealand in the 1700s and 1800s. In 1770, the British explorer Captain James Cook named the volcano Mount Egmont.

In 1840, Māori tribes and representatives of the British government signed the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty promised the Māori would keep the rights to their land and resources. However, the British government began breaking parts of the treaty after that.

In 1865, the government took a large area of Taranaki land, including the mountain, to punish the Māori for rebelling against British rule. Over the next one hundred years, hunting and sports groups helped oversee⁵ how the land was used, but the Māori did not.

Goldsmith told the Associated Press that, in the past, Māori customs connected to the mountain were banned while the government supported tourism in the area.

The Māori protest movement of the 1970s and 1980s led to increased recognition of the Māori language, culture and rights in New Zealand's law. This has included billions of dollars to pay for the harm caused by breaking the Treaty of Waitangi.

The mountain's legal rights are in place to support its health and wellbeing. The law will support traditional uses of the land and calls for conservation work to protect the native wildlife. The mountain will remain open to the public.

Are other landforms considered people?

New Zealand was the first country in the world to recognize landforms as people. In 2014, a law gave personhood to Te Urewera, a large forest on the North Island. Government ownership ended and the Tūhoe tribe became its guardian⁶.

And in 2017, New Zealand recognized the Whanganui River as a human, as part of a settlement with the tribe connected to the river.

All 123 lawmakers in Parliament supported the new law for Taranaki Maunga. The unity⁷ of the vote was a change from recent disagreements in New Zealand about proposed changes to the Treaty of Waitangi itself.

In November, about 40,000 people marched to Parliament to protest a new law with proposed changes to the treaty. The protesters said the new law would take away Māori rights and harm the progress that has been made during the last 50 years.

Most officials do not expect the bill with the proposed changes to become law.

I'm Andrew Smith.

Charlotte Graham-McLay wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

indigenous -n. someone or something that is native to a place for a relatively⁸ long period of time

dormant -adj. not currently active

tourism -n. the activity of traveling to places for enjoyment⁹ or the industry that provides food, shelter and activity to tourists

liability -n. something that you are responsible for such as paying back a loan

sustenance -n. something that gives support, help and strength; food

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

3 colonized   

开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
• The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。

4 sustenance   

n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.城市里无家可归的人极其需要食物来维持生命。

5 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

6 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。