National Wetland Policy: New Zealand

Abstract

In 1986, New Zealand became the first Contracting Party of the Ramsar Convention to publish a Wetland Management Policy. Interpretation and context have changed since publication of the New Zealand Wetland Management Policy, which the New Zealand Government is considering updating. The Policy recognizes that the wetlands of New Zealand have always been an important part of the nation’s environment, from the earliest days when Maori settlers harvested shellfish and fin fish, collected material for weaving and farmed the extensive flat swamplands. Drainage of wetlands for economically productive farming has been a continuing trend, leaving few of New Zealand’s native lowland wetlands intact and compromising their capacity to provide habitats for plants and other wildlife. The New Zealand Wetlands Management Policy recognizes the difficulty of reversing this trend towards drainage for short-term gain.