Awarua Wetland | |
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Location | Southland Region of New Zealand |
Coordinates | 46°33′47″S168°35′44″E / 46.563109°S 168.595505°E |
Area | 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres) |
Designated | 13 August 1976 |
Reference no. | 102 [1] |
The Awarua Wetland is a peatland area of 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres) in the Southland Region of New Zealand. The site, which was initially an area of about 3,556 hectares (8,790 acres), was designated as having international significance under the Ramsar Convention in 1976, using the name Waituna Wetlands Scientific Reserve. [2] [3]
Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick unveiled a plaque at New River Estuary on 4 May 2008. This wetland is unique in New Zealand as it includes privately owned ground (Gamble, Nicol, and Rance families). [4]
On the northeast corner of the Toetoes Wetlands is an area of native bush of approximately 25 hectares (62 acres), which along with other areas of bush close by was covenanted to the QEII Trust by the Nicol Family. [5] While not a true wetland it is an area of natural vegetation with an unmodified stream flowing from the wetlands through native brush and into the Mataura river. It is a small sanctuary for the declining native fresh water fish population.
Intensive farming in the catchment for the wetland has raised fears that the Waituna Lagoon, which is a part of the wetland, may soon begin to suffer from eutrophication. [6]
Protected areas of South Australia, consisting of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of 2018, South Australia contained 359 separate protected areas declared under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, the Crown Land Management Act 2009 and the Wilderness Protection Act 1992. Together, they cover a total land area of 211,387.48 km2 (81,617.16 sq mi) or 21.5% of the state's area.
The Awarua Plain is a large area of wetland to the east of Bluff, New Zealand. Covering an area of around 600 km², the plain stretches for 35 kilometres along the coast of Foveaux Strait. This stretch of coast includes the peninsula of Tiwai Point, Awarua Bay, the Waituna Lagoon, and Toetoes Bay. The Mataura River is the major river responsible for the presence of the Awarua Plain; along with the Ōreti River, it is a remnant of the rivers from the Ice Ages that formed the Southland Plains (Murihiku). In addition, several small streams enter Foveaux Strait along this stretch of coast, mainly via Awarua Bay and Waituna Lagoon.
Ōkārito Lagoon is a coastal lagoon on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located 130 kilometres (81 mi) south of Hokitika, and covers an area of about 3,240 hectares (12.5 sq mi), making it the largest unmodified coastal wetland in New Zealand. It preserves a sequence of vegetation types from mature rimu forest through mānuka scrub to brackish water that has been lost in much of the rest of the West Coast. The settlement of Ōkārito is at the southern end of the lagoon.
Protected areas of New Zealand are areas that are in some way protected to preserve their environmental, scientific, scenic, historical, cultural or recreational value. There are about 10,000 protected areas, covering about a third of the country. The method and aims of protection vary according to the importance of the resource and whether it is publicly or privately owned.
The Towra Point Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is located in Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 603-hectare (1,490-acre) reserve is situated on the southern shores of Botany Bay at Kurnell, within the Sutherland Shire. The reserve is protected under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance as an important breeding ground for many vulnerable, protected, or endangered species. The Towra Point Aquatic Nature Reserve is located in the surrounding waterways.
The Orielton Lagoon is a shallow dystrophic lagoon located west of Sorell in south east Tasmania, Australia.
New Zealand has several notable wetlands but 90% of wetland areas have been lost following European settlement.
Murtnaghurt Lagoon, also known as Murtnaghurt Swamp or Lake Murtnaghurt, is a shallow, ephemeral wetland west of the town of Barwon Heads on the southern coast of the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. It comprises two enclosed depressions, elongated west-east and separated by a low ridge. The wetland is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) in length, and up to 600 metres (2,000 ft) wide, with 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) of shoreline enclosing an area of 81 hectares. It is connected by a narrow 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) palaeochannel extending from the lagoon northwards to the main tidal channel of the lower Barwon River.
Toolibin Lake is a seasonal fresh to brackish water perched lake or wooded swamp, in south-western Australia. The lake is contained with a 493-hectare (1,218-acre) nature reserve and it is located about 200 kilometres (124 mi) south-east of Perth, in the Shire of Narrogin, and 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of the town of Narrogin, in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The lake is listed by the Australian Government as a threatened ecological community under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The Whangamarino Wetland in the Waikato District is the second largest wetland complex of the North Island of New Zealand. Encompassing a total area of more than 7200 hectares, the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai manages 5,923 hectares of peat bog, swamp, mesotrophic lags, open water and river systems listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Fish and Game New Zealand are the second largest landowner, managing 748 hectares of the wetland primarily as gamebird hunting habitat.
The Waituna Lagoon is on the southern coastline of the South Island of New Zealand. It forms part of the Awarua Wetland, a Ramsar site that was established in 1976. It gives its name to waituna, a type of ephemeral coastal lake.
Jubho Lagoon is a large shallow brackish lagoon located in Sindh, Pakistan. In May 2011 Jubhoo lagoon was inducted into the list of Ramsar sites, consisting of wetlands of international importance.
The Cheetham Wetlands are 420 hectares of artificial and natural lagoons, created on old salt works land on the western shores of Port Phillip Bay, Australia. The wetlands are approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Melbourne, and sit within the Municipal Councils of Hobsons Bay and Wyndham City.
Jocks Lagoon is an 18-hectare (44-acre) freshwater coastal lagoon in north-eastern Tasmania, Australia. In 1982, it was designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Chowilla Regional Reserve is protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the gazetted locality of Chowilla about 250 kilometres (160 mi) north-east of the state capital of Adelaide.
The Las Piñas–Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA), also known as the Las Piñas–Parañaque Wetland Park, is a protected area at the coasts of the cities of Las Piñas and Parañaque in Metro Manila, Philippines. The entire wetland is a declared Ramsar site under the Ramsar Convention of UNESCO.
The Wairarapa Moana Wetlands are a major wetland, located in the South Wairarapa District in the Wellington Region at the southern end of New Zealand's North Island.
Whitireia Park is a headland north of Tītahi Bay and Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour in Porirua, in the Wellington Region at the southern end of New Zealand's North Island. It is a park administered by the Whitireia Park Board, in collaboration with Wellington Regional Council. The park includes Onehunga Bay, Kaitawa Point and part of Rocky Bay.
Coopers Lagoon / Muriwai is a small coastal waituna-type lagoon in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, located approximately halfway between the mouth of the Rakaia River and the outlet of the much larger Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora. While the present-day lagoon is separated from the nearby Canterbury Bight by approximately 100 metres (330 ft), the water of the lagoon is considered brackish and early survey maps show that, until recently, the lagoon was connected to the ocean by a small channel. The lagoon, along with the surrounding wetlands, has historically been an important mahinga kai for local Māori.
A waituna is a freshwater coastal lagoon on a mixed sand and gravel (MSG) beach, formed where a braided river meets a coastline affected by longshore drift. This type of waterbody is neither a true lake, lagoon nor estuary.