Whangamarino Ramsar site
Ramsar site no. 443
Listed: 4 December 1989
Area: 7290 ha
Location: 62 km south of Auckland in the Waikato
The Whangamarino Wetland is the second largest bog and swamp complex in the North Island. The Ramsar site, which includes 5,923 ha of peat bog, swampland, mesotrophic lags, open water and river systems, is managed as both wetland and wildlife management reserves by the Department of Conservation.
Whangamarino River
Water levels changed considerably when the Lower Waikato-Waipa Flood Protection Scheme was instigated in 1961. The hydrology of the wetland has also been impacted by sand extraction and hydro-power generation on the Waikato River.
In 1994 the Department of Conservation and Auckland/Waikato Fish & Game Council commissioned the construction of a rock rubble weir on the Whangamarino River to reinstate a hydrological regime that offered to recreate a "wet/dry" seasonal cycle.
After initial difficulties, repairs to the weir were undertaken in the summer of 2011 and it is now fully functioning, providing improved minimum water levels over 2,000 ha of the mineralised swamp.
With its extensive areas of open water, mineralised swampland and peat bogs, the Whangamarino Wetland is home to a wide variety of birds, fish and plants specially adapted to living in the wet.
The Wetland provides valuable ecosystem services, including flood protection and carbon sequestration that have significant benefits for the well-being of the local community. It offers a site for recreation, especially waterfowl hunting and recreational fishing for coarse fish, eel and mullet. Bow hunting for koi carp, an unprotected species, is also increasing in popularity.
Conservation measures undertaken (in addition to hydrological management) include controlling mammalian pests (possum and deer), controlling pest plants (willow and aquatic grasses), restoration planting and fencing to exclude stock. Monitoring of Australasian bittern, black mudfish and threatened plants is carried out on a regular basis.
The Whangamarino Wetland is currently receiving intensive research and management as part of the Arawai Kākāriki wetland restoration programme.
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