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The Common Futureof the Wadden Sea

A report by theWorld Wide Fund for Nature

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Copyright: World Wide Fund for Nature

Study Team:Brigitte van BerkelKonrad BuchwaldPeter BurbridgeNorbert DankersMatthias FeigeDavid M. FleetCato ten HallersArne JensenHans-Jørgen Olesen

Consultants:Jan AbrahamseIan GouldStephan LutterBernd SchererHolger WesemüllerAnky WoudstraKarel van der Zwiep

WWF-Wadden Sea Advisory Committee:Wim BraakhekkeTommy DybbroHerman EijsackersHartmut JungiusSvend TougaardWim Wolff

Coordination:Peter ProkoschSecretary:Sybille Mielke

Lay-out and production:Kühnast DesignPrinter:Harry Jung

Purchase enquiries to:WWF-WattenmeerstelleNorderstraße 3D - 2250 Husum

November 1991

Colophon

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The Wadden Sea is a mosaic of marine and coastal environmentswhich form both an area of outstanding natural beauty as well asone of the world’s most important tidal wetlands. This uniquearea off the north west coast of the mainland of Europe sustainsmillions of migrating shore birds and waterfowl and provides vitalfeeding, spawning and nursery areas for many species of com-mercially valuable North Sea fish. The trouble is that it is also seenas an ideal area for outdoor recreation by ever increasing numbersof visitors. It is a classic instance of conflict of interest betweenthe need for the sensitive conservation of nature and the humandemand for the exploitation of natural resources.The future of the Wadden Sea, which is the legacy we will leaveto the next generation, depends on how we resolve this conflictand how successful we are in protecting the integrity of its naturalecosystems. It is desperately important to achieve a sensible ba-lance between the free dynamics of the natural processes, whichare essential to the health and productivity of the Wadden Sea;the welfare of the local people, who depend on the sustainableuse of its resources; and the natural desire of visitors to enjoy theattractions of the area.Progress is being made through the combined efforts of the Wad-den Sea States; Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, theNational WWF Organisations in those countries and other NGOswhich are promoting the wise and sustainable use of its resources.Many of the essential elements needed to provide effectiveprotection for the area are in place. What is lacking is full cooper-ation between the individual governments and the political will totake difficult and urgent decisions.It would be both tragic and scandalous for history to have torecord that the rich nations of Europe, with all the benefits of so-phisticated legal systems, educated and skilled managers and awealth of scientific information, could not act together to ensurethe protection and practical management of this unique area. Ifthese affluent nations cannot solve these critical problems, it ishardly a good example for the less prosperous nations in theirefforts to resolve similar dilemmas.

International President of WWF

Forewordby HRH Prince Philipp, Duke of Edinburgh

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Contents

0.0 Summary 6

1.0 Ten Years of Wadden Sea Conservation 9

2.0 Evaluation of the Current EnvironmentalCondition of the Wadden Sea 11

2.1 Ecology 112.1.1 Biological and Physical Factors affecting the

Wadden Sea 112.1.2 Birds 132.1.3 Fish and Fisheries 142.1.4 Mammals 142.1.5 Man and His Role in the Natural System 15

3.0 State of Environmental Managementof the Wadden Sea 16

3.1 Major Problems and Issues Affecting the Wise Useof the Wadden Sea as a Natural Ecosystem 16

3.2 Problems and Issues which have an adverse Effectupon Natural Processes which Maintain the Healthand Productivity of the Wadden Sea’s Ecosystems 18

3.2.1 Large Scale Engineering Modifications to Marineand Coastal Areas of the Wadden Sea 18

3.2.2 Pollution 203.2.3 Overexploitation of Natural Resources 253.2.4 Disturbance due to Tourism and Recreation 283.3 Socio-Economic Problems Related to the

Conservation of the Wadden Ecosystem 303.4 Current Management Arrangements do not

adequately Protect the Wadden Sea 323.4.1 Basic Flaws in the System of managing the

Development of the Wadden Sea and its Resources 324.0 Resolution of Critical Issues 374.1 A New Joint Declaration 374.2 Confirm that the Wadden Sea is an Entity 374.3 Adopt Comprehensive Management Boundaries for

resolving Environmental Problems and UserConflicts which adversely influence the WiseUse of the Wadden Sea 37

4.4 Develop a Common Vision on Wadden SeaProtection and Adopt a Common Unified Goaland a Common Conservation Principle 39

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4.5 Develop an Integrated Management Systemfor the Wadden Sea 41

4. 5.1 Use European and International Conventionsto their Full Effect 42

4.5.2 Integrate the Three Different NationalManagement Strategies 42

4.5.3 Streamline the Administrative Arrangements 434.5.4 Strengthen Public Support 434.6 Strengthen Controls over the adverse

Environmental, Economic and Social Impactof Human Activities 43

4.7 Wadden Sea Council 444.8 Introduce a Wadden Sea Charter to harmonize the

Protection of the Wadden Sea Environment 454.9 Specific Suggestions for Reducing the

Adverse Impact of Human Activities 454.9.1 Coastal Engineering 454.9.2 Pollution 464.9.3 Fisheries 484.9.4 Agriculture 504.9.5 Recreation and Tourism 50

5.0 Appendix 525.1 Proposal for a ”Wadden Sea Charakter” 525.2 Authors and Titles of their ”State of Art”-Papers 535.3 Non Governmental Organisations

supporting this report 53

6.0 Maps 59Fig. 1 The Wadden Sea 59Fig. 2 Greater WaddenSea Area 60Fig. 3 The Catchment Area of the North Sea 61Fig. 4 The East Atlantic Flyway Region

of Costal Bird Populations 62Fig. 5 Satellite Image: Western Part

of the Dutch Wadden Sea 63Fig. 6 Satellite Image: Eastern Dutch, the Niedersachsen

and Hamburg Part of the Wadden Sea 64Fig. 7 Satellite Image: Schleswig-Holstein and

Southern Danish Part of the Wadden Sea 65Fig. 8 Aerial Photos: Northern Part of the

Danish Wadden Sea (Skallingen, Langli, Fanø) 64

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Summary After ten years of Wadden Sea conservation it appears that thecondition of the Wadden Sea is still deteriorating. Seal deaths, fishdiseases and other adverse developments are testimony to that.The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) therefore has commis-sioned a study of the present situation of Wadden Sea conserva-tion. Based on 39 expert studies this report brings together the in-formation on the state and management of the Wadden Sea andmakes recommendations for a new step forward in Wadden Seaconservation. The WWF and more than 50 supporting NGOsstress the importance of an agreed plan of action to meet thepresent adverse developments and to provide positive guidancefor development.The main elements necessary to safeguard the Wadden Sea aspart of the heritage for European society already exist. Effectiveprotection will require the integration of the present three nation-al sets of aims, objectives, and management measures into a com-prehensive management strategy for the entire Wadden Sea.

The formulation of an effective strategy to protect the CommonFuture for the Wadden Sea requires the adoption of a commonvision, a common goal, a common conservation principle, and abroadly based, unified planning and management boundary in-corporating the Wadden Sea and the relevant surrounding NorthSea and mainland areas. Within the Wadden Sea itself, a balancemust be sought between conserving and/or promoting naturalprocesses and ecological functions essential to the maintenanceof the Wadden Sea ecosystem and improving the economic andsocial welfare of the people who live and work there. A concertedplan of action is required to unify management goals and objec-tives, strengthen existing public support, increase administrativecoordination and harmonize management practices within andamong the three Wadden Sea states, seeking the cooperation ofother partner states in the EC and in outside regions.The World Wide Fund for Nature, in collaboration with the 50 fel-low Non-Government Organizations from the Wadden Seastates, offers the following recommendations for improving theprotection of the Wadden Sea.

1. A Second Joint Declaration on the Protection of the WaddenSea is required to provide Wadden Sea conservation with the ur-gently needed stimulus for improvement.

2. The Wadden Sea must be managed as an ecological entity. It issuggested that a unified management boundary be establishedfor the entire Wadden Sea ecosystem (Figure 1). This must en-compass all major coastal and marine ecosystems which consti-tute the Wadden Sea in order to provide a commonly agreed basefor the coordination of management policies and administrative-arrangements, and for the unification of laws and regulations andenvironmental quality standards by the three nations. It isessential that activities which have a significant influence uponthe Wadden Sea ecosystem which are located in areas borderingthe Wadden Sea be incorporated into a second, more broadlybased planning and management system (Figure 2). For manage-ment questions regarding riverine input of pollutants, the whole

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catchment area of the North Sea (Figure 3) should be considered.When dealing with the management of migratory bird popula-tions the cooperation with countries along the East Atlantic Fly-way (Figure 4) must be strived for.3. It is recommended that the Wadden Sea states set up an inter-national working group to develop a common vision on WaddenSea protection and to describe a reference system (an ‘ideal’Wadden Sea) and a target system (a ‘possible’ Wadden Sea).

4. A common goal appropriate to the conservation of the Wad-den Sea would be to achieve a natural and sustainable ecosystemin which natural processes proceed in an undisturbed way and inwhich all species of plants and animals which should occur in theWadden Sea can occur. It is suggested that this Guiding Principlebe adopted by the three Wadden Sea states as the basis for pro-moting the protection of the Wadden ecosystem and the unifica-tion of national and local government policies and managementarrangements among the three nations. The Wise Use conceptdeveloped in the framework of the Ramsar convention, is com-plementary to the Guiding Principle; it should be applied at leastwithin the Greater Wadden Sea area (Figure 2), if not in thewhole catchment area of the rivers flowing into the North Sea(Figure 3), as a means of reducing the adverse environmental andeconomic effects of human activities. A second complementaryconcept to be applied is the Precautionary Principle requiring thatin case of doubt about possible adverse effects an activity or useof a certain compound is abandoned.

5. Individually, the Wadden Sea states have taken steps to in-crease international recognition of the unique value of the Wad-den Sea and increase its conservation status. The WWF suggeststhat a joint proposal be made by the three states that the entireWadden Sea be nominated as a:• Ramsar site under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of In-

ternational Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat;• Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Programme of

the UNESCO;• World Heritage Site under the World Heritage Convention.Also the EC-bird directive should be implemented in the wholeWadden Sea.The WWF also suggests that cooperative arrangements be set upwith authorities responsible for other internationally importantwetlands and natural areas around the North Sea coast and alongthe East Atlantic Flyway to promote the conservation of migratorybirds. In all this the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat could play aleading role. The WWF suggests that the role of this Secretariatbe reinforced.

6. It is recommended that the Wadden Sea states establish a uni-fied management strategy. This should integrate as key elementsthe relevant parts of the Dutch PKB Waddenzee concept, Nation-al parks and a bufferzone system as developed in Denmark. It isalso recommended that the Wadden Sea states streamline theiradministrative arrangements for Wadden Sea management. A

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substantial increase in administrative and financial support shouldbe given for education, interpretation and warden services.

7. Controls over the adverse environmental, economic and socialimpact of specific human activities should be strengthened. Anyfurther impacts of pollutants into the Wadden Sea should be avo-ided by reducing pollution and discharge of nutrients with Uni-form Emission Standards using Best Available Technology and sci-entific knowledge. All developments planned for the Wadden Seamust be subject to comprehensive Environmental Impact Assess-ment procedures.

8. The integrated management of the Wadden Sea as an ecologi-cal entity could be supported by the establishment of a small butstrong international body, such as a Wadden Sea Council, madeup of representatives from the three Wadden Sea states, includinglocal government representatives. To such a Wadden Sea Councilany disputes about the management of the Wadden Sea could bereferred for arbitration. The WWF suggests that an internationalWorking Group made up of members from the three Wadden Seastates be set up to review this concept with the aim of recom-mending how it should be constituted, its powers, staffing andbudget. This Working Group should report within one year afterits constitution. Consideration should also be given to strengthen-ing the Common Secretariat for the Cooperation of the Protectionof the Wadden Sea so that it could effectively service such a Wad-den Sea Council.

