Planning Response To Wetland Loss In New Zealand: An

Ecological Perspective
1. Introduction

1.1 Background and Overview

Wetlands are described in The Resource Management Act (1997) as regions that are
consistently or periodically saturated, including shallow water and the borders between land
and water, which sustain a native community of flora and fauna well-suited to damp
environments. All wetlands share three characteristic attributes: containing either shallow
water or soaked soil, accumulating organic plant matter that breaks down at a gradual pace,
and providing a habitat for a diverse range of flora and fauna well-suited to the soaked
environment (Mitsch & Gosselink, 2015). Wetlands are shown to provide the world with
nearly 50% of ecosystem benefits, contributing to the productive functioning of hydrological,
biological, and chemical cycles (Barbier et al., 1997). People receive support and service of
wetlands through direct (e.g., agriculture or recreation) or indirect channels (e.g., buffering of
flood that flows out or reducing of wave energy) (Barbier et al., 1997; Northland Regional
Council, 2004).

Though having such varied eco-functions and vital roles in our ecosystems, wetland
losses frequently happen due to natural impacts such as drought and also man-made activities
(being converted to intensive urban development, for example) (Barbier et al., 1997). The
Commission of the European Communities (CEC, 1995) indicated that France suffered the
67% wetland loss from 1900 to 1993, while Italy had 66% of wetland loss from 1938 to
1984. Undisputedly, Johnson & Gerbeaux (2004) suggested that only 10% of the wetlands
now remained in New Zealand after past two centuries. It was indicated that the most
significant declines took place in the North Island, where merely 5% of the original wetlands
still exist, contrasting with the 16% found in the South Island. (Ausseil, 2011). Wetland loss
in New Zealand has been observed for over 40 years, and recent studies indicate its
occurrences in several regions, especially small peatlands which are omitted in planning
regulations (Meyers et al., 2013). Unrestricted drainage and unconsented works on wetlands
are the main causes of such loss, which results in degradation of freshwater quality (Meyers
et al., 2013).

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 Facing with continuous deteriorating conditions of wetlands, in 1976, New Zealand
joined the Ramsar Convention as a member country, in order to initiate corresponding
policies and conduct related ecological analysis (Gerbeaux, 2003). Meyers et al. (2013)
reviewed different councils’ relevant strategies and identified various degrees of strengths of
rules. Though regional plans concerning wetland loss are implemented among several
regional councils, most of the plans only limit harmful activities applied solely to wetlands
listed in a schedule or meeting ecological importance standards; regulations in the majority of
plans do not safeguard smaller, frequently deteriorated wetlands. (Meyers et al., 2013).
Similarly, current deficiencies in ecosystem management are identified such as “retention of
all stormwater on individual infill redevelopment properties of all densities and land-use
types in established urban areas” and “making better use of the knowledge of ecosystem
sensitivity to the choice of location for new urban areas ” (van Roon & Knight, 2004, p. 282).
I argue that having a good understanding of ecological principles in relation to the current
issue could be the potential for improvement in planning practice.

1.2 Ecological Principles

1.2.1 Principle I: Scale, interaction and complexity

According to the work published by Harker et al. (2012), scale means that wetlands are
interconnected with other levels of ecosystems under various spatial and temporal conditions;
interaction indicates that the boundaries of those systems are not clear-cut, and wetlands
always interact with another level(s) of ecosystem(s); complexity shows its contribution to the
characteristics of the levels of ecosystems, which is unforeseeable by looking at only the
parts.

The scale of the source on the impact of biodiversity can rarely be explained by
wetland alone (Ausseil et al., 2011). In fact, wetland and its surroundings are interconnected
with each other. Wetlands are typically interconnected with neighboring ecosystems, often
through the transfer of essential organic carbon to downstream aquatic environments. (Mitsch
& Gosselink, 2015).

Furthermore, both woody weeds and impervious cover result in changes of

hydrological function, which means that different kinds of indicators are shown of having the
same impact on environment (Ausseil et al., 2011).

