New Zealand has several notable wetlands but 90% of wetland areas have been lost following European settlement.

The Resource Management Act 1991, the major Act of Parliament determining land use, defines wetlands as "permanently or intermittently wet areas, shallow water, and land water margins that support a natural ecosystem of plants and animals that area adapted to wet conditions". The Ramsar Convention, an international conservation agreement for wetlands to which New Zealand signed up to in 1971, has a wider definition of wetland.^[1]

Since the mid-19th century, New Zealand has lost about 90% of its wetland areas due to draining for farming. Many remaining wetlands are also degraded due to pollution, grazing, drainage and presence of invasive plants. In the late 20th and early 21st century, efforts have been made towards wetland conservation.^[2]

The Department of Conservation currently administers seven Ramsar sites protected under the Ramsar Convention, covering an area of about 56,000 hectares (140,000 acres).^[3][4]

• Awarua Wetland
• Farewell Spit
• Firth of Thames
• Kopuatai Peat Dome
• Manawatu river mouth and estuary
• Wairarapa Moana Wetland
• Whangamarino Wetland

Other notable wetlands in New Zealand include Ahukawakawa Swamp, Aramoana, the Kepler Mire, Kai Iwi Lakes, the Sinclair Wetlands, and Te Henga, as well as areas around the lower reaches of the Waikato River.

The Rakatu Wetlands in the South Island are part of an ecological restoration project set up address the environmental effects of the construction of the Manapouri Power Station.

Travis Wetland is a restoration project covering 116 hectares (290 acres) of land in urban Christchurch formerly drained and used as a dairy farm.

• Water in New Zealand
• Environment of New Zealand