1. Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation
30 Years of Dutch-German-
Danish Cooperation on the
Protection of the Wadden Sea
Harald Marencic
Common Wadden Sea Secretariat
Wilhelmshaven, Germany
1

2. Denmark
The Wadden Sea
• Largest unbroken system of tidal flats world wide
• Highly productive ecosystem with natural dynamics
• 10-12 mill. migratory birds pass through the area
• Shared by 3 countries – and well protected
Germany
The Netherlands
2

3. Martin Stock
Norbert Stock
Martin Hecker
Martin Stock

4. Jan van de Kam

5. Outstanding
Universal Value
(OUV)
1. Criteria OUV:
viii: geology, ix: ecological
processes, x: biodiversity
2. Integrity:
10,000 km² represents all
habitats, species and
processes
3. Appropriate Protection
and Management
National Parks/nature
reserves, Wadden Sea
Plan, Monitoring (TMAP)

6. The Wadden Sea Region
The Wadden Sea is an area where people
live, work and recreate.
About 75,000 inhabitants in the Wadden Sea
Cooperation Area (on islands).
About 3.7 million inhabitants on the mainland in
the Wadden Sea Region

7. Social and Economic Development
Harbours
• Hamburg: 149 mill. tons/y
• Bremerhaven: 74 mill. tons/y
• Wilhelmshaven: 40 mill. tons/y
• Others (Den Helder, Harlingen,
Delfzijl/Eeemshaven, Emden, Brake,
Brunsbüttel, Esbjerg): 24 mill. tons/y
Fishery
• About 500 ships with 1300 employees,
high local economic relevance;
• Landings: 160,000 tons, 110 Mill. Euro
Agriculture
• 44,500 farms
• 1,800 ha agricultural land in use
• 55,000 employees
Sources: WSF 2004, QSR 2004 & 2009

8. Social and Economic Development
Tourism in the Wadden Sea Region
• 10 million tourists per year
• About 70 million overnight
stays
• 30 – 40 million day trippers
every year
Turnover per year:
2.8 – 5.3 Billion Euro
Sources: QSR 2004 & 2009

9. Wadden Sea Cooperation – The History
1970s
Pollution, eutrophication, habitat degradation
Decline of bird and marine mammal populations
1980s
Large scale protection schemes and national
parks – Wadden Sea coast under protection
1990s
Ecosystem based management and
monitoring (TMAP), integrated policies
2010
Adaptation to climate change
2030
Main issue ?

10. National Conservation Regimes
Denmark: 1983 Statutory Order Nature
and Wildlife Reserve (From 2010: National
Park)
Conservation Area
11,000 km²
Germany: Federal Nature Protection Law,
1986 National Park Laws (3 Federal States)
The Netherlands: 1980 Nature Protection Act,
Planning Decree Wadden Sea

11. Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation
Guiding principle: “to achieve, as far
as possible, a natural and sustainable
ecosystem in which natural processes
proceed in an undisturbed way”.
Trilateral Cooperation Area
1982/2010 Joint Declaration on the
Protection km² Wadden Sea
14,700 of the
1987 Common Wadden Sea Secretariat
1993 Monitoring Programme TMAP
1997/2010 Wadden Sea Plan
2009 UNESCO World Heritage Site

12. Trilateral Wadden Sea Plan
Vision
A Wadden Sea which Management natural and
Guiding Principle and is a unique,
Principles and Integrated Ecosystem
dynamic ecosystem with characteristic
Management
biodiversity, vast open landscapes and rich
cultural heritage, enjoyed by all, and delivering
Sustainable development, communication,
information and education way to present and
benefits in a sustainable
future generations.
Overarching themes: Climate change,
alien species, shipping safety
Ecological Targets and Trilateral
Policy and Management

