MAORI ENVIRONMENTAL VIRTUES

The standard sources for Maori ethics are the traditional narratives. These depict all things in the environment as sharing a common ancestr y, and as thereby required, ideally, to exhibit certain virtues of res pect and responsibility for each other. These environmental virtues ar e expressed in terms of distinctively Maori concepts: respect for maur i and tapu, kaitiakitanga, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, and environme ntal balance. I briefly explore these Maori environmental virtues, and draw from them some messages for the world at large.