Whitebait stands, favourite fishing spots and hunting sites on public lands have been handed down for generations. Some families can boast nearly a century of uninterrupted enjoyment of these special places. In 1976, Southland became the first place in the world to have a wetland officially recognised under the Ramsar Convention formulated in Iraq five years earlier by nations seeking to protect the world's wetlands from over exploitation.

More than 20 years later, Southland is again leading the battle to save remaining wetlands for future generations. New Zealand has five wetlands registered under the Ramsar Convention, including Southland's Waituna Wetland Scientific Reserve, 3500ha of Waituna peatland area, 11km south east of Woodlands. Back in the 1970's the world's remaining wetlands were fast disappearing under an ever increasing demand for agricultural land and industrial sites.

Under developed nations in particular were draining or over exploiting wetlands at an alarming rate without realising the ecosystems they relied on for freshwater and natural resources were disappearing with them. In New Zealand, wetlands were also under serious pressre. Many areas which had not been drained had been irreversibly modified by introduced plants and wildlife, many of which were more aggressive and successful than the native species they replaced. English willows quickly replaced native wetland species over most of the country but, in Southland, the introduced gorse invaded wetlands displacing large areas of manuka, flax and tussock.

Two generations of New Zealanders cannot imagine a river or swamp without willows and gorse. They have no memory of pristine, native swamp plant communities. Farming, which turned thousands of hectares of wetlands into pasture as our primary production and became the envy of the British Empire, also polluted the remainder with the cleanings from thousands of cow sheds and pig sties until quiet recently when controls were placed on effluent quality. In the 1970s, the New Zealand pioneering spirit was still alive and thriving on new challenges.

With most of the native forests gone to timber mills and chip manufacture, the nation turned its attention to once vast and unique swamp and river systems. In those days wetlands were still officially listed in many regions as wasteland. Provincial land drainage boards spent vast sums of money draining swamps and building extensive stop bank complexes to keep river systems to artificially designated riverbeds. By then 90 percent of the North Island's original wetlands and more than 60 percent of the South Island's had gone.

With them went wildlife species found nowhere else in the world. At least one freshwater fish, the New Zealand grayling, is now extinct and several wetland birds are endangered through habitat loss. Important changes in thinking were, however, taking effect. The protected Waituna peat swamps are home to secretive Australasian bittern and the tiny fernbird, both of which have disappeared from much of their former range. In the days before the Resource Management Act and the Conservation Act, a Ramsar Convention recognition was an important protection mechanism. It has similar status to the World Heritage Site recognition recently to New Zealand's sub Antarctic Islands. Now 91 nations have joined the cause to protect rapidly disappearing wetlands.

Nearly two years ago the Department of Conservation initiated a plan to add about 20,000ha of wetlands to the Waituna Ramsar site. The additions will include the three major esturaries - Toe Toe, Awarua Bay and the New River. These three estuaries are unique features of Southland and are still relatively unspoiled compared to similar waterways in other parts of the country. Just over 10,000ha of the Awarua peat complex and areas of cushion bog, usually only found in subalpine regions, will also be included in the Waituna additions.

At first, the proposal met opposition from groups which feared recreational activities, such as whitebaiting and duck shooting, would be restricted. However, sustainable uses of the wetlands for recreation are included in the recognition application. In the long term, the department also has plans for a walkway into parts of the Waituna peatlands for ease of access and to avoid damage to the delicate ecology of the area from heavy foot traffic.