Wetland Conservation in New Zealand - Coursework Example

Wetland Conservation in New Zealand Introduction New Zealand without question is home to vast land containing wetlands and waterways. Wetlands and waterways are contributing great significance and value for the country, its people and the entire country’s ecology. In modern times, viewed as cost effective way of secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment, for instance, wetlands have been adapted by many communities in New Zealand especially on treatment of meat processing waters and treatment of agricultural waters at present (Kadlec and Wallace, 2009). With this, New Zealand after all is concerned with protecting these areas. Specifically, it can be observed that there is a real need to protect and conserve wetlands and waterways in New Zealand. In fact, Miller and Spoolman (2008) believed that New Zealand, Waitakere City is one of the cities trying to become more environmentally sustainable in which part of its goals is about protecting and supporting biodiversity by preserving surrounding land and protection and restoration of natural systems and wetlands (p.606). The critical attributes that maintain ecological integrity of Floodplain Rivers and associated riparian and wetland habitats are fluvial disturbance and connectivity and according to Hubert (2004), the focus of restoration efforts is the reestablishment of the said processes. This makes sense. After all, New Zealand government with its policies on protecting wetland and waterways needs to understand and be informed about various researches and studies in this area. It has to consider and gain information from various researches obtained from their findings. For instance, in the study of Thomas et al (1990), it was pointed out that reducing the water content of soils and increasing its surface layer’s density and strength was a good suggestion to reduce damage caused by cattle hoofs. This hypothesis was tested by Thomas et al by applying different drainage systems (p.480). It was found out in their study that soils with mineral topsoils will withstand cattle treading without additional drainage treatments (p.479). Another study pointed out that land clearance caused profound damaged on New Zealand’s soils and water system in a form of critical erosion that leads to the water system’s turbidity and siltation problems (Garden, 2005, p.204). As added by Garden, 10% of the country has soil erosion classified as extreme case and about 50% of the country has 50% for both moderate and light cases. He added that nutrients, pesticides and waste from agriculture and other human activities also contributed to the declining of the water system. On the other hand, considering that wetlands and waterways are not only located in New Zealand but from other countries as well, Dugan (1990, p.81) believed that there is much more need to be done on improving international communication between all wetland scientists and managers from Northern and Southern hemispheres especially on technology transfer as information exchange. He pointed out that the following areas that need to be explored in technology transfer are wetland inventory, assessment and monitoring, reserve selection and management, training methodologies, cooperative management of international wetland resources. These are just some of the various researches conducted and information obtained in order to link the management issues needed for successful conservation and protection of wetlands and waterways. Farmers in New Zealand and Wetlands This paper in particular tries to discuss related information about the farmers in New Zealand and wetlands. It is in this regard that this paper discusses a certain research about farmers in New Zealand and wetlands which was conducted by McLeod et al (2006). The title of the research is “Farmers in New Zealand and Wetlands.” In order to discuss the linkage of this research in the management of wetland in New Zealand, the proponent was able to discuss some sustainable management issues of wetlands and waterways that directly or indirectly have an impact in New Zealand’s wetlands and waterways. The research of McLeod et al (2006) was funded by a Fish and Game New Zealand Research Scholarship in coordination with the New Zealand Vice Chancellors Committee and in association with the Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability (ARGOS) project. The said research of McLeod et al (2006) was funded from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology with contract number AGRB0301. The goal of the research was to discover the perceptions of farmers towards wetlands and waterways on their land. The research was further designed to discover what might hinder farmers that may influence their strategies in protecting or developing wetlands. It can be noted that there is only few social researches available on wetlands and the research discussed in this paper was able to gather enough data that can provide overview of farming management practices with regards to wetlands and waterways so as in order to build up some useful bounds for future related research. There was a random sampling conducted among farmers in all main sectors of primary production as integral part of a huge quantitative survey seeking out sustainability on farms. The sampling had incorporated questions about wetlands and waterways. Aside from questions on surveys randomly given to randomly chosen respondents, the research also included result from a qualitative research based on interviews with 36 sheep/beef farmers and 19 