Erica
McCreedy

Kia ora everyone! I’m Erica. I’m a Ngati Raukawa and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti woman from Aotearoa, New Zealand. I moved to Australia with my family when I was young, living and working on Ngunnawal, Kombumerri, Meanjin and Larrakia Country throughout my life and now residing in Gimuy. Home is my papakainga (my ancestral lands) and being a Māori woman is foundational to who I am and everything I do. I acknowledge and pay my respects to the ancestral lands and kin of my partner and our son, the Kaanju and Umpila people of far north Queensland. It’s a privilege and honour to work with Indigenous peoples around the world, especially my brothers and sister across Australia. Thank you.

I acknowledge Country and Indigenous Peoples and their ongoing connection to the lands and seas, I acknowledge my ancestors, extending that to Indigenous stewardship around the world. I’m hold this connection through my whakapapa.

I serve as Chief Operations Officer of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA), the only Indigenous Peoples Organisation member of IUCN in Oceania.

In November 2025 I was elected as IUCN Councillor for Oceania and appointed Chair of the IUCN Governance and Constituency Committee, roles that place me at the centre of global biodiversity and protected areas governance. I am actively involved in the Podong Indigenous Initiative, the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), and appointed to the International Steering Committee for the IUCN World Protected and Conserved Areas Congress 2027 in Panama.

I believe Indigenous voices and knowledge are not supplementary to effective conservation, they are foundational to it. My work sits at the intersection of Indigenous leadership, global policy, and the people and places those policies are meant to serve."

My story

My advocacy for nature conservation stems from a deep-seated belief in the intrinsic connection between humanity and the natural world. I’m driven by the urgent need to address biodiversity loss and climate change through innovative strategies that elevate Indigenous knowledge and leadership. My approach is rooted in the understanding that Indigenous voices and knowledge are absolutely vital to effective conservation. I champion the integration of Indigenous Knowledge with Western science to completely reframe our views on environmental management.

After arriving to Australia in the late 80’s I grew up away from our large whanau, and away from being immersed in Culture, from going to the Marae every week and from walking our whenua (land) or swimming in our awa (rivers) and moana (seas). I felt it, I didn’t fully understand it until I was older, but the yearning and tethered connection to Culture never went away and still pulls and guides me today.

In 2020 I launched a podcast called ‘Healing Our Identity’. Healing Our Identity is a collection of stories that share about reconnecting with and sharing my Culture. The podcast also interviews and shares the stories of Indigenous women from around the world and what ‘healing our identity’ means to them. These conversations draw on the power and knowledge of the strong women who have walked before us, the strong women to come, and those that walk alongside us. You can listen here.

With almost twenty years of work in this space, I have learned one thing clearly: the most important governance innovations happen at the margins, not the centre. The communities who have always held responsibility for Country, for ocean, for biodiversity, they are not waiting to be included in global frameworks. They are already doing the work. My role is to ensure that work is recognised, resourced, and protected at every level, from community to Congress.

I’ve been with the North Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance since 2011. I have had the privilege of being mentored by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and their guidance and belief in me has shaped who I am today and my work.

We walk in the footsteps of giants, those who have come before and carving the path for us to build on. For me that’s my ancestors, holding and being held in the strength and resilience of my whanau and iwi, and it’s also about the strong people who took me under their wing and shared their wisdom and knowledge and gave me guidance. There are too many to mention, but there is one I want to acknowledge and that is the late Gigari George. A fierce leader and advocate for Indigenous people in Australia, she was highly intelligent in her thinking and approached. Gigari, or affectionately known as MG, encouraged you to believe in yourself, to understand and own your abilities and stand strong in who you are, unapologetically. I will forever be grateful, thank you.

My strong belief is that the mainstream approach to biodiversity often misses a critical element: people . Indigenous people aren’t just part of the landscape; we are critical to its well-being, having looked after Country for millennia with deep spiritual and cultural connections and ancient knowledge .

My experience

I am a highly experienced professional with over 14 years working with Indigenous people in Australia, New Zealand, and globally, primarily in the land and sea management sector. I’m passionate about implementing active Indigenous leadership and control of issues that impact Indigenous communities, particularly in the context of global conservation efforts. I’m committed to elevating Indigenous voices and ensuring local communities benefit from work at global and national scales, with a focus on contributing to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its mission.

KEY QUALIFICATIONS &
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Seeking to represent the Oceania region on the IUCN Council for the 2025-2029 term, bringing a clear and considered voice for nature conservation.
Involved with the organisation since the 2014 World Parks Congress Stream 7 - Respecting Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge and Culture.
Led the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance's (NAILSMA) Indigenous People Organisation (IPO) work for the last three years. NAILSMA is the only Indigenous People Organisation (IPO) member for IUCN in all of Oceania.
Actively involved in the development and successful implementation of the Podong Indigenous Initiative, a partnership between the IUCN, IUCN IPOs, and IIFB that directly addresses the biodiversity and climate challenges outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and the Paris Agreement.
Participated in Resource Mobilising negotiations with IIFB at 2024 COP16.
An active member, participating in global CBD and KMGBF dialogues.
Experience working with Indigenous people from all over the world, demonstrating a capacity to work across diverse cultural contexts.