Peter Riley<p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Taranaki" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Taranaki</span></a> becomes the third <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/naturalfeature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>naturalfeature</span></a> in <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Aotearoa" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Aotearoa</span></a> aka New Zealand to be granted legal <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/personhood" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>personhood</span></a> following <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TeUrewera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TeUrewera</span></a> in 2014 and the <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Whanganui" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Whanganui</span></a> River in 2017. That designation means the geographic features gain the legal status of a person, ensuring they are treated with respect and protection.</p><p>“When we think about the concept of personhood, what we are doing is putting in place a very <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/M%C4%81ori" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Māori</span></a>! <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Indigenous" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Indigenous</span></a> concept into western law,” Jamie Tuuta </p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/30/taranaki-mounga-new-zealands-second-highest-mountain-granted-same-legal-rights-as-a-person" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/world/2025/jan</span><span class="invisible">/30/taranaki-mounga-new-zealands-second-highest-mountain-granted-same-legal-rights-as-a-person</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/firstNations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>firstNations</span></a></p>