dairy farmers that were tape recorded. Findings of the Research and Management Implications The key findings of the research conducted by McLeod et al (2006) are discussed in this paper. Most of the farmers who were able to participate in the research are motivated to restore and protect wetlands and waterways on their farms. As history can tell, in order for the wetlands to be productive, there was a strong prioritization of draining them. However, the research found out that in general, draining wetlands to make them productive is no longer accepted among the randomly chosen farmers. The research found out that it was not about utilitarian benefits for the farm as the main reason for developing wetlands. The study found out that the motivating reason for caring and developing wetlands and waterways was aesthetic appreciation of wildlife and plant life found in waterlands including the strong desire to care for the environment. Mitsch and Grosselink (2007) reported that countries such as New Zealand and the US particularly in the state of California and Ohio declared 90 percent loss of wetlands in which the said loss or destruction has serious economic, ecological and aesthetic impacts (p.16). Perhaps the aesthetic impacts they try to emphasise from their report were related to the aesthetic appreciation of wildlife and plant life found in waterlands such as the wetland in particular. However, there is a strong connection between the report of Mistch and Grosselink and the result obtained from the study of McLeod et al (2006). This connection clearly suggests and defines the importance of ecological impact of waterland instead of its utilitarian benefits alone. Keddy (2000) was talking of the most productive and biologically diverse ecosystems. According to him, wetlands are areas where diversity created different areas of studies and disciplines compartmentalized into specific organisms and regions. Keddy was able to define wetland in a more general term using scientific and biologically inspired terms: “A wetland is an ecosystem that arises when inundation by water produces soils dominated by anaerobic processes and forces the biota, particularly rooted plants to exhibit adaptations to tolerate flooding (p.3).” The definition clearly suggests a cause and effect process in the formation of wetland. It is therefore important to consider that from the said definition, wetland has been developed through natural process and it involves significant effect that can entirely give way to its classification. According to Mitsch and Grosselink (2007), wetland ecology is a distinct field of study for the following reasons: 1. There are unique properties in wetlands not covered in other fields such as limnology, estuarine ecology and terrestrial ecology. 2. Studies on wetland identify some common properties of seemingly disparate wetland types. 3. There is a need of multidisciplinary approach or training in several fields prior to wetland investigations. 4. With regards to regulation and management of wetlands, there is a great deal of interest in formulation of sound policy. Mitsch and Grosselink (2007) define the study of wetland as wetland science or wetland ecology and as such, it is a specialization dealing with studies about wetlands which are carried out by wetland scientists or wetland ecologists (p.18). As Mitsch and Grosselink (2007) reported, there is a growing evidence to suggest that neither terrestrial ecology nor aquatic ecology but wetlands characteristics as standing water or water logged soils, anoxic conditions and plant and animal adaptations may provide common ground of study. There are three fundamental characteristics of wetlands: availability of water near or at the surface, different soil conditions from those in upland areas and dominance of hydrophytes vegetation (Reed, 2005, p.1077). According to Reed, combining these characteristics for a single and meaningful definition was challenging considering that some wetland definitions are created for a certain purpose or interest. This claim from Reed has a significant connection with the second finding from the research conducted by McLeod et al (2006). According to Fletcher (2003), people tend to think wetlands as swamps but he pointed out that what they do not know are the following benefits wetlands can provide (par.7). 1. Wetlands reduce erosion by decreasing floodwater velocity and its volume. 2. Wetlands prevent downstream flood by spreading excess water flow in floodplains and shallow depressions. 3. Wetlands improve water quality by removing nutrients and absorbing sediment loads. 4. Wetlands act as source of nutrients for fish and other aquatic organisms in downstream areas in riverine and coastal situations. 5. Wetlands provide habitat for many wildlife such as waterfowl, amphibians and insects. The result from the study of McLeod et al (2006) showed that the terms “wetland” and “waterway” have different meanings for farmers and they are often thought differently as “bogs”, “swamps” or “creeks”. McLeod et al (2006) pointed out important findings and these were aligned with that from the idea of Reed. According to them, the use of different names such as “bogs”, “swamps” or “creeks” denotes different approaches to managing and distinctive ideas about the level of protection most appropriate for a certain area. They pointed out specific example that “wetlands” are without any question usually fenced while shallow “bog” or “swamp” is usually viewed not needing of a fence. Thus, Reed has a point that combining these characteristics of wetland for a single