9. A Wadden Sea Charter should be prepared as a means of pro-moting the harmonization of policies and unification of con-ser-vation principles among the three Wadden Sea nations.

10. Specific suggestions are made for reducing the adverse im-pacts of coastal engineering activities, pollution, fisheries, agri-culture, and recreation and tourism.

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In 1981, exactly ten years ago, the Netherlands accepted a Physi-cal Planning Key Decision (PKB) on the Wadden Sea and gavemost of its Wadden Sea territory protected status by means of itsNature Conservation Act. This marked the start of large-scalegovernmental Wadden Sea protection.The other Wadden Sea states soon took similar initiatives. Den-mark protected its Wadden Sea area in 1982 (after a wildlife re-serve was established already in 1979), and the German statescreated national parks in the area in 1985 (Schleswig-Holstein),1986 (Niedersachsen) and 1990 (Hamburg).Altogether the lion’s share of the Wadden Sea has received pro-tected status by now. Moreover Denmark, Germany and theNetherlands agreed on a ‘Joint Declaration on the Protection ofthe Wadden Sea’ and decided to co-operate in matters of Wad-den Sea protection in 1982. As a result, nowadays managers ofparks and nature reserves regularly meet to discuss managementproblems, and scientists from all three countries are investigatingthe many problems and recommending measures. A CommonWadden Sea Secretariat has been active since 1986. But did theWadden Sea improve?Perhaps it did in some respects, but in several other respects itshowed deterioration since 1981.• Since 1981 nearly 7.000 ha of the Wadden Sea have been em-

banked and even now plans exist for a further embankment ofparts of the Wadden Sea.

• A concrete island for oil drilling was built in the GermanWadden Sea in 1985 alongside Europe’s most importantmoulting area for shelduck. In the Dutch Wadden Sea a gasplatform was constructed in 1985.

• In 1985-88 fishermen removed virtually all mussels from theDanish Wadden Sea.

• In 1988 60 % of all harbour seals in the Wadden Sea died dueto a virus infection in combination with lowered resistance dueto pollution.

• In 1990 the last seagrass beds in the Dutch Wadden Sea werevirtually destroyed by cockle fishing.

• In spring 1991 fishing for seed mussels in the Dutch WaddenSea was impossible because of insufficient spatfall and over-fishing in the preceding years. The same appeared to be thecase for cockle fishery in autumn 1991. Eider ducks and oyster-catchers, for which cockles and mussels are staple food, there-fore experienced food shortages, so that they did not raiseyoung and even died in considerable numbers.

• At the same time there is pressure to allow mussel culture andcockle fishery in the Wadden Sea in Denmark.

• Next is planed a pipeline for Norwegian gas: ›Europipe‹ of Stat-oil which will cross the tidal flats of the German Wadden Sea.

All this shows that we have started to create an excellent struc-ture for Wadden Sea conservation, which indeed has resulted inseveral positive effects, but at the same time it is very clear that itdoes not work as we expected. We hoped to see an improvementin the condition of nature in the Wadden Sea, but we have obser-ved continuous deterioration since 1981.For this reason the NGO’s of the three Wadden Sea countrieshave analysed the present unsatisfactory situation. The findings

Ten years ofWadden Sea conserva-tion

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and recommendations in this report are the culmination of a twoyear study sponsored by WWF which was conducted by a teamof international experts from the Netherlands, Germany and Den-mark. A series of 39 ‘State of the Art’ papers was commissionedto assist the team in arriving at authoritative asessments of thestate of knowledge concerning different management issues asso-ciated with the common future of the Wadden Sea.This report concludes that the scale of the challenge of achievingwise use of the Wadden Sea requires a concerted international re-sponse similar to that advocated in the Brundtland Commission’sreport „Our Common Future“. The Wadden Sea states need thesupport of the people of Europe in fulfilling their responsibility toprotect The Common Future of the Wadden Sea. This report ex-plores the challenge we face in conserving and restoring the eco-logical integrity of the Wadden Sea and presents recommenda-tions designed to assist the Wadden Sea States in resolving someof the major problems which threaten Our Common Future.Chapter two examines the ecological processes and functions ofthe Wadden Sea and the current state of management of theWadden Sea and its resources. Chapter three deals with the envi-ronmental problems and management issues which need to be re-solved. Chapter four examines how major problems and issuescould be resolved and makes specific recommendations for re-solving them and for improving the management of the WaddenSea for consideration by the Ministers of the three Wadden Seastates.

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The Wadden Sea is one of Europe’s most important wetland eco-systems. It is recognised internationally as an area of great natu-ral, scientific and social importance. Its importance is based uponthe great biological productivity of the complex mosaic of marineand coastal ecosystems which create the Wadden Sea environ-ment. The international importance of the Wadden Sea is illu-strated by the following facts:• It contains the largest area of tidal wetland in Europe and one

of the largest in the world;• It has the largest area of saltmarshes in Europe;• It forms one of the most important habitats for coastal water-

fowl and shorebirds in the entire world and functions as themost important staging area and point of distribution for mil-lions of coastal birds using the East Atlantic Flyway betweenSouth Africa, Northeast Canada and northern Siberia;

• It is a critically important feeding, spawning and nursery areafor fish species from the North Sea and surrounding coastalwaters;

• It is one of the few remaining areas where natural, dynamicprocesses operate and can be observed shaping the area;

• The renewable natural resources and environmental servicesprovided by the Wadden Sea ecosystem are of significant eco-nomic value. The wise use of these resources is criticallyimportant in sustaining human activities including fisheries,tourism and recreation; and

• The landscape is of unsurpassed natural beauty.

2.1 Ecology

The ecological situation of the Wadden Sea is the result of biolog-ical, chemical and physical factors acting on the sea as well as thehuman activities which influence these factors. The natural proc-esses largely still function in the Wadden Sea as in former centu-ries and the area is a typical tidal wetland system although its eco-logical situation has altered over the years. These alterations areusually the result of human activities although very severe stormsand other natural events may also have caused changes. Irreversi-ble changes can also result from these catastrophic natural events,but more often the area will change as a result of the natural ero-sion/sedimentation cycle which continually changes the appear-ance of the area.

2.1.1 Biological and Physical Factors

Affecting the Wadden SeaThe biological and physical factors affecting the ecology and re-sources of the Wadden Sea are considered separately althoughthe Wadden Sea is one system and changes in any single factorwill cause changes in other factors influencing the system.

Physical ProcessesThe main physical processes affecting the Wadden Sea are thetidal movements, the interchange of water with the North Sea,weather conditions and the influx of fresh water from the majorrivers draining into the Wadden Sea.

Evaluation of the CurrentEnvironmental Conditionof the Wadden Sea

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The most important factor affecting the Wadden Sea is tidal ac-tion and magnitude. Different regions within the Wadden Sea canbe differentiated on the basis of tidal amplitude. In the regionswith small to medium tidal amplitudes (The Netherlands, LowerSaxony and Denmark) barrier islands are formed between theNorth Sea and the Wadden Sea. In the areas with large tidal am-plitudes (>3 m; inner German Bight between Wangerooge andAmrum) sandbars form at the boundary of the North and Wad-den Seas. Tidal amplitude also affects the areas behind the barrierislands. Those areas with small to moderate tidal amplitudes havelarge channels and subtidal regions. The area of intertidal flats issmall in contrast to areas with large tidal amplitudes which havelarge intertidal flats.Although some sand is exported to the deeper parts of the NorthSea, the Wadden Sea is a sediment importing system. The net im-port of sand from the North Sea is essential for maintaining themorphology of the region during sand extraction and even moreso in a period with rising sea level. Within the Wadden Sea theimported sand is distributed by tides and currents. The system isdynamic and seasonal changes occur. Along the North Sea coastsand is transported in summer from below the low water mark to-wards the beaches while in winter erosion of the beaches carriessand back to deeper water where sandbars are formed. The barsare not fixed and, although normally present, their position canchange as a result of natural processes.Fine sediments from the North Sea and the rivers draining into theWadden Sea are also deposited in the Wadden Sea. The de-posi-tion takes place along sheltered mainland coastal areas and is thefirst stage in the formation of saltmarshes. Most salt-marshes,however, have disappeared due to embankment and reclamation.Altogether an area of about the same size as the entire presentWadden Sea has been embanked in the course of time ! The phy-sical appearance of the Wadden Sea is due to the import of sandand silts and the combined action of tides, currents, waves andweather. Man has also been instrumental in shaping the WaddenSea, e.g. by dredging for shipping channels, reclamation of landby dike building and drainage. The Wadden Sea will continue tochange but the nature of the changes will depend on many fac-tors. Among these factors the forecast rise in sea level could beone of the more important.

Biological ProcessesThe biological status of the Wadden Sea is influenced by the con-ditions of the coastline in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germa-ny, the state of the rivers, the run-off of water from land behindthe coastline and equally important the interchange of water withthe North Sea. In addition to major fresh water inputs from rivers,the interchange of salt water with the North Sea also results in theexchange of suspended and dissolved material. Among thedissolved materials are the primary nutrients nitrogen and phos-phorous. Part of the imported suspended matter consists of or-ganic substances which are broken down in the Wadden Sea tosimple chemical compounds. The Wadden Sea is therefore rich innutrients which results in a highly productive ecosystem. Themain primary producers are unicellular microalgae. These micro-

The tidal move-ments play a majorrole in affecting thephysical processesof the WaddenSea.The Satelite

image shows theexposed mud flatsof the Hever areain the NorthfrisiaWadden Sea at lowwater (23. 5.1989).

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algae are eaten by zooplankton and benthic grazers, such as mus-sels and cockles. These benthic organisms are an important sec-tion of the food chain in the Wadden Sea. This is due to the shal-low water which allows the benthic fauna to feed efficiently onboth benthic and suspended algae. The development of largestocks of cockles and mussels is thus favoured. The benthic faunais exploited by invertebrates such as crabs, shrimps, starfish, andragworms. However the most obvious species which exploit thesecommunities are fish and birds, and of course man.The benthic fauna counts many different species. Its biomassis among the highest found in Europe or in any temperate sea.The richness of the Wadden Sea as a habitat for fish and birds isalmost totally dependent on this benthic fauna. Any reduction inits quality or quantity, which in itself is already a loss, would causeadverse changes in the ecological and economic potential of theWadden Sea.

2.1.2 BirdsUnlike the benthic communities which are largely invisible to thepublic, the bird population in the Wadden Sea forms a very dis-tinct component of the ecosystem. Their visibility makes them agood indicator of the health and productivity of the entire system,and of the degree of disturbance that it is subjected to.The main species of birds using the Wadden Sea are geese, ducks,waders, gulls and terns. The breeding population in the salt-marshes and theislands amounts to about one million individualswhen the offspring are included. Many more birds use the regionas a wintering, moulting and, especially, as a staging area in thespring and autumn. Millions of birds breeding in the arctic andhigh arctic tundra of Canada, Greenland, Spitsbergen, Scandina-via and Siberia use the Wadden Sea as a feeding ground to buildup energy reserves for the long flights to their far distant breedingareas. Estimates based on simultaneous counts suggest that six tonine million coastal birds that migrate each year along the EastAtlantic Flyway between South Africa, Northeast Canada andnorthern Siberia depend upon the Wadden Sea.The importance of the Wadden Sea for the conservation of birdsis illustrated by the following examples: the whole world popu-lation of the dark-bellied brent goose is largely dependent on theWadden Sea, 60-70% of the world population of the barnaclegoose is dependent on the Wadden Sea. Apparently all the knotsmigrating from Africa to northern Siberia and 75% of thosebreeding in Greenland and Northeast Canada build up fat re-serves by feeding on molluscs in the Wadden Sea. Eighty to nine-ty percent of all European oystercatchers and shelducks utilize thearea. More than 50% of the East Atlantic Flyway populations ofgrey plover, curlew, dunlin and bar-tailed godwit feed on the in-vertebrate resources of the Wadden Sea.The bird population has fluctuated but on a long-term basis thereis no real evidence of any major changes in the number of speciesor birds per species using the area. However, a serious case ofpesticide poisoning has occurred. Between 1953-1962 thenumber of breeding pairs of sandwich terns reduced from 26.000to 6.000, and by 1965 only 800 pairs bred. There was also a hugemortality among eider ducks on the Dutch islands in the 1960’s.

