Currently the most endangered culture to New Zealand is regarding the respect and preservation of Māori culture and people. The main issue that is causing the culture to become endangered is the alienation of Maori land. Māori have strong spiritual bonds to the land, Papatūānuku, the mother earth. Provides them with unity and identity to her people and sustains them.

Alienation in this case means the granting of certain rights to Māori land, to another person or people. The alienation had begun when private settlers and missionaries had arrived in the country and then grew until British Sovereignty was proclaimed over New Zealand in 1840. However, in 1865 there was establishment of the Native Land Court that hears specifically matters relating to Māori land and is still in operation to this day but now is known as the Māori Land court. Much of the land that had been retained by the crown, the British monarchy, has been returned to Māori although they may not be all to the original owners.

In terms of the importance of Māori land and biodiversity; Māori land is home to a lot of native plants that cause the land to be rich and preserved. However, when the land is taken over by The Crown it will cause deforestation for development of cities or farming therefore hurting the land in the long run. 

All in All the importance of the preservation and respect towards Māori land has an immense impact on not only the endangerment of culture in New Zealand but also has a large impact on the loss of biodiversity within the country’s land.