and meaningful definition was challenging considering that some wetland definitions are created for a certain purpose or interest, a claim which totally coincides with the result of the study of McLeod et al (2006). The results from the quantitative survey of McLeod et al (2006) imply that there are absolutely the same attitudes towards wetlands and waterways among farmers from different farming sectors investigated in the research. However, the result of quantitative interviews revealed that there was a significant variation of attitudes towards fencing of wetlands and waterways between the dairy and sheep/beef sectors. The research found out that most farmers did not question the need to fence off all waterways on dairy farms. However, many sheep/beef farmers believed that their sector needs not comply with the regulations complied by the dairy industry for the reason that they believe their stock management practices are significantly different. Considering this situation, it can be justified that some people who are against of fencing off a wetland would indeed try to define wetlands as “bogs” or “swamps” which are usually viewed not needing of a fence. On the other hand, it is going to be the other way around for those who agree with fencing off wetland which according from the result, the dairy farmers believed so. Another important result from the study of McLeod et al (2006) is about financial consideration. Their findings suggest that financial consideration play a significant role in the decision-making of farmers in line with the restoration and protection management practices on a farm. It was found out that most farmers believed that fencing off wetlands and waterways is expensive. Many farmers were found to complain about the expenses needed for fencing off wetlands and waterways. In fact, there was a particular debate among sheep/beef farmers in hill country about the merits or practicality of fencing off all waterways on the farm. It is in this regard that McLeod et al (2006) suggested that fencing off wetlands and waterways is a critical issue in which it is thought that there is a useful place for financial assistance to see to it that farmers are able to follow regulatory requirements which the bottom line is focused at protecting wetlands and waterways. In situations like this, comes the rule of the government. The Department of Conservation in New Zealand has the primary tasks to protect and conserve the country’s historic and natural resources such as wildlife habitat and landscape protection (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 1993, p.79). However, Shine and de Klemm (1999) suggested that the NGOs can facilitate systematic wetland conservation and management in the absence of special legislation by the government (p.154). This simply means that the NGOs can actually create an initiative in reaching out farmers prior to protection and conservation of wetland and waterways based on actual scientific studies conducted. Finally, from the findings of McLeod et at (2006), it was found out that many farmers were worried that non-farming organizations and policy makers do not understand what exactly are happening in the farm. It is in this reason that the research of McLeod et al (2006) suggests that farmers feel they are not an integral parts of the regulatory decision-making processes in wetlands and waterways. McLeod et al (2006) believed that gaining the farmers’ full cooperation is very important to make sure that the preservation strategies on wetland and waterways is entirely practiced on private lands considering that these are now the remaining areas where wetlands in New Zealand are situated. In totality, the whole research has contributed to understanding farmers and their attitude towards wetland conservation, a way of creating effective management plans. References Dugan, P. (1990). Wetland Conservation: A Review of Current Issues and Required Action. Switzerland: IUCN. Garden, D. (2005). Australian, New Zealand and the Pacific: An Environmental History. USA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. Hubert, W. (2004). Ecological Processes of Riverine Wetland Habitats. In M. C. McKinstry, W. A. Hubert & S. H. Anderson (Eds), Wetland and riparian areas of the intermountainwest: Ecology and Management. USA: University of Texas Press. Kadlec, R. H. & Wallace, S. D. (2009). Treatment Wetlands. (2nd ed.). USA: CRC Press. Keddy, P. (2000). Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation. UK: Cambridge University Press. McLeod, C., Hunt, L., Rosin, C., Fairweather, J., Cook, A. & Campbell, H. (2006). New Zealand Farmers and Wetlands. In Lincoln University: Research Archive. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from http://hdl.handle.net/10182/65. Miller, T. & Spoolman, S. (2008). Living in the Environment. USA: Books/COLE. Mitsch, W. & Grosselink, J. (2007). Wetlands. (4th ed.). New Jersey: Wiley & Sons Inc. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (1993). Agricultural and Environmental Policy Integration: Recent Progress and New Directions. Paris, France: OCDE. Reed, J. (2005). Wetlands. In M. L. Schwartz (Ed), Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Netherlands: Springer. Shine, C. & de Klemm, C. (1999). Wetlands, Water and the Law: Using the Law to advance wetland conservation and wise use. Germany: IUCN. Thomas, R. F., Mew, G. & Barker, P. R. (1990). Effect of different drainage systems on beaming resistance of some West coast, South Island Soils. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 33, 479-488. Read More