Land Sustainability Officer
Awarua Wetland
The Waituna Wetland is just one part of a 19,500ha Ramsar recognised wetland complex located on the Awarua Plains in Southland. The complex is known as the Awarua Wetland and includes three major estuaries: Toi toi, Awarua Bay and the New River. The three estuaries are characteristic features of the Southland coast and form one of the largest remaining wetlands in New Zealand.
The complex also includes extensive peat bog, swamp, coastal lagoon, estuarine and stream habitats.
The Waituna Wetland contains the Waituna Lagoon which is regularly opened to the sea allowing drainage for adjacent agricultural lands, and its brackish waters are an important habitat for birds, native fish and trout. The wetland also contains thousands of hectares of the Awarua peatland complex. The peatland area is home to the secretive Australasian bittern and the fernbird, which have both disappeared from much of their former range. l Land use intensification and wetland conversion to pasture are considered the primary threats to the water quality entering the wetland and coastal lagoon.
The Awarua Wetland is one of three sites that make up the Arawai Kākāriki (Green Waterway) national wetland restoration program, co-ordinated by the Department of Conservation. The program is aimed at understanding and restoring three of New Zealand’s most significant wetland/freshwater sites, with community participation. The other two sites are Whangamarino (Waikato) and Ō Tū Wharekai (mid-Canterbury).
Programme highlights in the Awarua Wetland are: community protection of water quality, macrophyte and fish surveys, education opportunities, Spanish heath control, restoration participation and improved public access.
In 2009, in recognition of the importance of the area and in a unique move to tackle water quality issues surrounding the Awarua Wetland, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Environment Southland (ES) joined forces to fund a dedicated Land Sustainability Officer, Katrina Robertson, for the catchment for three years.
Katrina’s role is to provide advice and assistance to the community on the sustainable use of land and water management practices. To date, more than 60km of riparian fencing and 7km of riparian planting have been established across the catchment with the aid of subsidies from DOC through the Arawai Kākāriki programme.
As well as individual on-farm advice, Katrina also facilitates and runs field-days and liaises with community groups in Waituna, namely the Waituna Landcare Group, Awarua Waituna Advisory Group, and local dairy farm focus group.
Katrina is based at Environment Southland and can be contacted by calling 0800 76 88 45, or emailing Katrina.Robertson@es.govt.nz.
Environment Southland is the brand name of Southland Regional Council.