Environmental Law Initiative is taking legal action against Environment South as part of a judicial review beginning on Monday in the High Court at Christchurch.
The charitable trust says 2709ha of wetlands were lost in the region between 1996 and 2018, which was half of the country’s total loss for that time.
That was despite multiple reports being prepared for the council between 2015 and 2018 showing wetland loss was an issue, primarily at the hands of agriculture.
Trust senior researcher Anna Sintenie said wetlands were important for a number of reasons, including storing carbon, reducing the impact of flooding and responding to biodiversity loss.
"For Southland, the focus for us was the scale of the loss there and the fact that that was an ongoing thing."
The case centred on the legality of the council’s approach, with hopes it would take "strong action" and turn wetland loss around, she said.
Despite not wishing to comment ahead of the court proceeding, Environment Southland has raised wetland loss in two separate reports this month.
Both were presented at a council meeting on Wednesday and painted a grim picture for the region.
Murihiku Southland had experienced the greatest amount of wetland loss in the country — 98% was at the hands of farming and forestry, one report said.
The other noted there had been a "significant reduction" of about 8% to the total amount of wetland since 2014-15.
The Awarua Wetland complex, which includes Waituna Lagoon, was recorded as being one of the largest complexes left in the country with important biological and cultural value.
"Waituna Lagoon is a nationally and internationally protected area under [the Ramsar Convention], and there is a critical need to safeguard its health", the report read.
An Environment Southland staff member presenting at the meeting said while the council was able to issue infringements, it sometimes struggled to access the experts it needed for more serious action.
Options put forward by councillors included a more aggressive approach and engaging with people on the value of wetlands.
"We’ve lost our opportunity to lead on this", Cr Peter McDonald said.
Environmental Law Initiative is a charitable trust specialising in wetlands and freshwater.
It says wetland loss is not just a Southland issue, with large losses also occurring in Northland, Waikato and the West Coast.
Environment Southland did not wish to comment while the matter was before the courts.
— Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter
— LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