1.2.2 Principle II: Biogeochemical cycle

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This principle suggests that wetlands are able to house negative impacts caused by biological,
geological, and chemical recurring events, but the add-on effects of those disruptions can lead
to significant synergistic damages of the operations of ecosystems (Harker et al., 2012).
Mitsch and Gosselink (2015) suggest that a series of chemical transformation process is
happening in wetland. More precisely, wetlands host a combination of aerobic and anaerobic
conditions in close proximity, leading to the presence of nitrogen, sulphur, iron, manganese,
carbon, phosphorus, and other compounds within their environment (Mitsch & Gosselink,
2015). These active mechanisms are controlled by microbial communities specialized for the
anaerobic setting, whereas various other processes, like those involved in the phosphorus
cycle, are predominantly influenced by chemical and physical factors (Mitsch & Gosselink,
2015).

In summary, biogeochemical cycling can not only change the forms of chemical
substances but also the geographical moving mechanisms within wetlands and their
surrounding ecosystems; the latter can reciprocally have decisive influences on wetland
capacity (Mitsch & Gosselink, 2015).

1.2.3 Principle III: Specificity of place

The last principle illustrates that there is distinctive character for each wetland and special
features with which are associated (Harker et al., 2012). The abiotic (climate and
geomorphology, for example) and biotic factors (such as animal or plant species) of locality
determines the ecological activity and the number/location of species (Dale & Haeuber,
2001). It is suggested that the range of wetland types arises due to their assorted
characteristics in terms of landform configurations, origins, underlying materials, water flow
patterns, nutrient levels, and plant cover (Johnson & Gerbeaux, 2004). Therefore, future
planning practice should aim at respecting the individual character of each wetland and be
able to implement corresponding conservation strategies.

Apart from the principles listed above, van Roon and Knight (2004) claimed that there
were 13 ecological principles in total, of which show slight differences to the previous ones.
The following part would be aimed at combine those principles and discuss their
interrelationships in details.

2. Interrelationships Between Each Principle

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Table 1 (listed below) summarises the definitions of each principle and its interrelationships.
This table is adapted from published works by Harker et al. (2012), van Roon and Knight
(2004), and Knight-Lenihan (2007).

The author suggests that these principles are interrelated through four key ecological
issues proposed by Knight-Lenihan (2007). All principles “contribute to the identification of
ecosystem issues”, to promote “ecological sustainability” and consequently “sustainable
development” (Knight-Lenihan, 2007, p. 4-7) (see Figure 1). Furthermore, ecosystem
principles should be holistically applied to tackle those issues, and there are not mutually
exclusive (van Roon and Knight, 2004).

Figure 1
The relationship between ecological principles and sustainable development.

Note. Description about the figure contents that cannot be understood from the figure title or body alone.
Adapted from A critique of the influence of sustainable development on ecological sustainability : a New
Zealand application (p. 4-7), by S. Knight-Lenihan, 2007, The University of Auckland
(http://hdl.handle.net/2292/3076). Copyright 2007 by Stephen Knight-Lenihan.

Specifically, those four issues are divided into two main subcategories: the first issue
belongs to Connectivity; the latter three belong to Spatial and Temporal Cycles (Knight-
Lenihan, 2007). Any form of disruption, alteration, or division can lead to a breakdown in
connectivity, resulting in consequences such as an imbalanced reduction in species variety,
heightened invasion by pests, and an overall deterioration in the well-being of the ecosystem

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(Knight-Lenihan, 2007). Therefore, when there is a need to create a coherent wetland
management strategy, it is important that we understand the issue is within a broader context
within an entire ecosystem to decrease sediment drain-off, for example (van Roon and
Knight, 2004).

Contaminant accumulation and synergy is defined by the gathering of both fatal and
non-fatal yet detrimental levels of substances within ecosystems, which means that
synergistic effects can happen (Knight-Lenihan, 2007). Realising the importance of geo-
chemical cycles and having sound scientific knowledge/data collection skills are key to
implementing a low-impact urban design on wetlands (van Roon and Knight, 2004).

