Wetlands of New Zealand

Wetlands of New Zealand

New Zealand has several notable wetlands.

Definition

The Resource Management Act 1991, an important Act of Parliament determining land use, defines wetlands as "permanently or intermittently wet areas, shallow water, and land water margins that support a natural ecosystem of plants and animals that area adapted to wet conditions.". The Ramsar Convention, an international conservation agreement for wetlands to which New Zealand signed up to in 1971, has a wider definition of wetland. [cite book
last = Johnson
first = Peter
authorlink =
coauthors = Philippe Gereaux
title = Wetland types of New Zealand
publisher = Department of Conservation (New Zealand)
date = 2004
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 0-478-22604-7]

The Department of Conservation is the New Zealand agency which administers the Ramsar Convention. [ [http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=42155 Who administers the convention?: About DOC's international wetlands role ] ] Ramsar sites in New Zealand as of 2008 are: [http://www.ramsar.org/sitelist.pdf]
* Farewell Spit
* Firth of Thames
* Kopuatai Peat Dome
* Manawatu River mouth and estuary
* Waituna Lagoon
* Whangamarino

These make up a total area of 39,068 hectares. Other notable wetlands are Aramoana, Kai Iwi Lakes, the Sinclair Wetlands, and Te Henga, as well as areas around the lower reaches of the Waikato River.

Conservation

In the past 150 years New Zealand has lost about 90% of its wetlands due to draining for farming. Many remaining wetlands are also degraded due to pollution, grazing, drainage and presence of invasive plants. [ [http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/ser/ser1997/html/chapter7.3.html State of New Zealand's Environment 1997 - Chapter 7: Key points [Ministry for the Environment ] ]

References

Further reading

*cite book
last = Hunt
first = Janet
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Wetlands of New Zealand
publisher = Random House New Zealand
date = 2007
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 978-1-86941-904-2

External links

* [http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/summary.aspx?id=33685 Department of Conservation] - wetlands conservation page
* [http://www.wetlandtrust.org.nz/ The National Wetland Trust of New Zealand]
* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/Landscapes/Wetlands/en "Wetlands"] in Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand


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