A mountain in New Zealand will now have the rights of a human being under legislation to be passed by parliament.
Taranaki Maunga and its fellow peaks will become a legal entity to be called Te Kāhui Tupua when the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill becomes law after its second and third reading in Parliament on January 30.
The area has become increasingly popular for tourists after Lonely Planet named it one of the best places in the world to visit and the new law will mean that if a person damages or mistreats the mountain it will legally be the same as harming a tribe.
New Zealand’s Department of Conservation this week called for four traditional owners who would like to sit on a panel alongside four Crown representatives to represent the mountain on the country’s south island.
The Crown agreed to relinquish ownership of the land two years ago and gave the panel known as Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi responsibility for looking after the range.
The Crown had previously agreed to share its ownership of the mountain with the eight iwi or tribes in the region and also to apologize for historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi against the mountain; there will be no financial or commercial reparation.
Moutn Taranaki is a dormant volcano that last erupted in 1775. It has great cultural significance to local tribes and is also the most frequently climbed mountain in New Zealand.
New Zealand has also previously granted legal personality to the Whanganui River.
Taranaki Maunga in New Zealand gained the rights of a human being after the country’s parliament passed a new bill.
The Department of Conservation said the purpose of Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi ‘will be the human face and voice of Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga’.
“We are seeking nominations from people with expertise in strategic and governance leadership, mātauranga Māori, environmental management, stakeholder management, finance, local government, nature conservation, earth sciences, recreation, tourism and the local community,” the department continued.
Conservation board members are also being sought, which will include three members of Taranaki Whanganui.
The new rules govern Te Pire Whakatupua mō te Kāhui Maunga, which is the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill.
This new bill will become law after Its second and third readings will take place in Parliament on January 30.
The reading will officially recognize the peaks as ancient mountains that will grant the land human status.
After this Taranaki Maunga procession officially become a legal entity called Te Kāhui Tupua.
Once this happens, the mountain will officially own itself. and the park will be renamed Te Papa-Kura o Taranaki.
Nominations for the oversight committee role will remain open until on February 12 and nominations for the conservation board will close on January 31.
This new law fulfill the reparations agreement for the confiscation of Taranaki Maunga, also known as Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo.

Former Minister for Treaty Agreements Andrew Little (pictured) said the committee’s values would become law.
Former Treaty Agreements Minister Andrew Little, who signed Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo, said the land’s cultural, spiritual, ancestral and historical values would become law while he was in office in 2023.
Moving forward The Department of Conservation will maintain day-to-day management of the lands, but “everything that happens within Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki will be guided by these values” set out by the new committee, Little said.
Any new land management plans will need approval from both the conservation minister and another group with representatives from each iwi, Te Tōpuni Ngārahu.
Jamie Tuuta, who led negotiations for the new laws, He said that Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo meant “weaving a foundation for reconciliation”.
‘It’s more than just recognition of our tupuna maunga and recognition of our iwi, but… how we could build a platform of reconciliation for this generation and generations to come,’ he said.
Little had previously said the Crown caused “immeasurable harm over many decades to ngā iwi o Taranaki and their tūpuna” by its failure to comply with previous treaties.