Accumulated physical change means that the gradual buildup of environmental

alterations can lead to substantial effects across time and space, even though individual
actions might appear minor when compared to the larger ecosystem within which they occur.
(Knight-Lenihan, 2007). Therefore, evaluating whether there is any disruption to
sustainability depends on the “spatial and temporal scales” (van Roon and Knight, 2004, p.
275).

Biological diversity decline implies modifications in the general well-being of the

ecosystem (ecosystem functionality) and its soundness (the degree to which native species
carry out those functions) (Knight-Lenihan, 2007). Applying ecological principles such as
scale, interaction and complexity (combined with understanding biogeochemical cycle for
instance) into planning decision-making would be beneficial to avoid the ignorance of
ecotone existence and its functions relating to wetland management.

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Table 1
Interrelationships between each ecological principle. Adapted from Harker et al. (2012), van Roon and Knight
(2004), and Knight-Lenihan (2007).

3. Future Planning Implications

Progressive achievements were made in recent years with a growing awareness of this issue.
For example, public officials have made an agreement with the stakeholders to restore a
wetland of national importance adjacent to Lake Horowhenua (Ministry for the Environment
& Stats NZ, 2022, p. 44). This kind of restoration is an important way of rebuilding our
cultural identity of being New Zealanders (Ministry for the Environment & Stats NZ, 2022).

From a pragmatic perspective, Hunter and Calhoun (1996) suggested that land use
policy for wetland should embrace additional intensive use, and the key is to determine
whether certain “wetlands can be used by landowners for some economic return, such as
timber production, without significantly compromising their ecological values, and which
ones cannot” (p. 485). For those wetlands that cannot be utilised in exchange for returns, we
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could apply procedures such as “property tax abatement”, to counterbalance “the economic
disadvantages accruing to landowners maintaining wetlands for the public good” (p. 485).

A broader ecosystem management perspective indicates that four fundamental

principles are able to promote ecosystem regulation and healthy functioning, of which are
partnerships, participation, scientific knowledge, and ecological approach (Szaro et al.,
1996). The final principle aligns with the examination of earlier sections within the article,
which involves considering numerous factors across a wide terrain, employing various scales,
investigating connections between elements of the landscape and ecological activities, as well
as involving several other undertakings (Szaro et al., 1996). Furthermore, being able to
balance the needs between planned ecological outcomes, economic benefits and social values
and to reconcile potential conflicts among those would be a challenging task for urban
planners (Szaro et al., 1996).

As discussed above, a positive or spontaneous wetland management is a must in New

Zealand. However, the pace of ecosystem management usually falls behind the speed of
human-focused development in reality (van Roon & Knight, 2004). Therefore, a “long-term”,
“risk-minimisation strategy” is needed to counteract the uncertainty produced (van Roon &
Knight, 2004, p. 273). Being able to discern the underlying ecological principles along with
the ecosystem cycles in the long run would be a much better planning strategy than merely
aiming to control the nature (van Roon & Knight, 2004).

The idea of having drastic division between humanity and nature is popular and
extremely detrimental to our relationship with nature (van Roon & Knight, 2004). Recent
scientific studies in ecology suggest that the mindset is invalid and we need to take ecosystem
management into account for every aspect of human development (van Roon & Knight,
2004). Functional ecological analysis is advised to improve better decision-making in
planning practice. Understanding ecological principles helps us to “prevent or repair damage
to ecological processes and communities and, eventually, biodiversity, in a manner that
reduces medium and long-term risks to human society and ecological integrity” (van Roon &
Knight, 2004, p. 286).

To summarise, all ecological principles are fundamental in dealing with current issues
concerning wetland management. The rationale underpinning the close knit between human
and environment should be our general approach for planning practice.

Word count: 1935

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