Large populations of coastal birds use Wadden Sea

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The populations of both these and other affected species are nowrecovering since the flow of these pesticides has ceased. On theother hand some populations such as brent geese, barnacle geeseand wigeon which have been low levels for decades have recov-ered recently due to stronger conservation measures and reducedhunting pressure. The numbers and health of the bird popula-tions, especially the resident species, are indicators of the overallstatus of the Wadden Sea ecosystem. The birds are at the top ofthe food chain and are completely dependent on the lower linksof the chain. The status of the bird population of the Wadden Seacan be used as a visible and highly emotive indicator of the under-lying state of the system which is dependent on the critical, butless visible, benthic fauna, fish and the plankton.

2.1.3 Fish and fisheriesAbout one hundred species of fish have been recorded in theWadden Sea. The populations of these vary, plaice and flounderbeing common while others are rare. The houting and other spe-cies migrating into the rivers, once common, are now almost ex-tinct due to river pollution and regulation. The re-introduction ofspecies which are rare or almost extinct is being attempted in sev-eral areas. The long-term success of these attempts will dependvery much on the restoration of environmental conditions whichthese species require.The Wadden Sea is an important nursery ground for the com-mercial North Sea stocks of herring, plaice and sole. The shrimp,cockle and mussel fisheries are of economic value. A recent devel-opment is the harvesting of lugworm and ragworm for use as baitfor sport fishing.The size of the fish stocks in the Wadden Sea, at present, appearsto be reasonably stable. However, the increasing incidence of fishdiseases, especially in the estuaries, indicates that pollution hassignificant effects. Increasing pressures from fisheries as well aschanges in habitats are an increasing cause of concern.

2.1.4 MammalsThe most common mammal in the Wadden Sea is the harbourseal. The population of harbour seals has shown a strong declinein recent times. Hunting pressure and the accompanying distur-bance were the main causes until the seventies and in the Nether-lands high levels of PCB’s adversely affected the reproduction ofseals and almost caused the total disappearance from the westernWadden Sea. Moreover, an outbreak of a virus disease severelyaffected the seals in the entire Wadden Sea and in the North Seain 1988, killing more than 60% of the population. The number ofseals is now increasing again but it will take at least 10-15 yearsbefore previous levels are reestablished.The grey seal is also a resident although its numbers are small.Colonies exist between the islands of Vlieland and Terschellingwhere about 80 animals reside, and between the islands of Syltand Amrum where 50-60 individuals are present. These popula-tions are thought to have been established by seals from the in-creasing population around Britain.

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The harbour porpoise is still resident in the Wadden Sea but num-bers have been drastically reduced. Several other species ofwhales, dolphins and seals have been recorded as visitors to theWadden Sea but the harbour seal is now the only marine mammalwhich maintains a large and breeding population.

2.1.5 Man and His Role in the Natural System

Man must be considered an integral part of the Wadden ecosys-tem. For many generations man has lived and bred in the areaand has fed on its biota. However, man has also instituted majorchanges in the ecosystem to adapt it to his own needs. Humanshave thus exerted changes in the ecosystem which have not beenequalled by any other living organism and which have often evenexceeded, and are very different to, the effects of the physicalprocesses which have shaped the Wadden Sea environment.The main human activities in the Wadden Sea area are fisheries,agriculture, tourism and recreation. All of these activities dependupon natural resources. At the same time they often have adverseeffects on the ecosystem of the Wadden Sea and cause the de-gradation of the resource base. Other activities, all of which donot depend on the natural resources of the Wadden Sea, but cancause severe adverse effects, are gas extraction, dredging tomaintain water depths in harbours and shipping channels, dum-ping of dredge spoil and toxic wastes, as well as military trainingactivities and associated side effects related to the testing ofweapons.Although the era of large-scale reclamation of coastal areas haspassed, man thus continues to create environmentally damagingchanges in the Wadden ecosystem. There are also adverse effectscreated by poor standards of environmental planning and man-agement of human activities within the Wadden Sea area andwithin the surrounding region. These damaging impacts are morefully described in the next chapter.

The most commonmammal is the har-bour seal (left). Theharbour porpoise

(right) is still resi-dent, but in dras-ticly reduced num-bers.

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The Wadden Sea has been variously described as a ”robust“ anda ”fragile“ ecosystem. It is thought robust because it is capable ofcoping with very strong and dynamic natural forces. Also the sys-tem on the whole is robust and its constituent elements are ex-pected to survive in the future. However, each single element (is-land, sandflat, channel, mussel bed etc.) may change considerab-ly, both due to natural forces and/or human impacts. Apart fromobvious changes brought about by the gross modification tocoastal environments resulting from sea defences and land recla-mation, there are, however, clear signs that the system is fragileand has come under great stress. These include:• Increasing damage to benthic habitats and increasing mortality

of benthic organisms resulting both from new forms of fisheriestechnology, including dredging for cockles and lugworms, andfrom eutrophication;

• Increasing incidence of algal blooms and oxygen deficienciesin areas of low rates of water circulation as a result of eutrophi-cation;

• The near extinction of eelgrasses in major areas of the WaddenSea;

• Loss or reduction in numbers of animal species;• Reduction in the number and breeding success of birds in areas

popular for recreation activities, and reduction in the extent ofareas available for use by moulting birds due to disturbancemainly arising from recreational boating;

• Reduced reproduction of seals due to PCB pollution;• Skin lesions and abandonment of young in the seal population;• Increased incidence of fish diseases and abnormalities;• Overgrazing of saltmarshes leading to decrease of numbers of

breeding birds;• Loss of the freshwater reserves and the disappearance of wet

dune valleys due to the overexploitation of freshwater resour-ces in islands resulting from the overdevelopment of tourismand recreation facilities;

• Added to this list there are major concerns for the health ofthe Wadden environment associated with increased hazards ofcatastrophic pollution related to the transport of hazardouschemicals and oil.

3.1 Major Problems and IssuesAffecting the Wise Use of the

Wadden Sea as a Natural EcosystemStrong evidence suggests that the natural processes that maintainthe health and productivity of the Wadden Sea ecosystem are notbeing adequately protected. A major problem is the failure tocontrol, and where possible, eliminate the adverse impacts crea-ted by human activities within and surrounding the Wadden Sea.This is due primarily to the failure of national, regional and localmanagement plans governing different sectoral activities to en-sure that sufficiently high standards of environmental planningand management are implemented to ensure the protection ofthe Wadden ecosystem. The impact of different activities, theneed for improved standards of environmental management andthe conservation of undisturbed areas are discussed more fully in

3.0State of EnvironmentalManagementof the Wadden Sea

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the following paragraphs. There are two basic sets of problemswhich need to be resolved.The first consists of adverse environmental impacts caused by hu-man activities which take place within the Wadden Sea and in avery large area surrounding the Sea. There are four broad catego-ries of impact which need to be addressed, namely:1. Elimination of or damage to the natural structure and process-es of ecosystems resulting from major modifications or their con-version to make way for new uses of an area. Specific examplesinclude: coastal defense, land reclamation, port development,causeway construction, and dredging. This will be addressed inparagraph 3.2.1.2. Disruption of processes that maintain the health and produc-tivity of ecosystems through the introduction of excessive sedi-ment loads, nutrients or chemicals and organic materials alien tothe Wadden ecosystem. Pollution transported by rivers andthrough the atmosphere from a wide area within Europe is themajor cause of disruption of natural processes in the Wadden Sea.This item will be considered in paragraph 3.2.2.3. Overexploitation of natural resources. Examples include the di-sappearance of once abundant beds of native oysters and the de-struction of mussel and cockle beds. These problems will be de-scribed in more detail in paragraph 3.2.3.4. Disturbances due to human activities, for example recreationand military manoeuvres. This steadily increasing impact, de-scribed in more detail in paragraph 3.2.4, alters the distribution,survival and reproduction success of birds and marine mammals.

All four categories of impact degrade the quality of the WaddenSea environment and reduce options for sustaining differentforms of use by current and future generations. Improved man-agement of adverse activities which take place within the Wad-den Sea itself is therefore urgently required, but it will only pro-vide part of the solution. Many of the adverse impacts on theWadden Sea are caused by activities which take place in the sur-rounding region, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxem-burg, France, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia and even other coun-tries. The steps taken by the three Wadden Sea states, Denmark,Germany and the Netherlands, to improve the management oftheir common sea will help to eliminate or reduce adverse im-pacts caused by activities within their respective jurisdictions.However, the greatest challenge we face in achieving ”wise use“of the Wadden Sea will be the reduction of the adverse impactscaused by activities which are located in jurisdictions outside ofthe Wadden Sea States.The options mentioned above for sustaining different forms ofuse by current and future generations include conservation ofunique habitats which help to sustain rare and endangered spe-cies, the production of valuable North Sea fisheries, and the satis-faction of increasing demands for recreation. With the applicationof ”wise use“ concepts, many of these options can be exercisedat the same time and potential conflicts among different interestgroups can be avoided. For example, the establishment of na-tional parks with core zones protecting fragile marine habitatscan also protect breeding grounds and nursery areas for commer-

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cially important fish species. Nature conservation can thereforecontribute to the sustainable and ”wise use“ of fishery resources.

The essential issue which must be resolved is to break the cycle ofevents where the adverse side effects of certain activities de-grades the Wadden Sea, forecloses opportunities for „wise use“and thus creates adverse economic and social impacts on otheractivities which depend upon the Sea’s resources. The second ba-sic problem is the absence of effective management arrange-ments to control current impacts and to plan for the long-termconservation of the Wadden Sea ecosystem. Essentially both setsof problems are interlinked and it will be impossible to resolveproblems within the boundaries of the Sea without comprehen-sive management arrangements to deal with the adverse impactscreated by activities in the surrounding region.The major factors which cause these problems are discussed brief-ly in the following paragraphs. It is important to recognize thatthese problems are not isolated one from another, they can, andoften do, interact. It is also important to recognize that someproblems are caused by activities within the Wadden Sea itself,others are caused by activities in a much broaderregion that en-compasses parts of the North Sea and river basins on the Euro-pe-an continent. The resolution of individual problems will thereforerequire concerted action by the three Wadden Sea States as wellas the cooperation of other nations.

3.2 Problems and Issues Which Have anAdverse Effect Upon Natural Processes

Which Maintain the Health and Produc-

tivity of the Wadden Sea’s EcosystemsThere are a number of adverse effects resulting from human ac-tivities which degrade the Wadden Sea. The most serious at themoment is probably pollution. But also large scale engineeringcan destroy parts of the ecosystem totally.

