Culture and sustainable development: indigenous contributions

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (much like the Millennium Development Goals) sideline culture as a dimension of development. This short paper reconsiders the place of culture in sustainable development, and explores what we ought to mean when we say that ‘all cultures and civilizations can contribute to sustainable development’ [UN (United Nations). 2014. “Open Working Group Proposal for Sustainable Development Goals.” http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300]. We ask what indigenous contributions to sustainable development might be, and we consider how insights from Māori and Aboriginal indigenous peoples transform how sustainable development might be understood and pursued.

Keywords:

• development
• sustainability
• culture
• Māori
• Aboriginal

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Krushil Watene is Lecturer in Philosophy with Massey University. Her research includes contemporary moral and political philosophy and development studies – with a particular commitment to indigenous philosophies and development. She was previously Research Fellow with the James Henare Māori Research Centre, University of Auckland. Krushil is of Māori (Ngāti Whātua, Ngapuhi) and Tongan (Hunga, Vava'u) descent.

Mandy Yap is Research Officer and Doctoral Research Scholar with the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), Australian National University. Her research interests include the construction of well-being indicators, and gender equality in indigenous development. Her doctoral research develops culturally relevant and gender-sensitive indicators of well-being with the Yawuru community in Broome, Western Australia.