The Wadden Sea is the name given to a body of water and its associated coastal wetlands lying between a section of the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the North Sea. Stretching a total length of some 500 km and has a total area of about 10,000 sq. km, it is typified by extensive tidal mud flats, deeper tidal trenches and islands within this region. It is a rugged coastal area that is continually contested by both land and sea. The landscape was formed in a great part by storm tides in the 10th - 14th century, which destroyed peat land behind the coastal dunes. The Wadden Sea is famous for its rich fauna, avifauna and flora. The Wadden Sea stretches from Den Helder in the Netherlands in the southwest, past the great river estuaries of Germany to its northern boundary at Skallingen north of Esbjerg in Denmark along a total length of some 500 km and a total area of about 10,000 km². The islands in the Wadden Sea are called the Wadden Sea Islands or Frisian Islands, named after the Frisians. However, on the westernmost Dutch island, Texel, the Frisian language has not been spoken for centuries. The Danish Wadden Sea Islands have never been inhabited by Frisians. The outlying German island of Heligoland, although ethnically one of the Frisian Islands, is not situated in the Wadden Sea. The word wad is Dutch for "mud flat" (Low German and German: Watt, Danish: Vade). The area is typified by extensive tidal mud flats, deeper tidal trenches (tidal creeks) and the islands that are contained within this, a region continually contested by land and sea. The landscape has been formed for a great part by storm tides in the 10th to 14th centuries, overflowing and carrying away former peat land behind the coastal dunes. The present islands are a remnant of the former coastal dunes. The islands are marked by dunes and wide, sandy beaches towards the North Sea and a low, tidal coast towards the Wadden Sea. The impact of waves and currents, carrying away sediments, is slowly changing the layout of the islands. For example, the islands of Vlieland and Ameland have moved eastwards through the centuries, having lost land on one side and grown on the other. The Wadden Sea is famous for the rich fauna, avifauna and flora. Today, a great part of the Wadden Sea is protected in cooperation of all three countries; see Wadden Sea National Parks for the protected areas within the German borders. The shallow sea is rich in algae, especially diatoms and frog-algae, and hosts several species of green seaweed (Marsh samphire, Gutweed, Hen pen, Velvet horn), brown seaweed (Spiral wrack, Channelled wrack, Bladder wrack, Egg wrack, Tangle), red sea weed (Carragheen moss and Purple laver) and also 'blue seaweed' (more like bacteria) like cyano bacteria and blue-green algae.
Examples of the rich invertebrate fauna include Rag-worm, King rag, Estuary rag-worm, Lugworm and Lobworm, many species of shellfish, shrimps, lobsters and crab. Most abundant fish species are herring, sandeel, mackerel, sprat and plaice. Important breeding birds include Oystercatcher, Redshank, Curlew, Bar-tailed godwit, Little stint, Dunlin, Sanderling, Knot, Ringed plover, Kentish plover, Grey plover, Brent goose, Barnacle goose, Wigeon, Shelduck, Eider, Herring gull, Black-headed gull, and Common tern. And last but not least, the area hosts a healthy population of Common (or Harbour) seals (circ. 3000 in 2001) and Grey seals (circ. 600 in 2001).
At the end of the 12th International Scientific Wadden Sea Symposium in Wilhelmshaven, the over 270 participants underlined the importance of closer cooperation on the protection of the Wadden Sea. “The symposium has shown that we have to enhance cross-border cooperation considerably to protect the Wadden Sea’s natural structure and functioning” says Jens Enemark, secretary general of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat in Wilhelmshaven. The symposium resulted in clear recommendations for the decision makers in policy. The recommendations are to be taken into consideration in the preparation of the next Trilateral Governmental Conference on Sylt in March 2010. The symposium was organized by the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear, Safety, the National Park Administrations (Niedersachsen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea ), and the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS). Since 1975, when the first symposium was held, global changes have occurred which have affected the Wadden Sea as a marine habitat of international importance significantly. “Climate change and the subsequent changes in species composition are issues of concern which have to be dealt with by science and policy” says Wim Wolff (Uni Groningen) who initiated the first symposium in 1975. A main demand by the researchers is therefore to increase the resilience of the ecosystem. Management should aim to restore natural dynamics and geomorphological conditions in the Wadden Sea in order to allow the system to better adapt to accelerated sea level rise. “To reach solutions for the entire ecosystem we have to cooperate across borders” says Karsten Reise (Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- und Maritime Research, Wadden Sea Station Sylt). This means on the one hand to also protect the adjacent off-shore conservation areas, because there is a strong relationship between the Wadden Sea and these areas for fish and marine mammals. “On the other hand, an international cooperation effort is required to prevent introduction and spreading of alien species in the Wadden Sea” The experts concluded that the various EU Directives, which are relevant for the protection of the Wadden Sea, haven not been tuned sufficiently. A further harmonization is necessary which could also be an example for other European conservation areas. The Dutch Wadden Sea is a shallow, semi-enclosed part of the North Sea, mainly consisting of tidal mud flats, sand flats, sea gullies and salt marshes; the area is bordered by a series of dune barrier islands, the "wadden islands". The Wadden Sea stretches along the North Sea coast from Den Helder (NL) up to Esbjerg (DK) and is the largest estuarine area in Europe. Most of the sea and the uninhabited islands are State Nature Reserve, which is regulated by the Nature Conservation Law and a spatial planning act (PKB). The area is of international importance being a nursery of marine life, a resting, moulting and feeding area for several millions of migratory birds, and a habitat for thousands of birds, seals and many other species. The area has been selected for European protection as part of the Natura 2000 Network. The region, especially the wadden islands, is also a key recreational area for the Netherlands and Germany..
What on earth is the Wadden Sea? Maybe some of you already know the term and its meaning? Perhaps you have even been in the Wadden Sea and experienced it? However, we would like to give you the opportunity of getting to know the Wadden Sea and as a result of it to broaden your general knowledge about it. At the same time we want to entertain you, and so we invite you to dwell on this page, follow our links and enjoy yourselves. Have a lot of fun on your VIRTUAL WALK through the WADDEN SEA. Nature management in the area is determined by the PKB Waddenzee, a national attempt to combine economic development with environmental protection of the area. Through the various PKB's the government promotes sustainable development by controlling the extent of fisheries, gas exploitation, recreation and tourism and military activities. The PKB is binding upon all state, regional and local authorities. The draft 3rd PKB determining the future of the area for the next 10 years, is still under discussion. The Wadden Sea society (Waddenvereniging) and other NGO's have repeatedly asked for further restrictions to military activities and to mechanical shell fishing that is particularly damaging to bird populations; see www.waddenvereniging.nl. Since 1997 the governments of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark are working jointly on the protection and conservation of the entire Wadden Sea Area, supported by the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (www.waddensea-secretariat.org). In 1982 the countries agreed upon the Joint Declaration of the Protection of the Wadden Sea; the countries intended to coordinate their activities and measures in order to protect the Wadden Sea. A trilateral Wadden Sea Plan, adopted in 1997, focuses on: a healthy environment, diversity of habitats and species, sustainable use, integrated management, coastal protection and informing and involving the local population.