3.2.1 Large Scale Engineering; Modi-fications to Marine and Coastal Areas

of the Wadden Sea

Engineering activities in the Wadden Sea are mostly related toshipping and coastal protection, i.e. maintenance of harbours andchannels and the construction or reconstruction of sea walls anddams. All of these involve engineering work and dredging. Distur-bance of the sediments is inevitably causing changes in the seabed and possible redistribution of pollutant carrying sediments.Shipping also causes pollution risks because of normal operationsand dangerous cargo.The history of the Wadden Sea is punctuated by major engineer-ing works designed to combat natural forces and processes whichare characteristic of coastal systems. This has been done in orderto reclaim land from the sea and to protect people and propertyfrom flood and storm damage. These works have altered thecharacter of much of the coastline and have changed natural pro-cesses that have shaped the coastal and marine environment inmany areas. For example, in the Netherlands an area about twice

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the present Dutch Wadden Sea has been reclaimed and changedinto agricultural land and freshwater lakes.The basic issue which needs to be addressed is what level of newengineering modification to coastal areas is justified. At the pre-sent time no major engineering projects are planned on the scaleof previous dyking or empolderments. However, a number of en-gineering activities will continue to take place and will need to beplanned very carefully to avoid unacceptable changes to naturalprocesses and to avoid solving one problem and creating newproblems elsewhere. The different categories of engineering ac-tivity are examined below with respect to the problems they canpose.

a) Coastal Defense

The complex system of dykes bordering much of the coastline hasprovided protection to human activities. With the prospect of sealevel rise there is no question that coastal protection structureswill need to be maintained and, where necessary, improved. Abreak in a dyke during a storm would lead to unacceptableflooding of large areas and disruption to the economic and socialwelfare of the local inhabitants. To avoid this unacceptable risk tolife and property, increased safety standards have been applied tothe design and construction of dykes. The old winding dykes withtheir mosaic of small polders have been straightened and re-placed with wider, less steep dykes many of which can be raisedwithout further major disruption to the natural environment. The-re have been trade-offs associated with increased coastal protec-tion.One of the most important has been the loss of ecological transi-tion zones that link marine and terrestrial environments, includingfreshwater wetlands, sand dunes, sheltered bays with natural saltmarshes, and tidal inlets.Coastal defense measures have also been taken to protect naturalareas such as beaches, sand dunes and salt marshes from the ef-fects of erosion. However, in a dynamic marine and coastal envi-ronment such as the Wadden Sea, there will be periodic changesbrought about by natural events such as storms or cyclical altera-tions in currents and tides. Many, if not all, of these changesshould be accepted as natural events. Engineering interventionsmay only be justified where human activities have altered the pro-cesses so that irreversible losses will result. In such cases, engi-neering intervention must be designed to work with and comple-ment natural processes instead of working against them. Recentexperience has shown that this is feasible and more cost effectivethan unnecessarily fighting against the dynamics of natural proc-esses.

b) InfrastructureSeveral islands have been connected to the mainland by cause-ways which carry roads or railways. Most of these causewayshave been built as dams stopping the flow of water currentsaround the islands. This can create severe environmental effects.For example, disruption of sedimentation and erosion cycles af-fecting tidal channels and beaches, reduction of water exchangeand loss of intertidal habitats. Plans for further causeways to is-

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lands must be subjected to close scrutiny using environmental im-pact procedures appropriate to marine and coastal systems.

c) Harbour Developmentand Channel Dredging

There are many harbours along the Wadden Sea coast. Historical-ly, these harbours were developed along the course of naturalchannels. With the growth in the size of ships many of theseharbours now require very expensive dredging operations tomaintain minimum depths of water in the channels which give ac-cess to the open sea. For example, the relatively small harbour ofEmden (2.5 million tons of cargo per year) requires dredging of12.7 million m3 per year to maintain a channel of 10.6 m depth.In contrast, Wilhelmshaven (14.9 million tons of cargo per year)only requires dredging 6 million m3 per year to maintain a channelof 20 m depth. Dredging has several unwanted environmental ef-fects, such as changing the hydrology which then alters sedimen-tation and erosion processes and increases turbidity. There arealso problems of disposing of dredge spoil contaminated withheavy metals, oils and other pollutants. The disposal of heavilycontaminated spoil at sea is prohibited by international conven-tions so it can prove very expensive to dispose of these materialssafely. For example, Rotterdam port authority had to spend some$400 million creating a site to dispose of heavily contaminateddredge spoil from the Rhine.

3.2.2 PollutionHeavy loads of polluting materials have entered the Wadden Seasince the middle of the last century. The stress caused by pollutioncan sometimes be very evident; for example, the massive growthsof green algal mats in sheltered intertidal areas due to increasednutrient loads. However, the full impact of individual pollutantson individual species or on the entire ecosystem is by no meansclearly understood and it is extremely difficult to assess the cur-rent or future damage to the Wadden Sea.There is evidence to suggest that the long history of pollution ofthe Wadden Sea has contributed to dramatic and often irreversi-ble changes and probably the loss of species. Sometimes thechanges can be clearly attributed to specific forms of pollution.There is contemporary evidence that populations of birds, marinemammals and other animals have been seriously affected by spe-cific chemicals. For example the sandwich tern and eider duckpopulations were severely reduced in the 1950s and 60s by thetoxic effects of a number of pesticides. Another clear example isthe strong decline of harbour seals in the Dutch Wadden Sea dueto PCBs.The deaths of birds or rapid growth of algal mats are highly visibleand can be linked to specific causes. However with more than40.000 chemical compounds being carried to the sea by riversdraining an extensive area of Europe, by currents from the NorthSea and through the atmosphere there is a very complex cocktailof materials in the water and in the sediments of the Wadden Seaabout which we know very little. Apart from cases such as thesandwich tern, it has seldom been possible to demonstrate a clearrelationship between a polluting substance and specific ecological

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damage. It is even more difficult to assess the potential impact onthe Wadden Sea’s ecosystems resulting from the combination ofdifferent pollutants. Pollution of the Wadden Sea takes twoforms, namely: 1. Contamination by toxic materials, including heavy metals, or-ganic (micro)pollutants and crude oil and its derivatives many ofwhich are alien to the Sea’s ecosystems. The main sources are in-dustrial discharges, agricultural chemicals, domestic wastes, anddeliberate discharges or accidents in the shipping routes within, orclose to, the Wadden Sea, and2. Eutrophication which is the process of enriching the WaddenSea with nitrogen, phosphorus and/or organic matter. Due to hu-man activities (agriculture, transport/traffic, domestic and indu-strial waste discharges) large amounts of specific organic nutrientcompounds (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphate) enter theWadden Sea.

a) Sources of PollutionIdentification of the original sources of pollution entering theWadden Sea is a very complex task because there is a great varie-ty of individual activities which discharge waste materials at spe-cific locations - called “point sources“- while wastes from a greatrange of activities can also be released in a diffused manner overlarge areas. Examples of diffuse sources include: the application ofvolatile solvents in industry and in the home, the former smallscale use of persistent toxic materials such as PCBs, nitrous oxideemissions from road traffic, and the release of heavy metals andother contaminants during the incineration of wastes.Agriculture is also a diffuse source of pollution. Within the imme-diate hinterland of the Wadden Sea and along the rivers discharg-ing into this sea most farms are highly mechanized and use verylarge amounts of fertilizer and biocides which have a very adverseeffect on the quality of the Sea. On the islands most of the landuse is grazing for dairy farming. On the mainland the farms arelarger and intensive farming methods are used. Arable crops, in-cluding cereals, oilseed rape, potatoes and sugarbeet, are grown.A large input of herbicides and pesticides are used in this system.Dairy farming is also practiced but on a smaller scale. At this mo-ment we recognize a development towards even more intensivefarming: culture of flower bulbs, greenhouse horticulture, poultrybreeding, and other bio-industries. Intensive sheep grazing, re-sulting in degradation of the natural potential of salt marshes, is afurther problem in some areas.Comprehensive figures are not available for the sources and levelsof all major pollutants found in the Wadden Sea. Few of thechemicals entering the Sea are monitored in a systematic manner;however, the information available indicates that the majority ofnutrients and other pollutants entering the Wadden Sea are trans-ported by major rivers with a catchment area extending overmuch of Europe. Therefore, the standards of environmental man-agement in many European countries have a direct influence onwater quality in the Wadden Sea. The river Rhine mainly deter-mines water quality of the western part of the Wadden Sea. Thewater quality in the eastern area of the Wadden Sea is determinedprimarily by the river Elbe and to a lesser extent the Weser.

Dumping of har-bour sludge. Veryoften origins ofpollution is not asvisible as in thiscase.

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The river Ems is of minor importance. Together, the Rhine andElbe contribute some 70-80% of the pollution of the WaddenSea. With the Rhine Action Programme starting to take effect, it ispossible that the river Elbe will take over as the biggest polluter ofthe Wadden Sea.Discharges and accidental spills from ships, materials released byoffshore oil and gas activities, and dumping operations in theWadden Sea and North Sea also form important sources of micro-pollutants and oil.The atmosphere also forms a pathway for toxic substances suchas cadmium, PCBs, biocides, nitrous oxide, and nutrients obvious-ly entering the Wadden Sea. For technical reasons it is extremelydifficult to determine the precise amounts of substances such ascadmium or PCBs entering the Wadden Sea via the atmosphere.Values for the North Sea are normally used to indicate the inputsfor the Wadden Sea. However, this may not give accurate assess-ments of the levels of pollution in the Wadden Sea derived fromtheatmosphere. Recent work has indicated that nitrogen inputs inthe Wadden Sea from the atmosphere are most likely very muchhigher than is currently assumed. This suggests that greater atten-tion needs to be given to measuring atmospheric pollution affect-ing the Wadden Sea and determining priorities for increasing con-trols over sources of pollution.

b) Effects of PollutionContamination by toxic materialsThe distribution of pollutants varies among the different ecosys-tems in the Wadden Sea. This is a result of both physical and bio-logical processes. Metals and organic compounds which are notabsorbed by plants and animals generally become fixed to finesediments which normally settle in the muddy areas where thereis less water circulation. Coarser materials normally found in areaswith stronger water currents are less contaminated. Polluted sedi-ments settling on intertidal mudflats are rapidly transported todeeper layers (5-10 cm) of the flats by bioturbation.Since 1940 soft sediments have accumulated significant levels ofpollution. Loads of heavy metals entering the sea and being con-centrated in sediments increased until 1970, but are now de-creasing in some cases. The input of some organic contaminantshas recently decreased (PCBs), but others (e.g. Polycyclic Aro-matic Hydrocarbons - PAHs) did not. The concentrations of othermaterials in sea water and sediments have increased. A specificexample is the doubling of the concentrations of the pesticide lin-dane in the North Sea during the 1980’s.Regardless of the reduction of materials entering the WaddenSea, pollutants stored in the sediment will continue to be releasedby leakage or (bio)turbation and dredging of sediments. Thelong-term effects of these pollutants on the Wadden Sea are un-known.Many organisms accumulate micropollutants through their foodand through their skin and gills. These can be directly toxic or in-directly by demanding energy for detoxifying enzymes and so re-ducing the energy available for growth or reproduction. Sublethaltoxicity stresses and weakens the organism so that it is prone todiseases or other natural causes of deterioration. Reproduction, if

More than 40.00chemical com-pounds are carriedto the Wadden Sea...

