
Hapuku Scarp Wetland - one of Canterbury’s best examples of a coastal bush scarp wetland.
Most of Canterbury’s natural kūkūwai/wetlands have been lost, with Kaikōura’s kūkūwai areas significantly reduced due to human impact. This includes farming and urban development.
Kaikōura is home to lots of unique wetland species such as ‘swamp astelia’ which is uncommon on New Zealand’s East Coast.
Immediate Steps biodiversity funding enhanced wetland work in Kaikōura and helped landowners work towards protecting and enhancing the plant, animal, invertebrate and fish species that call wetlands 'home'.
Why are wetlands important?
Wetlands are vital to maintaining healthy waterways and are rich in biodiversity, providing habitat for plants, animals, fish, and insects.
They also play an important role in nutrient and sediment filtering, water quality, and flood control – so it is important that we work together to protect them.
- Read more about wetlands and why they are important.
- Download this handy guide about wetlands in Kaikōura (PDF file,1.88MB).
- Get in touch to find out more about funding for wetland work.
Wetland projects in Kaikōura
We work with landowners, community groups and other organisations to identify, map and fund wetland protection work across the district.
Read more about some of the projects in the areas below, and keep up to date with the latest wetland news in Kaikōura.