Wetlands around New Zealand are at risk from new rules supposedly designed to protect them.

The Government’s ‘Managing our Wetlands’ discussion document on the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F) proposes changes to enhance and improve New Zealand’s wetlands but enables the opposite.

The NES-F will make it easier for developers to undertake damaging extractive activities like quarrying and mining in and around wetlands.

Whilst at the same time actively create substantial barriers to meaningful wetland restoration and enhancement projects.

Auckland Waikato Fish & Game Manager Ben Wilson says, "Fish & Game is deeply disappointed that the new standards create roadblocks to wetland restoration and maintenance. The Ministry hasn’t addressed the issue that consent fees are the highest cost for maintaining and restoring wetlands-penalising game bird hunters and landowners who want to restore habitat".

"We’re stunned that the Minister is considering making the drainage of wetlands much easier for developers, while landowners who want to restore wetlands and game bird hunters constructing traditional maimai face ludicrous restrictions and consent fees".

The discussion document has not proposed any changes relating to wetland utility structures, which means a resource consent will be required for building any new maimai, sign or boardwalk in or within 10m of a wetland.

This is disappointing for Fish and Game, as building maimai is fundamental for duck hunting in New Zealand.

In recent years, Fish & Game has spent considerable effort successfully advocating the construction of maimai as a permitted activity in district and regional plans.

Other forms of wetland utility structures, such as signs and boardwalks, which provide important opportunities for the public to engage and interact with the natural environment, will also require a resource consent for construction.

Fish and Game strongly support providing for wetland restoration work in a natural wetland as a permitted activity. However, fulfilling the many requirements that apply to this activity status under the proposed NES-F effectively discourages any wetland restoration and enhancement projects.

"Fish and Game fully support any changes that will make the process of restoring and maintaining wetland habitat easier for all, but the Ministry for the Environment is missing the opportunity here to incentivise activities that restore and enhance wetlands", Wilson says.

"Any person who wants to reverse the alarming trend of wetland destruction will not be able to unless these rules are changed".

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