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occurring at all, is often less successful because of reduced vitalityof offspring or weaker eggs. Also sensory perception (chemore-ception or ‘smell’) can become affected, resulting in impaired be-haviour. Both behavioural and physiological sublethal effects canresult in damage on population or higher ecosystem levels by in-direct effects or by interfering with ecosystem interactions. Pollu-tion often results in changes in ecosystem composition to moreopportunistic species or reductions in abundance.Well-studied examples of effects of toxic materials on the Wad-den Sea ecosystem are available. Operational discharge of thepesticides telodrin, dieldrin and aldrin from a factory at the Rhineestuary led in the fifties and sixties to a 98% reduction of thebreeding population of the sandwich tern in the Dutch WaddenSea. Also other coastal birds, such as spoonbills, eider ducks, her-ring gulls, and various species of terns, showed drastic reductionsin their population sizes in the Wadden Sea in that period. Somespecies have recovered since, but populations of spoonbills andterns are still considerably below their numbers of before 1965.The nearly 90% decline of the Dutch harbour seal population inthe sixties and seventies was demonstrated to have been causedby PCB pollution impairing its reproductive capacity. The accumu-lation of PCBs in lipid tissues is also supposed to be one of thecrucial co-factors having enhanced the mass death of seals in1988. It has been suggested that the disappearance of the har-bour porpoise from large parts of the Wadden Sea in the sixties isalso due to PCB pollution.The occurrence of tumors and skin diseases of several fish speciesis also believed to be induced by pollutants, although the causalrelationships are still under investigation. In 1988 up to 40% ofthe flounders in the westernmost part of the Wadden Sea showedulcers.The toxic action of individual chemical compounds which are al-ien to the Wadden Sea can be increased through their accumula-tion in plants and animals and in the environment surrounding theorganism. Different compounds can then interact and create asynergistic reaction where they enhance each others toxic ac-tion. Eutrophication can also enhance the toxic action of othercontaminants.Therefore, a serious mistake that is common to many assessmentsof pollution in the Wadden Sea is to consider individual pollutantsin isolation and to ignore cumulative and synergistic effects of dif-ferent pollutants interacting. The effects of pollutants on the en-tire ecosystem have not been studied in detail. Experience hasshown that the toxic action of individual pollutants can be cumu-lative and can be greatly increased through their interaction withother materials. With so many uncertainties, it would be irrespon-sible to assume that the impact of pollution can be adequatelypredicted be assessing the toxic potential of one pollutant andthen to use that to derive a ”safe“ level for the Wadden Sea eco-system. Many new forms of contaminants have not yet been con-sidered by the Inter-Ministerial meetings on the North Sea or theTri-Lateral Wadden Sea Conferences. For example, the plas-ticis-ers DEHP and DBP which are non-chlorinated compounds whichaccumulate rapidly in anoxic sediments. These materials are de-scribed as ”bio-degradable“ as a result of laboratory tests.

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However this term is misleading as there is evidence which showsthat they cannot be degraded by anaerobic microbial communi-ties common in the mudflats of the Wadden Sea. In addition theycan adversely affect other microbial communities. Therefore,greater attention must be given to a range of different approach-es to the assessment of pollution, including bioaccumulation and/or biomagnification and the potential effects upon natural proc-esses and ecosystem functions.

EutrophicationEutrophication leads to increased production of plant material(primary production). The increased plant biomass requires extraoxygen for decomposition after it dies; this may cause a severeshortage of oxygen in less aerated areas. Animals may profit fromthe increased primary production and increase as well, but alsodemand increased oxygen for decaying when they die. Eutrophi-cation can also enhance the release, uptake and accumulation ofmicropollutants from sediments, in particular, heavy metals.Over the past 30-40 years the surface waters in western Europehave been greatly enriched with nutrients, especially with nitro-gen and phosphorus. With regard to the marine environment thistrend has been monitored thoroughly and confirmed, for in-stance, by a long term record from Helgoland (since 1962). Thedata set indicates a 2.5-fold increase of average nitrogen and 1.7-fold increase of average phosphorus concentrations in the watercolumn resulting in an increase in phytoplankton by a factor of4.7. Considerable changes in the composition of the phytoplank-ton community are linked to these effects. The data on nitrogencompounds added to the Wadden Sea each year indicate that theRhine and Meuse contribute some 50%, the Elbe 26%, and theWeser 8%. The bulk of riverine input of nitrogen obviously resultsfrom diffuse sources such as run-off from agricultural soil.Although the materials which cause eutrophication are non-toxic,they can induce malfunctions in ecosystems such as algal bloomsand oxygen depletion. Large quantities of drifting green algae re-sulting from eutrophication even cause troubles for the fisheries.

Effects of eutrophication in the Wadden Sea comprise increase ofbenthic green algae in sheltered intertidal areas causing die-off ofthe benthic fauna underneath, increase of phytoplankton bloomspotentially causing oxygen shortages during their decomposition,but also increase of several benthic organisms, which by somepeople might be seen as a positive development. However, theoccurrence of black anoxic spots appearing at the surface ofcoarse sediments during the past few years in the German Wad-den Sea should be considered as a very seriuos warning of majoradverse changes in the Wadden Sea.

c) Pollution Hazards associated with theTransport of Oil and dangerous Chemicals

A potential source of serious pollution is the heavy shipping trafficjust North and West of the Wadden Sea. Operational dischargeshave been reduced through the implementation of the MARPOL73/78 Convention. However, the required waste reception facili-ties lag behind schedule and illegal discharges are seldom ade-

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quately prosecuted. The major threat is from the transport of haz-ardous material, including nuclear waste, oil and chemicals (bothin bulk or separately packaged). Once these materials are spilled itis very hard to prevent them causing extensive damage, and con-tingency planning to deal with a major spill is at a very early stageof development. In fact, spills of chemicals soluble in sea watercan hardly be contained. With the main winds coming from theWest, accidental oil spills could very rapidly enter the Wadden Seafrom the North Sea where the shallow water and large areas ofintertidal mudflats would make it very difficult to contain them,and where the the technical operations to clean up the spill mightcause more damage than the spill itself. As a result, a major oilspill could have a catastrophic effect on mudflats and saltmarshes,which are extremely sensitive to oil pollution as has been shownby the Amoco Cadiz accident in France. Any coherent oil layer isexpected to cause irreversible harm to these habitats by suffocat-ing most of the invertebrate and microbial communities and thusdepleting an important food resource. The same holds for calami-ties with offshore oil and gas exploration within 20 nautical milesof the Wadden Sea, or even inside the area. It is therefore critical-ly important to improve navigation systems and controls overshipping to reduce the hazards from collisions, groundings andaccidental spills.Given the great uncertainty surrounding the potential of currentlevels of pollution to create catastrophic and irreversible changesin the Wadden Sea ecosystem the ”Precautionary Principle“ hasbeen adopted by the Inter-Ministerial Conference on the NorthSea. This means that action should be taken to avoid potentiallydamaging impacts from substances that are persistent, toxic andliable to bioaccumulate even where there is no scientific evidenceto prove a causal link between the emission of the substances andtheir effect. Unfortunately, this principle is not fully implemented.It does not take into account the following issues by the presentdefinition: sublethal effects, hidden effects related to interactionsbetween different organisms, changes on a community level, in-teractions between toxics, nutrients and disturbances.

3.2.3 Overexploitation

of Natural ResourcesExtensive fishery activities have been a common feature of theWadden Sea for a very long time. Unfortunately, fisheries man-agement practices have done little to protect the ecosystemswhich help to sustain stocks of fin fish, crustaceans and molluscs.The management of fisheries throughout the Wadden Sea isbased upon controlling harvesting pressure on fish stocks with vir-tually no attention being given to the management of habitatsand processes critical to the sustained production of different fishspecies or to other uses.As early as the end of the 19th century native oysters started todisappear from the Wadden Sea. The reasons for this are believedto be heavy fishing pressure combined with the introduction ofgenetically different specimens which were less resistant to lowwater temperature, as well as system-wide changes due to landreclamation and coastal protection measures. Thus flourishingfisheries yielding millions of oysters per year completely disappea-

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red. Conversion of coastal ecosystems to alternative forms of usehave also had a detrimental effect upon sustainable fin fish har-vests. A case in point is the reclamation of the Zuiderzee (now IJs-sel Meer) which is the cause of the demise of the native herringstocks which yielded catches of 10.000 tons per year on average.

Inadequate control over modern harvesting techniques and fish-ery activities is leading at present to severe adverse impacts onspecific Wadden Sea ecosystems. There are also social changestaking place where commercial pressures and licensing ar-range-ments are leading to the reduction in the number of independent,small-scale fishermen and the amalgamation of fishing activitiesinto a series of large international companies.The most important fisheries in the Wadden sea at present are thecockle, mussel and shrimp fisheries. A total of 330 shrimp boatsoperate in the Wadden Sea (Netherlands 139, Germany 176,Denmark 15). Statistics for the shrimp harvest are incomplete andthe area fished is not fully defined, however, making a true as-sessment of the ecological effects extremely difficult. Other fish-eries carried out in the Wadden Sea are mainly on a small scale,e.g. fishing for plaice, sole and eel. The cockle and mussel fishe-ries occur mainly in the Dutch part of the Wadden Sea, wherethey constitute large-scale activities. These fisheries appear to ex-ert a profound influence on the condition of the tidal flats, andhence on some bird species.There are a number of adverse environmental impacts from fi-shery activities which need to be more effectively addressed.These include:1. The physical impact on the sediments, which form the bottomof the Wadden Sea. These include digging or dredging for lug-worms and ragworms and fishing for cockles and mussels; and2. The impact on species fished and on the bycatch of non-targetspecies. These impacts are primarily associated with the shrimpand flatfish fisheries using light beam trawls, and fisheries basedupon standing nets (long nets and fykes), but also with the fisher-ies for shellfish and worms.

a) Digging or Dredging

for Lugworms and RagwormsLugworms and ragworms are harvested as bait for the sport fish-ery. Only a small percentage of the total stock of lugworms is tak-en. Locally intensive digging for lugworms in sites in the Nether-lands results in reduced stocks and reduced size of individuals anddecrease of other benthic species. The main impact is disturbanceto birds foraging at low tide. Mechanical dredging for lugwormstakes place only in the Netherlands. Five licensed craft are in-volved in dredging operations to a depth of 30 cm. This takes pla-ce over extensive areas and results in the death of the majority ofbenthic organisms and can lead to the formation of new drainagechannels or gullies. The dredgers operate at high tide so there islittle adverse effect upon birds.Ragworms are collected on or at the edge of intertidal musselbeds as bait for the sport fishery. Mussel beds have disappearedfrom areas that are repeatedly dug over. Increasing demand forlugworms and ragworms and the high prices paid will result in in-

Intensive cocklefishing in theDutch Wadden Seacreates increasingproblems of theenviroment.

