Positivity, Collaboration and Money – what we need for nature Rangatahi Perspective from Cameron Johnson

*The views expressed by this Rangatahi member are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of the organisation(s) they represent.

Name

Cameron Johnson

Department of Conservation

Senior Advisor | Kaitohu Whanake Manutātaki

Tell me first of all why you wanted to be part of the Rangatahi Advisory Panel.

Being on the Rangatahi advisory panel feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity to grow personally and professionally.  It gives me the ability to connect with and learn from current and future leaders, and to contribute towards programmes that could be pivotal ingredients for driving transformation.

As someone who lives and breathes partnerships through my work, I'm a true believer in the power of collaboration and the idea that, if we're going to address the environmental crises we face, we need to think and work collectively across society, drawing on various types of experience and expertise.

 Can you explain for us and define perhaps what a nature positive economy is?

From my perspective, it’s when the collective impacts of an economy work to enhance and restore the natural capital it’s based on, rather than degrading and taking from it.  In other words, the economy benefits nature.

For us to achieve a nature positive economy, I think we need systems that measure the impacts of our activities on nature, rather than externalize and ignore its value. 

Work around things like the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), as well as the idea of biodiversity credit markets (similar to carbon credits), express this idea that we can ‘mainstream nature’ by creating new systems which incentivise positive outcomes for it.

 What are you personally doing in this space?

My role has given me opportunities to work at the interface of the social, cultural, economic, and environmental spheres – and I believe that’s the nexus where a nature positive economy can be created. 

The Jobs for Nature funding programme is a great example of this, where I have worked to leverage the investment to connect and work with leaders across the employment, Te Ao Māori, and environmental sectors to create the conditions where nature positive economic enterprises have emerged and developed.   

My work is ultimately about creating the conditions to empower regional collaboration so that conservation work can be coordinated and managed across multiple landscapes and benefit from the participation of a range of partners and stakeholders. Kotahitanga mō te Taiao at the top of the South Island is a great example of this approach because it shows what’s possible when we create a collective vision for a region and work together, drawing on a range of resources and skillsets, to achieve it.

Building alliances and formal collaborations to deliver conservation outcomes not only provides economies of scale and allow us to operate in line with how ecosystems work, but they also give us the scale we need to fully realise future impact investment.

There is an opportunity to imagine solutions at scales large enough to realise the potential of this investment for our environment. Many international groups that are interested in investing in New Zealand won’t consider opportunities below $100 million – so the supply is coming, we just need to articulate the opportunities in the right way.  

 
Just to finish, do you have any thoughts about how we can motivate people and on the flip side of that, stop them from feeling helpless in the face of the poly-crisis situation we're in now.
I don’t think we can expect people to care about nature if they don't know or feel connected to it. Despite our extraordinary landscapes, many kiwis don’t get the opportunity to experience them.  90% of Kiwis live in urban areas and I think that's a good thing - we need to give nature space to breathe and to be.  But I don't think we have the equation right when it comes to experiences of nature in our urban areas.

To address that, it's not only about how we design our cities, but it's also about how we live in them.

A cool example that I've been lucky enough to learn about is the Maramataka or Māori lunar calendar which encourages us to observe changes to our environment and our own well-being through phases of the lunar cycle. I use the Maramataka to help me plan when I might plant or harvest something in my garden.  I also use it at work to inform when I might facilitate a big hui, make big decisions, or take some time to reflect on things that are happening.  For me it reflects this idea that we can build different rhythms into the way that we live in our environments which help us connect to nature, understand it better, and hopefully be motivated to care about it.