Editorial: A legal construct linking different worlds

AS THE saying goes: "One billion Hindus can't be wrong."

So the mighty Ganges, that most sacred and revered of rivers - and one of the most polluted in the world - has taken a leaf out of the Whanganui River's book and gained legal status. Personhood, as some would have it.

It's a remarkable move by judges in India on Tuesday to follow the lead of a unique ruling passed into law thousands of miles away.

But what does it mean? The legal status of the Whanganui has been greeted with a fair measure of bewilderment, and some derision.

You could ask 100 people for their version of this agreement and get 100 different answers - or perhaps just 100 baffled looks.

It would take the laser-like lawyer's mind of Minister for Treaty Settlements Chris Finlayson to explain it, and even then you may be none the wiser.

What we have is a Westernised legal construct wrapping itself around an indigenous world view. Whether those two elements will prove a perfect match only time will tell as the realities of the agreement play out over the years.

But the purpose of the edict passed by Parliament on March 15 seems clear enough and above argument - preserving the health and wellbeing of the Whanganui.

Our waterways are wondrous and life-sustaining, and yet they are under threat from pollution and exploitation. They need guarding, and the Whanganui has gained two guardians, representing the Crown and iwi.

If they can give us a cleaner, healthier river that benefits the eco-systems within it and the people around it, we should be grateful.

Maybe this law can help clean up the Ganges as well.