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creasing damage to benthic communities unless steps are taken toregulate digging and dredging activities.

b) Cockle FishingThere is little consumption of cockles in the three Wadden Seacountries. The majority of the catch is exported to Spain, Portugaland England. Traditionally, cockles were collected using handdrawn rakes and nets. During the past 15 years 37 suction dredg-es have been licensed to operate in the Dutch area of the Wad-den Sea. The top 5 cm of sediment is dredged and the adult cock-les removed. The impact on other benthic organisms living in thesediments is believed to be low to moderate. Birds and seals aredisturbed when the fishermen look for exploitable cocklebedsduring low tide.In addition to the extent of damage caused to species other thancockles by the dredges, there are questions concerning the su-stainability of the fishery. In most years less than 5% of the stockof cockles is harvested. However, the cockle stock is subject tolarge natural fluctuations. In years with low cockle stocks up to50% of the stock and virtually 100% of the dense beds may beremoved. In the Dutch area in some years there are no cocklebeds remaining which have fully mature cockles. In 1991 even nocockles were left to support the fishery (or birds).

c) Mussel Fisheries and CultureFishing for mussels on natural beds has been practiced for a longtime in all parts of the Wadden Sea. The culture of mussels on alarge scale started in the Netherlands and Germany in the 1950s.In the Netherlands nowadays about 7.000 ha of culture plots ex-ist outside the areas protected by the Nature Conservation Act,but the spat mussels to seed the culture plots are fished all overthe Dutch Wadden Sea, also in the protected areas. In Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, the culture area increased from 1.200 to2.800 ha. Although the culture areas are planed to be situatedoutside the National Park-core zones, the seed mussels are fishedwithin the boundaries of the whole park. In Denmark only fishingof wild beds is practiced. Fishing intensity was low up to 1983.When production in the Netherlands was low in 1984 and priceswere high, the Danish fishery increased and almost all intertidalwild beds had been fished away by 1988. In the Netherlands allwild beds have been fished away in 1989 and 1990, resulting inabsence of mussel beds and, probably due to insufficient adultstock, absence of spat mussels in spring 1991. Next to the impacton the ecosystem this also had a disastrous effect on the musselculture itself because the culture plots could not be seeded.Both fishing and culture of mussels create adverse environmentalimpacts which could be avoided through improved fishery ma-nagement practices. For example, culturers often use moreweight in seed mussels than they produce as consumption sizemussels. In the Netherlands on average a 100 million kg seedmussels are collected while 65 million kg marketable mussels areproduced.Although intertidal mussel beds occasionally disappear during se-vere winters or storms, it has been clearly demonstrated that fish-ing for spat (young mussels used as seed for culture) and mussels

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ready for eating has resulted in the disappearance of intertidalmussel beds throughout the Wadden Sea. Where fishing on inter-tidal beds is not restricted, mature mussel beds and their associat-ed fauna which are normally characteristic of the Wadden Sea en-vironment will become increasingly rare.Mussel culture is highly profitable. There is pressure to expand thearea allocated to culture beds in order to increase revenues and tospread the risk of storm damage. This will increase the pressuresof spat collection in natural beds and there is a danger that newspecies and associated diseases could be introduced into theWadden Sea through import of seed mussels from elsewherewhich could threaten native stocks. The risk to the environmentand to the mussel fishery from the outbreak of disease is suffi-ciently high to justify the prohibition of the introduction of newstock or seed from other areas.

d) Fisheries Using Beam

Trawls or Standing NetsThis form of fishery mainly influences fish stocks, but other orga-nisms living in the tidal channels and gullies may also be affectedif they are caught as part of the by-catch. The by-catch can be re-duced by using new types of nets and the survival rates of un-wanted species can be increased by improving sorting techniquesand returning the unwanted fish quickly to the sea. Also thelength of each individual trawling period is an important factor inthe survival rate.The availability of fishery statistics for the Wadden Sea variesamong the different states and it is extremely difficult to provethat overfishing of stocks of fin fish common to the Wadden Seaand adjacent areas is a problem. However, fishing pressures inthe North Sea have reduced the number of larger fish speciesfrom 19 in the 1930s to 11 at this time. The populations of fourof these have been reduced dramatically.Current management arrangements permit licences to be trans-ferred from one vessel to another. There is a trend to transfer li-cences to larger vessels with the result that more fish can becaught per vessel. This may lead to overfishing of stocks that arecommon to the Wadden Sea and surrounding areas.Standing nets and fykes are only used to a limited extent. Howev-er, there are problems associated with their use near river mouthswhere stocks of fish introduced to restore fish populations in riv-ers are captured as they migrate to sea as part of their breedingcycle. Also birds and seals are often killed by such nets, althoughmeasures to prevent drowning can be relatively easily introducedin the case of fykes.

3.2.4 Disturbance due to

Tourism and RecreationOn the islands farming is no longer as economically viable as itonce was and farmers are having to seek alternatives. Amongthese the development of increased facilities for tourism and re-creation is favoured. The increase in tourism and recreation on theislands and along the mainland shore puts an increased pres-sure on the natural functions of the Wadden Sea. As tourism is to-tally dependent on the ecosystem remaining intact and the

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maintenance of the quality of the environment, unnecessary dis-turbance and physical damage must be avoided.Tourism and recreation activities can be found throughout theWadden Sea region and form the most extensive use of the ma-rine and coastal environment. Apart from centres of industrial ac-tivity, tourism and recreation form one of the most importanteconomic activities with growthrates over the past 25 years incertain areas which have surpassed all other forms of develop-ment. The predicted rate for growth of the number of people in-volved in day trips, longer-term visits and in yachting for someparts of the Wadden Sea is greater than those for any other activ-ity.Internationally it is now recognised that sustainable developmentof tourism and recreation depends upon maintenance of the qua-lity of the environment and the maintenance of a variety of op-portunities for different forms of passive and active recreation. Inthose areas where steps have not been taken to maintain thequality of the environment, people interested in nature and beau-tiful landscapes have chosen new destinations where the qualityof the environment is better. Examples of a declining touristindu-stry include the now overdeveloped and polluted coastlines ofSpain and other parts of the Mediterranean Sea.Once an area looses the quality of its environment and its repu-tation, the economy can suffer and it is extremely difficult andvery expensive to put things right. It is therefore sensible to planfor the development of tourism and recreation in conjunctionwith plans to conserve the amenity provided by the coastal andmarine environments in the Wadden Sea which are proving so at-tractive to an ever increasing market.The diversity of the environments in the Wadden Sea provides agreat range of opportunities for tourism and recreation. While itis important to provide a range of facilities to meet the needs ofdifferent groups, great care must be taken to ensure that such fa-cilities are located in the right place and that sound managementarrangements will be used to avoid adverse environmental, socialand economic impacts.Development of tourism and recreation in the Wadden Sea areahas created a number of adverse impacts, including:• Loss of landscapes of high amenity due to uncontrolled pres-

sures for the development of facilities on the dune islands;• Overexploitation of freshwater resources on islands is leading

to changes in the dune area which form the only source ofdrin-king water. The increase in demands for water is due toboth increased numbers of tourists and the provision of im-proved facilities;

• Use of fragile salt marshes and beaches as caravan and cam-ping sites or parking lots;

• Massive disturbance of moulting birds and breeding seals resul-ting from the intrusion of pleasure craft into environmentallysensitive areas. This form of impact is expected to increase rap-pidly with the increasing use of new forms of technology andrecreation activities including: windsurfers, small hovercraft, ul-tralight aircraft, jet skis, parasailing etc. Windsurfers can nowreach even the most remote and environmentally sensitive are-as which were formerly inaccessible;

The increase intourism puts an in-creased pressure onthe natural func-tions of the Wad-den Sea.

Pete

r St

einh

agen

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• Alienation of coastal ecosystems due to land reclamation fornew harbours and marinas;

• Alteration to the structure of marine ecosystems and disruptionof natural processes resulting from dredging of new channelsto accommodate increased numbers of pleasure craft, thedeepening of existing harbours to accommodate larger ferriescarrying increased numbers of tourists to islands, and the crea-tion of arti-ficial mainland coastal beaches by dredging sandfrom the sea;

• Extensive damage to mud flats resulting from worm diggingand dredging to supply bait for sport fishing;

• Damage to wildlife habitats due to increasing numbers of peo-ple seeking informal recreation in natural environments. The in-crease in numbers, combined with the extension of the tourismand recreation season and the absence of management mea-sures to compensate for increased pressures is leading to ero-sion of sand dunes;

• Man-made noise can disturb animals or interfere with animalcommunication both above and below the water surface. Re-creation, as well as shipping, military and offshore activitiescause specific forms of noise. Birds, marine mammals, fish, andinvertebrates are sensitive to sound. Effects of noise pollutionmay be considerable.

3.3 Socio-Economic Problems Related to theConservation of the Wadden Ecosystem

The basic economic structure of the Wadden Sea and its imme-di-ate hinterland suffers from a lack of diversity in employment. Sec-ondary manufacturing is based on port locations and tradi-tionalheavy industries which are generally in decline and exports arelow. Very few growth industries and ”key“ industries, such ashigh technology computer and other electronics industries, lesspolluting industries, or industries independent of the coastal set-ting have been attracted to the area. Structural changes in agri-culture and fisheries are leading to a fall in the number of avail-able jobs, and increasingly the profits flow out of the region andcreate little secondary benefit to local people. Lack of alternativeforms of employment lead to emigration by economically mobilepeople leaving behind a weakened labour force of less qualifiedpeople. The area also suffers from a low level of physical (e.g.transport) and social (e.g. education, cultural facilities) infrastruc-ture in comparison to other areas.In attempting to provide equal standards of employment and so-cial facilities, and protect the Wadden Sea environment, govern-ments are faced with a very difficult situation. The relative isola-tion of many parts of the Wadden Sea area, especially many ofthe islands, and the lack of infrastructure make it difficult to com-pete with more industrialized urban centres for new forms of in-dustrial and commercial development. New incentives for invest-ment in the area, such as tax relief, have not stimulated the estab-lishment of new growth industries. Increasing controls over pollu-tion and the transfer of costs of cleaning up the environmentfrom public agencies to the activities which pollute leads, in somecases, to a decrease in competitiveness of the older industries.

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As a result of the conflicting forces, local authorities tend to com-pete with one another to get any new form of employment fortheir area. This, unfortunately can result in a number of unfore-seen adverse economic and environmental effects. For ex-ample,authorities spend a great deal of taxpayers money dred-ging har-bours and channels in the hope of maintaining jobs by attractingthe new, deep draught-vessels. Due to regional shifts in trade andthe poor location of many older harbours, the expenditure ondredging does not necessarily lead to an increase in trade, jobs, orlocal taxes.There is also a tendency to resist the full implementation of envi-ronmental regulations designed to protect the Wadden Sea, andto grant permission for activities in areas where they should bylaw be excluded in order to protect existing jobs or to attract newones. There has also been a tendency to promote new forms ofactivity without thoroughly examining the economic, social or en-vironmental effects. A primary example is tourism.The prospect of creating new jobs and increasing local tax reve-nues by encouraging tourism and recreation development is veryattractive to manylocal authorities. However, the economic bene-fits of tourism and recreation are often overestimated in terms ofthe employment and revenue they generate and the economiccosts underestimated in terms of the extra services required andcosts associated with protecting fragile environments from thetourism and recreation pressures they attract.There has been a trend towards more but shorter trips to theWadden Sea area from major urban centres inland. Although thenumber of tourists is steadily increasing in specific parts of theWadden Sea, the employment situation in the tourist industry re-mains poor compared to industry, mainly because:• There is not a great diversity of jobs available;• In some areas wages are lower than the national average in the

tourist industry;• A major part of the work is seasonal, unemployment in winter

is high, 15-20%;• Job diversity is low, agriculture is gradually being replaced by

increasing dependence on tourism on many islands, and trai-ning opportunities are limited;

• A sometimes poorly paid, job in the tourist trade is often theonly alternative to emigration;

• The rapid increase in the costs of renting or purchasing proper-ty following increased tourism makes it difficult for young peo-ple normally resident in the area to find affordable accommo-dation and they are often forced to leave the area.

Attempts to extend the tourist season, in order to generate fur-ther income, have been hampered by the climate. As a result,weather independent recreational facilities have been promotedon the islands and in sites adjacent to the Wadden Sea withoutadequate examinations of the environmental, social or economicconsequences.

