Celia Witehira

Ms. Witehira is a representative of Te Kopu – Pacific Indigenous & Local Knowledge Centre of Distinction, a community organisation focused on indigenous peoples’ in the Pacific fully exercising their self-determination, distinct cultures and identities, are living with dignity, and enhancing their sustainable management systems on lands, waterways, and oceans for future generations. Over the last decade, she has worked with numerous indigenous communities in New Zealand providing pathways to empower them to actively participate in the sustainable management of their resources using their local indigenous knowledge systems. She is a member of the Australasian Facilitation Network, working with other indigenous facilitators to normalize indigenous inclusion; and is a Connectivity Activator for Reconnecting Northland, New Zealand’s first large-scale landscape connectivity project. She is of Te Rarawa and Ngaphui descent, which are independent tribes located in New Zealand’s biodiversity hotspot of Northland.