Herald Marencic 30 Years of Dutch-German-Danish Cooperation on the Protection of the Wadden Sea

Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation30 Years of Dutch-German-Danish Cooperation on theProtection of the Wadden SeaHarald MarencicCommon Wadden Sea SecretariatWilhelmshaven, Germany 1

DenmarkThe 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

Martin Stock Norbert Stock Martin HeckerMartin Stock

Jan van de Kam

OutstandingUniversal Value(OUV)1. Criteria OUV:viii: geology, ix: ecologicalprocesses, x: biodiversity2. Integrity:10,000 km² represents allhabitats, species andprocesses3. Appropriate Protectionand ManagementNational Parks/naturereserves, Wadden SeaPlan, Monitoring (TMAP)

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

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

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

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 ?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Management Mussel Fishery

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

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)

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

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

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

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

International Cooperation: Bird Flyway

Awareness - Identity - Pride

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

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

Herald Marencic 30 Years of Dutch-German-Danish Cooperation on the Protection of the Wadden Sea

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