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3.4 Current Management Arrangements

do not AdequatelyProtect the Wadden Sea

The problems cited in this chapter are symptoms of a more funda-mental management problem; namely, inadequate standards ofenvironmental planning and management within the Wadden Seaand surrounding region. This gives rise to a number of conflictsand diseconomies, namely:1. Activities which take place within the Wadden Sea area canhave an adverse economic effect on other activities. For example,dumping of contaminated dredge spoil combined with otherforms of pollutants can induce increased incidence of diseases incommercial fish stock which reduces their marketability and saleprice;2. Activities within the Wadden Sea can cause social disruption.An example is the development of facilities on certain islandswhich create demands for fresh water that exceed available sup-plies. This creates water shortages which adversely affect peoplewho do not benefit from the new developments;3. Pollution from sources outside the Wadden Sea creates eco-nomic costs for activities within the Wadden Sea. The costs borneby the Rotterdam Port Authority in disposing of contaminateddredge spoil is a case in point. Social impacts can also be generat-ed by activities outside the Wadden Sea in terms of loss of em-ployment or reduced quality of the environment borne by peoplewhose livelihood depends upon the quality and continuous supplyof natural resources. The key to the solution of the major eco-nomic, social and environmental problems adversely affecting thewise use of the resources provided by the Wadden Sea is the re-duction of the adverse impacts resulting from human activities.

3.4.1 Basic Flaws in the System ofManaging the Development of the

Wadden Sea and its Resources

The three Wadden Sea states have taken action to reduce the im-pact of human activities on the natural processes that maintainthe health and productivity of the Sea’s ecosystems. There are,however, a number of basic flaws in current management ar-rangements which reduce their effectiveness in protecting the ec-ological integrity of the Wadden Sea environment, namely:

1. All three states are now adopting the natural developmentconcept. However, this concept has insufficiently been translatedinto management targets. There is no common view on whatconstitutes the ”ideal“ Wadden Sea which should have beenreached within, say, 25 years. Moreover, there is no common op-erational policy of implementing this concept.

2. Three different and sometimes conflicting management ap-proaches have been adopted by the three states. In effect, thereare no commonly agreed principles for regulating activities andcontrolling their impact based upon the maintenance of the func-tional integrity of the Wadden Sea as an ecosystem. This is a par-ticularly important issue in an area like the Wadden Sea area with

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interrelated ecosystems and threats, which transcend political ju-risdictions.The divergence among management approaches can be illustra-ted by the basic assumptions of the policies and managementprinciples adopted by Germany (the National Parks) and theNetherlands (the ”PKB Waddenzee“; ”Physical Planning Key De-cision Wadden Sea“ in combination with the Nature ProtectionAct). The primary function of the National Parks is protection ofnature; natural processes are allowed to take place with a mini-mum degree of human interference there. Major emphasis isplaced upon zoning areas with different levels of constraint onhuman access. Core zones are an element of the national parkssystem. They should, however, be free of all human interference.To date this objective has not yet been attained. In practice, agri-culture, commercial fisheries and, to a minor extent, hunting takeplace in some of the core zones. There is also little the parks´managers can do to prevent external influence, such as pollutionfrom rivers, from adversely affecting core zones and other areasunder their control.The main aim of the PKB is to protect and, if necessary, restorethe natural values of the Dutch area of the Wadden Sea. Al-though the PKB is not legally binding on all parties, a unique fea-ture of the PKB is that it forms the basis for an integrated ap-proach to the management of the Dutch part of the Wadden Sea.A central government policy has been formulated to protect theWadden Sea and all sectoral agencies and local government bo-dies must respect that policy when drawing up managementplans for their respective activities. All saltmarshes and most tidalflats have now been made nature reserves under the Nature Pro-tection Act. The area under the Nature Protection Act will be en-larged in the near future. Human activities are permitted in part ofthe protected areas if it can be shown that they will cause no ad-verse environmental effects.The Danish approach also has nature conservation as a major ob-jective, however the legal measures available under the NatureConservation Act apply primarily to the marine environment. TheDanish area of the Wadden Sea is protected as a nature reserveunder the Nature Conservation Act. The Danes have incorpora-ted the concept of a buffer zone between the Wadden Sea andthe North Sea and have used the concepts in the Ramsar Conven-tion to include some coastal wetlands within their definition ofthe Wadden Sea.In spite of the differences in basic approaches, in practice there is-multifunctional use of the Dutch, Danish and the German Wad-den Sea.Each approach is appropriate to the political and legislative frame-work of the three countries, however there is little effective inte-gration of management policies, priorities for action, manage-ment techniques or standards for resolving critical issues affectingthe ecosystems which transcend their jurisdictions. It is also clearthat all the national protection measures in the three Wadden Seastates only apply to part of the ecosystem and do not provide acomprehensive legal framework for enforcing protection mea-sures. There are also great differences among the differentlawsand protection measures in terms of their objectives.

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Rarely are these objectives expressed precisely in terms of pro-tecting natural processes. Many of the available measures areconcerned primarily with the location of activities (spatial plan-ning) and there is generally a poor relationship between environ-mental management and physical planning;

3. The principle of reducing the adverse impact of activities is cor-rect, however it is not fully effective in practice because:a) Controls are applied mainly to activities within the marinecomponent of the Wadden Sea and there is little coordinated ef-fort to control the adverse effects from activities in the broaderregion surrounding the Sea;b) The standards set for controlling adverse effects vary amongthe Wadden Sea states and are not always based on broadlybased economic, social and ecological criteria relevant to the pro-tection of critical biological andphysical processes that maintainthe health and productivity of the Wadden Sea’s ecosystems; andc) The three Wadden Sea states assign different priorities to theresolution of common problems and the efforts of one country tocontrol the adverse effects of an activity can be undermined byless strict controls in an adjacent country. A specific example is theabsence of adequate legislation in the early 1980s to control theexploitation of natural mussel beds in Denmark which resulted inoverfishing of the mussel banks by boats from the Netherlandsand Germany.Differences in opinion on priorities result from different economi-cal interests and political pressure from interest groups but arealso related to differing cultural attitudes and traditions withinthe three nations. Without a consensus on priorities for actionthere is little effective basis for resolving common problems andbuilding a coordinated approach to the wise use of the Sea. Thisundermines the political will to use existing laws and regulationsto their full effect and to put into practice the international con-ventions available to help resolve transnational problems;

4. There is no common definition of the Wadden Sea shared byall three Wadden Sea states. The term ”Wadden Sea“ is generallyused to define a geographic area rather than a series of interrelat-ed coastal ecosystems which are heavily influenced by adjacentterrestrial and marine ecosystems. There are two specific issueswhich need to be better addressed in determining effective man-agement boundaries for resolving the problems affecting theWadden Sea, namely:a) The major components of the Wadden Sea ecosystem need tobe included within the limits of a commonly agreed managementboundary for controlling activities which are based upon the Sea’snatural resources generated by the Wadden Sea’s ecosystems.This boundary should include:• the Wadden Islands;• tidal inlets and the coastal zone North and West of the isles;• the Wadden Sea with its bays, estuaries, beaches, salt marshes,

eelgrass beds, mudflats and sandbanks.The management boundaries adopted by different authoritieswithin the three Wadden Sea states cannot be united to containthe major marine and coastal ecosystems within the Wadden Sea.

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Some islands are included in the ”Wadden Sea“ while other arenot and other important coastal ecosystems are also left out. Forexample, the landward extent of the National Park in Schleswig-Holstein starts 150 meters seaward from the crown of the dike.The area between the crown of the dike and the border of the na-tional park is partly designated as a nature reserve under separatelegislation.b) Critical environmental linkages between the Wadden Sea andthe surrounding marine and terrestrial environments should be re-flected in a second and more broadly based management region.Basic linkages, such as freshwater and sediment inputs fromwater-sheds, or fish migration from the sea to spawning or nurs-ery areas need to be represented by the definition of a broaderWadden Sea region in which special management arrangementsmust be established to reduce the adverse impacts of human ac-tivities.

5. Administrative arrangements within each of the three WaddenSea states concerning the management of the Sea are extremelycomplex and, apart from the Netherlands, there is no centralizedpolicy framework with which to unify the management policiesand development initiatives of differentsectoral agencies or localgovernment authorities. There are a large number of publicau-thorities which have, in one way or another, administrativepowers in or over the Wadden Sea and it is not always clear whohas the right to make critical decisions over the protection of theecosystem.

6. Environmental education, and nature interpretation and ap-preciation programmes have been established in all three states.However, due to the increased pressure placed on the WaddenSea environment, for example rapidly expanding demands for re-creation, a major increase in effort and resources is urgently need-ed to alert people to the need to conserve the Wadden ecosystemand steps they can take to reduce adverse human impacts. In thisrespect the part played by the local populations living in the Wad-den Sea area is of fundamental importance. Their support forconservation of the Wadden Sea is a basic requirement for asound management. Their support is the most convincing argu-ment to tourists to subscribe the protection of the Wadden Sea,whereas lack of cooperation from the local population will forman important hindrance to the management of protected areas. Itis therefore of utmost importance that the value of managementmeasures can and should be explained to them.

7. Many problems affecting the Wadden Sea cannot be resolvedby the Wadden Sea states alone. The cooperation of a number ofEuropean nations is required to reduce adverse environmental im-pacts affecting natural processes in the Wadden Sea which origi-nate in their respective jurisdictions. International conventionsand political processes and commitment can assist in reducingsome of the adverse impacts of development activities in the sur-rounding region. The Joint Declaration signed by the three Wad-den Sea states in 1982 provides for cooperation in the implemen-

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tation of available international agreements for environmentalprotection, including:• Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, espe-

cially Waterfowl Habitats (Ramsar, February 2, 1971);• Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild

Animals (Bonn, June 23, 1979);• Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Na-

tural Habitats (Berne, June 1, 1982);• EC Bird Directive (79/409/EC);• The International Conferences on the Protection of the North

Sea (1984, 1987, 1990, and the planned conferences in 1993and 1995).There are a number of other international agree-ments which could be used effectively to assist in reducing ad-verse human impact.

These agreements listed above have not been used to their full ef-fect. For example:• The three countries designated different sections of what

should be considered as one wetland ecosystems as ”wetlandof international importance“ under the terms of the RamsarConvention;

• The greater part of the Wadden Sea is still not designated asaspecial bird sanctuary under the terms of the EC Bird Direc-tive;

• A trilateral agreement has been signed to promote the conser-vation of seals based on the Bonn Convention. However, thereis serious doubt if this will have any real effect since little isdone by the three nations to reduce water pollution.

In practice, the different priorities attached to reducing differenthuman impacts by the three Wadden Sea states make it very diffi-cult to make full use of international treaties and conventions be-cause they have to beimplemented via the individual national le-gal arrangements. Current arrangements for cooperation amongthe Wadden Sea states do not provide for an effective organiza-tion to help implement new initiatives. The establishment of theCommon Wadden Sea Secretariat has been a step in the right di-rection, however this acts basically as a means of exchangingin-formation. New arrangements will have to be made to assist inthe formulation and implementation of new measures tostrengthen international efforts for the conservation of the Wad-den Sea.

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Although substantial progress has been made by the three Wad-den Sea states in addressing problems which degrade their partsof the Wadden Sea, it is beyond doubt that the Wadden Sea hascontinued to deteriorate since the start of Wadden Sea protec-tion. Hence, further measures are urgently required to achieve thenecessary standards of protection of the Wadden Sea.The World Wide Fund for Nature, in collaboration with morethan 50 fellow Non-Government Organizations from the Wad-den Sea states, offers the following recommendations for improv-ing the protection of the Wadden Sea. The WWF and the sup-porting NGOs stress the importance of an agreed plan of actionto meet the pressures on this area and to provide positive guidan-ce for development complementary to controls such as protectedareas.The following suggestions for resolving critical issues which ad-versely affect the Wadden Sea are addressed primarily to thethree Wadden Sea states. However, it should be clearly under-stood by all parties that the support of other European nationswill be required to resolve problems that originate in areas beyondthe jurisdiction of the Wadden Sea states.The existing adverse situation of the Wadden Sea can be changedinto a positive development. This can be achieved through a se-ries of positive initiatives undertaken by the Wadden Sea Statesunder the arrangements already established under the Tri-LateralCooperation, existing international conventions and treaties, andincreased cooperation with their European neighbours. The initia-tives which would be most effective and which can be carried outwithin the next ten years are described below.

