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Wetlands Of New Zealand
New Zealand has several notable wetlands but 90% of wetland areas have been lost following European settlement. The Resource Management Act 1991, the major 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. Since the mid-19th century, New Zealand has lost about 90% of its wetland areas due to draining for farming. Many remaining wetlands are also degraded due to pollution, grazing, drainage and presence of invasive plants. In the late 20th and early 21st century, efforts have been made towards wetland conservation. Ramsar sites The Department of Conservation currently administers seven Ramsar sites protected under the Ramsar Convention, covering a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Wairarapa Western Shore
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the World Ocean, ocean, although, like the much larger oceans, they do form part of the Earth's water cycle. Lakes are distinct from lagoons, which are generally coastal parts of the ocean. Lakes are typically larger and deeper than ponds, which also lie on land, though there are no official or scientific definitions. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which usually flow in a channel on land. Most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams. Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glacier, glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers, where a river channel has widened into a basin. Some parts of the world have many lakes formed by the chaotic dra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahukawakawa Swamp
The Ahukawakawa Swamp is an area of sphagnum bog in Egmont National Park in the Taranaki Region of New Zealand. It was formed approximately 3,500 years ago and is of particular interest to botanists. Over 260 species of higher plant have been recorded there. The area of the swamp is approximately 1 km2. Geomorphology The swamp sits at an altitude of 920 metres"Taranaki wetlands" . Department of Conservation/ ''Te Papa Atawhai''. Retrieved 6 January 2015. and lies between the main cone of and the to the northwest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environment Of New Zealand
The environment of New Zealand is characterised by an endemic flora and fauna which has evolved in near isolation from the rest of the world. The main islands of New Zealand span two biomes, temperate and subtropical, complicated by large mountainous areas above the tree line.Walter, H. & Breckle, S-W. (2002). ''Walter's Vegetation of the Earth: The Ecological Systems of the Geo-Biosphere''. New York: Springer-Verlag, p. 86 There are also New Zealand Subantarctic Islands, numerous smaller islands which extend into the subantarctic. The prevailing weather systems bring significantly more rain to the west of the country. New Zealand's territorial waters cover a much larger area than its landmass and extend over the continental shelf and abyssal plateau in the South Pacific Ocean, Tasman Sea and Southern ocean. Historically having an isolated and endemic ecosystem far into modernity, the arrival of Polynesians about 1300 AD and then later European settlers began to have significa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water In New Zealand
Water is relatively abundant in New Zealand due to the temperate climate and maritime weather patterns. In recent years, water pollution and draw-down of aquifers have become important environmental issues in New Zealand. Waters in New Zealand In New Zealand, there are more than of rivers and streams and about 4,000 lakes and over 200 underground aquifers. Annual water flow is 145 million litres per person. The reliable supply of good water is an important economic advantage for New Zealand, but its quality and availability is declining. Lakes There are 3,820 lakes in New Zealand with a surface area larger than , and are of varying types and origins. Many of the lakes in the central North Island area are volcanic crater lakes, while the majority of the lakes near the Southern Alps were carved by glaciers. Hydroelectric reservoirs are common in South Canterbury, Central Otago and along the Waikato River. Rivers and streams Over of rivers has been mapped in New Zealand, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park along its banks. The city's territorial authority population is people, and includes a number of smaller urban areas as well as rural areas. The population of the urban area is people. Christchurch is the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand, after Auckland. It is the major urban area of an emerging sub-region known informally as Greater Christchurch. Notable smaller urban areas within this sub-region include Rangiora and Kaiapoi in Waimakariri District, north of the Waimakariri River, and Rolleston and Lincoln in Selwyn District to the south. The first inhabitants migrated to the area sometime between 1000 and 1250 AD. They hunted moa, which led ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Travis Wetland
Travis Wetland is a wetland in the suburb of Burwood in Christchurch, New Zealand. An ecological restoration programme is being undertaken to restore the wetland. It covers 116 ha of land formerly drained and used as a dairy farm. In 2009 it won the "Urban Sustainability" category in the Green Ribbon Awards awarded by the Minister for the Environment. In May 2010 the rare and endangered Canterbury mudfish were released into the wetland in the hope that they would become established. See also * Wetlands of New Zealand * Environment of New Zealand References External links Travis Wetland websiteTravis Wetland Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, wh ... Travis Wetland fact-sheet Christchurch City Council Geography of Christchurch Tourist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manapouri Power Station
