‘Matiatia – let it be’
Those of us fortunate to live on Waiheke Island in New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf are familiar with the mantra of the local anti-marina campaigners ‘Matiatia – let it be’. T-shirts and posters proclaim the strong local resistance to the development of a large boating marina in Matiatia Bay – the beautiful bay that welcomes locals home and invites thousands of visitors annually to step ashore and sample the lifestyle of this wonderful island.
Let it be, leave it alone, let nature do its thing are, I recently discovered, also slogans that express the sentiments of the Ecuadorian people responsible for the ecological management of another beautiful island, one in the Galápagos archipelago. If you too are lucky enough to visit the amazing island of Española, you will see the success of the Ecuadorian government’s policy to restore and preserve the island’s natural environment – to let it be. As you wonder at the abundance and diversity of the local wild life – which is curiously interested but seemingly unafraid of human presence – your naturalist guide will explain what has already been achieved with the removal of non-indigenous animals and plants, and tell you about future plans to ensure the ongoing natural development of this special place.
Although my recent visit to the Galápagos Islands was all too brief, I gained a sense that the major interventions required to implement a responsible ecological policy are largely complete. It feels like the balance of nature has already been restored to a level where the policy emphasis can shift from intervention to sustainability – from intervening to make change happen to the development of a resident and visitor culture that will sustain what has been achieved and enable future change to happen more naturally.
Enabling change to happen rather than making it happen is nature’s way of unfolding the future. Perhaps it is also the way to unfold our future. There are plenty of governments and organisations focused on changing our lives. Perhaps if they were more focused on enabling us to change our lives – to enable us to unfold our future together – then we could co-create the shared outcomes that build the congruent communities. These are the communities that share a common purpose, enjoy enabling leadership, build meaningful relationships that enable collaborative learning and co-create outcomes that represent equitable shared value for all of their people. These are the communities that will enable us to change the way our world works.
The Galápagos Islands is steadily moving towards what I would call ecological congruence – a state of harmonious alignment where all of its ecological stakeholders are able to share the natural benefits of simply ‘being’ together in one of the world’s most fascinating heritage environments. The essence of this quest for congruence is aptly captured by the slogan on a local t-shirt – ‘All of us, Together’ – words that articulate a common purpose, recognise the opportunity (perhaps the necessity?) for positive community and highlight the potential for co-creating outcomes that deliver shared value for all stakeholders.
You could say this is natural mindfulness at work
