Wetlands get global recognition

JOHN HAWKINS/Southland Times/Image ID 119351

IT'S OFFICIAL: Waituna Land Care Group chairperson Janice Kevern and Waituna farmer Ray Waghorn admiring the view at the opening of the new Waituna Wetlands boardwalk and lookout on Saturday.

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Sixteen thousand hectares of unique wetlands in Southland have been recognised as having international importance.

Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick announced on Saturday the newly renamed Awarua Wetlands, which take in areas around the Awarua Plains, New River Estuary, Toetoes Harbour and Spit, and Foveaux Strait, had been recognised under the International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

The convention — which came into force in 1975 and now has 157 member countries — is aimed at ensuring wetlands throughout the globe are preserved and used wisely.

Previously, about 3500ha — the original Waituna Wetlands Scenic Reserve — had been recognised by the convention. Six New Zealand sites are now recognised.

The Awarua Wetlands were about five times larger than the original listing, and included a diverse range of natural habitats such as bog, swamp, forest, shrubland, saltmarsh, mudflats, estuaries, lakes, rivers, lagoons and sand dunes, Ms Chadwick said.

"It is home to many nationally threatened and uncommon plant and animal species, from unique sub-alpine plants and insects found at sea level, 81 different types of birds and a wide range of fish that live in the sea, estuaries and rivers." The announcement was welcomed by the 60 or so people who attended the official opening of the Waituna Wetlands' new $250,000 boardwalk and observation shelter on Saturday.

Coinciding with World Wetlands Day, the opening of the 230m boardwalk and shelter brought an end to more than a year of work.

Awarua Waituna Wetlands project manager Sally Chesterfield said the aim of the boardwalk and shelter area was to cater for the increasing numbers of visitors to the area, while still preserving the wetlands' natural resources.

"This is the first real recreational asset that's been put into the wetlands complex," she said.

A liaison group, called the Awarua-Waituna Community Advisory Group, and made up of landowners, DOC, Fish and Game, Southland District Council, Environment Southland, Aparima Runaka and Fonterra, had been working together on a range of community initiatives aimed at addressing issues at the wetlands, she said.

About $200,000 would be funneled into the initiatives, which could include ideas such as subsidised riparian fencing, she said.

Further recreational opportunities, including bird watching, mountainbiking, and hunting, were also in the pipeline.

Waituna Land Care Group chairperson Janice Kevern said wetlands were extremely important, and it was wonderful to have internationally recognised wetlands in Southland.

- © Fairfax NZ News