Estimated contemporary and pre-human wetland area, by region (2008 estimate)

Wetlands support unique biodiversity and provide important services. They clean water of excess nutrients and sediment, help absorb floodwaters, and act as carbon sinks (remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere). They also have cultural importance for Māori, and provide valuable food and materials (eg flax). Draining wetlands for agricultural and urban development over the past 150 years has significantly reduced their extent, leading to a loss of biodiversity and natural function. This dataset contains estimates of the extent of wetlands in pre-human and contemporary times by regional council area, and nationally.

This dataset relates to the "Wetland extent" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.