Planet B: Tina Ngata on Decolonising Oceans

Māori activist Tina Ngata explains why the fight against climate breakdown must involve a radical rethink of our relationship with the ocean in this extended interview from Planet B: Water. More than a commodity or an infinite resource, water is part of our genealogy, argues Ngata, who works as an advocate for environmental, Indigenous and human rights in Te Ika A Maui, known by its colonisers as the North Island of New Zealand. Explaining what it means to be an ‘ocean person’, Ngata tells Harpreet Kaur Paul why we cannot protect oceans and the vast biodiversity that relies on them without challenging the colonial mindset that treats bodies of water as borders and boundaries. Produced by Freddie Stuart. Music and sound by Ben Heyderman. Illustrations by Tomekah George. Design by Pietro Garrone. Produced by Novara Media in partnership with Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung London.