Manapōuri Power Station is an underground hydroelectric power station on the western arm of Lake Manapouri in Fiordland National Park, in the South Island of New Zealand. At 854 MW installed capacity (although limited to 800 MW due to resource consent limits), it is the largest hydroelectric power station in New Zealand, and the second largest power station in New Zealand. The station is noted for the controversy and environmental protests by the Save Manapouri Campaign against raising the level of Lake Manapouri to increase the station's hydraulic head, which galvanised New Zealanders and were one of the foundations of the New Zealand environmental movement. Completed in 1971, Manapōuri was built primarily to supply electricity for the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter near Bluff, some to the southeast. The station utilises the drop between the western arm of Lake Manapouri and the Deep Cove branch of the Doubtful Sound away to generate electricity. The construction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecological Restoration
Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interruption and action. Effective restoration requires an explicit goal or policy, preferably an unambiguous one that is articulated, accepted, and codified. Restoration goals reflect societal choices from among competing policy priorities, but extracting such goals is typically contentious and politically challenging. Natural ecosystems provide ecosystem services in the form of resources such as food, fuel, and timber; the purification of air and water; the detoxification and decomposition of wastes; the regulation of climate; the regeneration of soil fertility; and the pollination of crops. These ecosystem processes have been estimated to be worth trillions of dollars annually. There is consensus in the scientific community that the current envi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rakatu Wetlands
The Rakatu Wetlands is a 270 ha wetland restoration project on the South Island of New Zealand. They officially opened on 18 March 2006. It is administered by the Waiau Fisheries and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Trust. The Trust was set up in 1996 to address the environmental effects of the construction of the Manapouri Power Station. Since much of the natural flow of the Waiau River was diverted through the power station and out to sea, the ecological characteristics of the river and the wetlands were changed due to lower river levels. The Trust has constructed walkways and interpretation panels at the wetland. See also *Wetlands of New Zealand *Conservation in New Zealand Conservation in New Zealand has a history associated with both Māori and Europeans. Both groups of people caused a loss of species and both altered their behaviour to a degree after realising their effect on indigenous flora and fauna. Protected ... References External linksWaiau Fisheries and Wildl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It then drains Taupō at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the Huka Falls, and flows northwest through the Waikato Plains. It empties into the Tasman Sea south of Auckland, at Port Waikato. It gives its name to the Waikato region that surrounds the Waikato Plains. The present course of the river was largely formed about 17,000 years ago. Contributing factors were climate warming, forest being reestablished in the river headwaters and the deepening, rather than widening, of the existing river channel. The channel was gradually eroded as far up river as Piarere, leaving the old Hinuera channel through the Hinuera Gap high and dry. The remains of the old course are seen clearly at Hinuera, where the cliffs mark the ancient river edges. The Wai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Te Henga
Te Henga, or Bethells Beach, is a coastal community in West Auckland, New Zealand. The Māori name for the area, "Te Henga", is in reference to the long foredunes which run along the beach and look like the or gunwale of an upturned waka hull.TKITA-2013-0062 Cultural Values Assessment for Te Henga Local Area Plan, prepared by Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority This name originally applied to a wide area of the lower Waitakere River valley, but during the early 1900s the area became popular with visiting European immigrants who began to refer to the area as "Bethells Beach" after the Bethell Family who live there and still own much of the area. In 1976 the New Zealand Geographic Board officially named the area "Te Henga (Bethells Beach)". The beach is approximately west of Auckland City, at the mouth of the Waitakere River where it flows into the Tasman Sea. One of several popular resorts in the area (others include Muriwai, Piha and Karekare), it is rated the 4th most dangerou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinclair Wetlands
The Sinclair Wetlands (''Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau'') are an internationally renowned wetlands located to the south west of Dunedin, New Zealand, at the southern edge of the Taieri Plains. They are on the western side of Lake Waipori and approximately equidistant between Mosgiel and Milton. The protected area covers a little over 315 Ha 3 km2. The wetlands are home to many species of birds including scaup, swans and many more wetland waterfowl including the fernbird and rare bittern. A number of birds such as white herons and spoonbills occasionally frequent the area also. The wetlands are named for Horace "Horrie" Sinclair, a local farmer who donated land to the wetlands scheme in 1984. An education centre opened in the late 1980s is located at the wetlands. The wetlands contain a small island (Whakaraupuka / Ram Island), which was in ancient times the location of a Maori settlement, Tukiauau Pa. In the 1986 New Year Honours, Horace Sinclair was appointed a Member of the Or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
