Renewable energy vs. cultural preservation - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 131

As illustrated by these sorts of ongoing protests, tribal opposition to
wind energy remains strong in some parts of the blustery Isthmus of
Tehuantepec region. If nothing else, hopefully the indigenous peoples of
southern Mexico are growing more aware of the potential consequences
of entering into agreements with wind energy developers. Such awareness
and the additional caution it could bring to their negotiations might do
something to help to limit future upheavals in this windy corner of the
world. Meanwhile, one can only hope for less violence and more equitable
treatment of local residents as development of the uniquely abundant wind
energy resources in this area continues.
New Zealand's Maori people and claims of ownership in the wind
One other interesting conflict involving renewable energy and tribal cultural
resources centers on a tribe's recent assertion that it held a property interest
in the wind flying over an entire country. This unusual dispute highlights
how legal uncertainty about the property rights associated with wind
energy development continues to unnecessarily complicate development
efforts in this important industry.
What if the “cultural resource” at issue in a wind energy development
conflict were the wind itself? Not long ago, a Maori tribe in New Zealand
made such a claim. When New Zealand began preparing to partially
privatize its electric utilities, the Maori gained some traction in arguing that,
under the terms of an old treaty, the tribe held some limited rights in the
nation's water resources. 77 On similar reasoning, spokesman David Rankin
of the Ngapuhi tribe created a small media stir in 2012 by declaring that
his tribe also had a special property interest in New Zealand's wind.
Rankin based the tribe's controversial argument on the idea that the wind
had long been worshipped under the Maori traditional belief system. Given
the Maori people's long-held reverence for wind, Rankin suggested it would
violate their rights if New Zealand allowed its exploitation for commercial
gain without permission. In Rankin's words, “Traditionally, the wind was
regarded as a deity in Maori society, and Maori do not consider the Crown
to have the right to use it without Maori consent.” 78
Rankin's reasoning seemed to be that the Maori held an ownership
interest in the wind in the same sense that they allegedly held rights in water
resources. “They're all resources,” Mr. Rankin told a reporter. “The wind is
a resource. What turns those turbines on those wind farms?” 79 A potential
for financial gain seemed to at least partly motivate the group's newfound
attempts to stake property claims in the wind. 80 Interestingly, Rankin said
that Maori claims in airspace could be next. 81
Still, although the Maori's assertions of property rights in wind seemed
somewhat opportunistic, the group's religious reverence for wind is real.
When Genesis Energy proposed its Castle Hill Wind Farm, a massive wind
energy project north of Masterson, New Zealand, Maori groups in the