KEY POINTS:
Whangamarino Wetland in Waikato is more than just a swamp, says a new Department of Conservation report.
Hydrologist John Waugh found the wetland brought many economic benefits to the region - not the least of which was an estimated $5.2 million in flood control savings during a 100-year flood in 1998.
Mr Waugh said without the wetland storing the floodwaters on July 12, 1998, an extra 73sq km of land adjoining the wetland would have been flooded.
At an estimated farmland damage cost of $515 a hectare in 1998 terms, the cost today could have reached $5.2 million. As it was, the floods covered 67sq km of farmland.
DoC spokesman Bernie Napp said more than 90 per cent of wetlands in New Zealand had been drained or converted to other land uses in the last 150 years.
"They might look like swamps but wetlands are where eels and whitebait and all sorts of unusual native bird and plant species live.
"Wetlands also provide 'ecosystem services' such as water purification and sediment removal, carbon sequestration, and in some cases amenity values as well."
Mr Napp said of $1.7 million granted by the government's Biodiversity Advice and Condition Funds to private conservation projects in 2006-2007, $467,000 was allocated to 53 wetland projects.
The other economic benefits of Whangamarino Wetland highlighted in Mr Waugh's report:
* Gamebird hunting.
* Cultural and commercial harvesting of eels/tuna.
* Habitat for whitebait/inanga.
* Recreational fishing centred on introduced species, such as catfish, rudd and koi carp.
* International and domestic birdwatching tourism.
* Demand for increased public access: the area is located within an hour's drive of half of New Zealand's population.
* Carbon sequestration by manuka/kanuka and peat bogs.
* Water to irrigate farmland during dry periods.
- NZPA