13. Trilateral Wadden Sea Plan
Ecological Targets: Regulations on :
• Landscape and • Agriculture
Culture • Fishery
• Water and Sediment • Hunting
• Salt Marshes • Dredging and dumping
• Tidal Area (tidal flats • Sand and clay extraction
and subtidal gullies)
• Tourism
• Beaches and Dunes
• Shipping
• Estuaries
• Energy (wind, gas, oil)
• Offshore Zone
• others
• Birds
• Marine Mammals
• Fish

14. Tidal Area – “Ecological Targets”
1. Natural dynamic situation in the tidal area.
2. An increased area of geomorphological and biologically
undisturbed tidal flats and subtidal areas.
3. A natural size, distribution and development of natural
mussel beds, Sabellaria reefs and seagras fields.
4. Viable stocks and natural reproduction capacity of marine
mammals, conservation of habitat quality,
5. Numbers and distribution of birds, natural breeding
success, connectivity between habitats, as well as
breeding, feeding, moulting and roosting sites,
6. Fish: Viable stocks and natural reproduction, occurrence
and abundance, habitat quality, connectivity

15. Tidal Area – Trilateral Policy and Management
1. Coastal defense: enlargement of dikes outside, sand
nourishment instead of dikes
2. Shipping (PSSA), harbors and industry (no new structures)
3. Closure for wind turbines (but: cables, external),
4. No mineral extraction,
5. No mussel fishery on stable beds (high biodiv), food
reservation policy for birds
6. Tourism: visitor guidance system, spatial or temporal
closure of sensitive habitats
7. Site protection, disturbance (farming, wind energy, air traffic,
military activities), pollution reduction

16. Management Mussel Fishery

17. Management of Tourism: German National Parks
Trilateral Wadden Sea Plan
Introducing and applying information
systems (visitor guidance),
Temporal and spatial zoning and/or closure
of ecologically most sensitive areas such
as bird breeding and moulting areas.
Schleswig-Holstein NP
Lower Saxony NP

18. Quality Status Report 2009
Nutrient inputs decreased. But: the Wadden Sea is
still a “eutrophication problem area”
N P
Source: Beusekom et al., 2009 (QSR 2009)

19. Quality Status Report 2009
Recovery of seagrass
Source: Reise et al. 2009

20. Quality Status Report 2009
Harbour Seal population is doing
well
Source: Reijnders et al. 2009

21. Quality Status Report 2009
The numbers of many
migratory birds have
improved
8 species show strong or
moderate increases, 12 species
are stable, and 14 species are
decreasing.
Compared to 2004, there has
been some improvement in the
development for several
species.
Source: Laursen et al. 2009

22. Challenges
• Adaptation to climate changes and accelerated sea level rise
• Protection and restoration of natural dynamics,
•geo-morpholgical processes (sediment transport),
•habitat dynamics (dune dynamics, restoration of estuaries),
•migration of species (fish, birds)
• Closing of gaps in knowledge on subtidal and offshore habitats
and species (ecology, monitoring, management)
• Reduction of external impacts, such as input of contaminants
and nutrients, litter, shipping and invasion of alien species,
• Enhance International Cooperation, especially on protection of
migrating species (bird flyway) and biodiversity

23. International Cooperation: Bird Flyway

24. Awareness - Identity - Pride

25. Sustainable Tourism
• EU Interreg IVB project PROWAD – “Protect and Prosper”
• Total budget 1.3 Mio Euro
• Ministries, National Park Agencies, WWF, Tourism and Marketing
Organizations
• Development of a consistent sustainable tourism strategy for the
entire Wadden Sea in a participatory approach (2012)
Task Group
• Implementation Action Plan (2013 – 2014) Sustainable Tourism Strategy

26. Summary
• Management must be done at an ecosystem level
(integration of the total system of the habitat) – functional
delimitation instead administrational borders.
• Scientific information and monitoring has been critical for
the success of protection in the Wadden Sea – long term
data series
• Communication, education and public awareness supports
conservation (identity and pride of locals)
• International Cooperation (bird flyway, scientific and
management aspects, global importance of tidal flats)
• Nature conservation can be a driver for socio-economic
development: World Heritage and sustainable tourism