4.1 A New Joint DeclarationNow that the protection of the Wadden Sea has lost its originalvigour, it seems time to make another large step forward. Recall-ing the strong impetus of the first Joint Declaration by the Tri-Lat-eral Conference of Ministers, it is an appropiate moment for aSecond Joint Declaration on the Protection of the Wadden Sea.

4.2 Confirm that the Wadden Sea is an EntityIt has been stated time and again that the Wadden Sea is an eco-logical entity. Water movements and biological processes main-tain close relationships between the different parts of the Wad-den Sea and it is inevitable that this should form the starting pointfor the protection and the management of the area. In a SecondJoint Declaration this point of departure should be confirmed bythe Tri-Lateral Conference of Ministers.

4.3. Adopt Comprehensive Management Boundariesfor Resolving Environmental Problems and User

Conflicts which adversely influence the Wadden SeaIt is critically important that a unified definition of the „WaddenSea“ which encompasses the major marine and coastal ecosy-stems which form this unique environment be established by mu-tual agreement by the three Wadden Sea States. This will facili-tate the coordination of policies and management measures andwill form an internationally recognized boundary for unifying le-gal measures. A suggested working boundary is illustrated in Fi-

Resolutionof Critical Issues

4.0

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gure 1. A number of recently reclaimed areas which still have anatural character and maintain biological relationships with theWadden Sea proper are included in this boundary. However, theWadden Sea is not isolated. There exist relationships of a diversenature with many parts of Europe and even beyond. Specific lin-kages with surrounding land and water areas include:1. Migration, feeding and breeding patterns of marine animalswhich spend part of their life cycle in the Wadden Sea. On thisbasis an area to the North and West extending at least 50 nauticalmiles into the North Sea must be taken into consideration for themanagement of the Wadden Sea.2. Transport of materials to the Wadden Sea. In addition to theinputs of freshwater and materials from major rivers along theWadden Sea coast, sediments and contaminants from the mainEnglish rivers (Humber, Thames) and the rivers Scheldt, Meuseand Rhine enter the Wadden Sea and settle on the Wadden Seafloor. This implies that Wadden Sea protection and managementcannot neglect developments in the catchment areas of these riv-ers.3. Atmospheric transport relations. A considerable amount of pol-lution reaching the Wadden Sea is carried via the atmosphere.The densely populated and often highly industrialized areas to theSouth and West release massive pollution, part of which settles onthe surface of the Wadden Sea. Agricultural areas adjacent to theWadden Sea and further inland release nutrients to the atmos-phere which then adds to the eutrophication of the Wadden Sea.The industrialized areas of eastern Great Britain, of the Nether-lands and Belgium and of the German Ruhr area therefore mustbe considered when dealing with the Wadden Sea.4. Coastal wetland relations. The Wadden Sea is one of the manythreatened wetland areas around the North Sea. These wetlandareas are interrelated. North Sea fish stocks and many bird speciesbreed and find nursery areas in the coastal wetlands. Pressure onone of these areas increases pressures on the remaining wetlands,and there is grave danger of displacing or reducing the po-pula-tion of a bird species. Hence, Wadden Sea protection implies pro-tection of other wetlands around the North Sea.5. Bird migration relations. Migratory coastal birds maintain rela-tionships with other nature areas ranging from the high Arctic tothe coasts of West Africa. Hence, protection of the Wadden Seaand its birds must have consequences for the protection of otherareas often far away.Although the Wadden Sea is subject to influences stemming froma very large area, it is logical that the greatest impacts result fromhuman activities in the close vicinity of the Wadden Sea. The re-duction of a considerable part of the adverse external influencestherefore would be facilitated by the establishment of a secondmanagement boundary representing the geographic area whereenvironmental linkages between human activities and the Wad-den Sea’s ecosystems are of major importance. A suggestedboundary for this Greater Wadden Sea Management area to beestablished by the three Wadden Sea states is illustrated in theFigure 2. The definition of such a Greater Wadden Sea Manage-ment Area would greatly help to solve problems within the threeWadden Sea countries. At the same time it is clear that critical is-

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sues remain where greater cooperation among European coun-tries would improve conditions in the Wadden Sea. For such acooperation several international instruments already exist. Thiswill be discussed in more detail in paragraph 4.5.1.

4.4 Develop a Common Vision on WaddenSea Protection and Adopt a Common UnifiedGoal and a Common Conservation Principles

The formulation of an effective strategy to protect the CommonFuture for the Wadden Sea requires the development of a com-mon vision on protection of the Wadden Sea and, based on that,the adoption of a common goal and of common conservationprinciples.Nature protection in general and Wadden Sea protection in par-ticular are not yet founded on a firm theoretical basis. All peopleinvolved in the protection of the Wadden Sea have their own mo-tivations for conservation of this area. How excellent these moti-vations may be, the fact that they are often different from personto person and that these persons do not always realize that theyhave different motivations and hence different points of departu-re for Wadden Sea conservation, creates considerable confusionwhen it comes to definition and adoption of conservation objec-tives. Elsewhere this problem has been encountered before andconsequently groups and individuals in the three Wadden Seacountries and beyond have tried to develop a better foundationfor nature protection. It is recommended that the Wadden Seastates accelerate this development for the Wadden Sea in particu-lar. A working group with a varied membership derived from uni-versities and government research institutes as well as from pri-vate and government conservation organizations should be set upwith the task to develop a common vision on the protection ofthe Wadden Sea to be adopted by the three Wadden Sea states ata later stage.A common goal for the protection of the Wadden Sea ideallyshould stem from the common vision mentioned above. How-ever, many elements of a common goal have already been iden-tified during the development of Wadden Sea protection since1981.Hence, it is recommended that the three Wadden Sea states agreethat the ultimate goal of Wadden Sea protection is a natural eco-system with a free and uninterrupted play of natural processes re-sulting in suitable living conditions for a rich and varied flora andfauna. Hence, a major element of a management plan for theWadden Sea region should be the avoidance of human impactson the natural processes that maintain the health and functions ofthe ecosystem.This goal was also recommended by the 7th International Wad-den Sea Symposium on Ameland. The choice of this natural deve-lopment approach was based on the following factors:• Although the Wadden Sea region has been influenced by hu-

man activities for over a thousand years, it is still one of the fewtidal areas in the world where natural processes proceed in arelatively undisturbed manner. Natural processes have thusshaped an area of outstanding ecological importance and it istherefore only common sense to attempt to protect this area by

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a form of management which will ensure the undisturbed de-velopment of these processes;

• The unique character of the Wadden Sea ecosystem, its inter-national value in terms of nature conservation and its out-standing value for the societies of the Wadden Sea countriesjustifies the introduction of improved management measuresto control human pressures;

• At present human pressure does not allow the undisturbed de-velopment of the Wadden Sea and therefore any managementplan will have to take human activities into consideration. It isnot in fact desirable to exclude all human activities from theWadden Sea. However, they must be regulated and they mustremain subordinate to the maintenance of the health and func-tioning of the Wadden Sea ecosystem.

Thus the Guiding Principle for all Wadden Sea policy must be toachieve a natural and sustainable ecosystem in which naturalprocesses proceed in an undisturbed way, and in which for thatreason the full variety of plant and animal species which shouldlive in the Wadden Sea encounters suitable living conditions.The effective implementation of this principle requires the defini-tion of commonly accepted criteria and the description of a re-fer-ence system which could then act as a calibration point for politi-cal measures.For the description of a reference system many ‘building blocks’are already available. In fact it is already more or less known whatspecies of plants and animals should occur in the ‘ideal’ WaddenSea. What is lacking is knowledge of their mutual relationshipsand the influence of the abiotic processes on their abundance. Wealso have little insight in the natural fluctuations occurring in an‘ideal’ Wadden Sea. It is recommended that the working groupmentioned before also is given the task of describing a referencesystem for the Wadden Sea.However, it should be clear beforehand that the reference systemcan only act as a calibration point for Wadden Sea management;it cannot be the target system for its management. For example,it is impossible to remove species which have been introducedfrom other parts of the world into the Wadden Sea region and.Itis highly unlikely that it will be decided to give up all of the thou-sands of km2 of reclaimed land that once were part of the Wad-den Sea. Neither is it possible to remove many of the pollutantswhich have already reached the Wadden Sea. So taking into ac-count the realities of the present situation a ‘possible’ WaddenSea should be defined as a target for Wadden Sea management.Again it is recommended that the working group mentionedabove is entrusted the task of describing this target system for theWadden Sea.Again it is true that much information is already available for thedescription of a target system. Therefore it can be stated withconfidence that the ultimate Wadden Sea should be characterizedby, among other things, tidal flats and saltmarshes showing thenormal cycles of growth and erosion, the presence of a variedbenthic fauna, the occurrence of well-developed oyster reefs, ma-ture mussel beds and extensive seagrass beds, healthy nurseriesof many fish species, presence of migratory fish such as houting,salmon, allis shad, and maybe sturgeon, breeding birds with

Natural processesshould proceed inan undisturbedway.

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for some species larger numbers than occur at present and abun-dant populations of harbour and grey seals, porpoises, and per-haps dolphins.The development of a common vision and a common goal as wellas the description of reference and target systems are possiblewithin one or two years. The target system in reality will need alonger period of development. Nevertheless, the first positive de-velopments, such as increase of the populations of breeding birds,seals and porpoises, may be well possible within ten years.Within the Wadden Sea itself, a balance must be sought betweenconserving and/or promoting natural processes and ecologicalfunctions essential to the maintenance of the Wadden Sea eco-system and improving the economic and social welfare of thepeople who live and work there. The Wise Use Principle develo-ped and recently updated in the framework of the Ramsar con-vention, can be helpfull in this respect. The Wise Use Principle canbe viewed as a supporting conservation principle complementingthe Guiding Principle.The Wise Use concept must also be applied at least within theGreater Wadden Sea area, if not in the whole catchment area ofthe rivers flowing into the North Sea, as a means of reducing theadverse environmental and economic effects of human activities.A third conservation principle of great importance to be appliedto the Wadden Sea is the ”Precautionary Principle“ currently ap-plied to the North Sea. This Principle, which also can be con-sidered as complementary to the Guiding Principle, must beadopted for all activities in the Wadden Sea and its surroundingregion. It requires that, where there is uncertainty about the ef-fects of a human activity or a potential pollutant, the introductionof that activity or material into the Wadden Sea, or areas whichare environmentally linked to it, must be prohibited until it can beshown beyond any doubt that it would not be harmful.

4.5 Develop an Integrated ManagementSystem for the Wadden Sea

A concerted plan of action is required to translate managementgoals and objectives into measures, strengthen existing publicsupport, increase administrative coordination and harmonizemanagement practices within and among the three Wadden Seastates, seeking the cooperation of other partner states in the ECand in outside regions. The primary objective of all managementactivities must remain the evoidance or at least the control of theimpact of human activities. However, the basic starting point forall management policies, decisions and techniques must be theimplementation of the Guiding Principle. Attention is drawn tothe fact that the World Wide Fund for Nature already has com-missioned a study on Integrated Management Systems to be car-ried out by the Dutch Society for the Preservation of the WaddenSea.

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4.5.1 Use European and InternationalConventions to their Full Effect

Individually, the Wadden Sea states have taken steps to increaseinternational recognition of the unique value of the Wadden Seaand increase its conservation status. The WWF suggests that ajoint proposal be made by the three states that the entire WaddenSea be nominated as a:• Ramsar site under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of In-

ternational Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat;• Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Programme

of the UNESCO;• World Heritage Site under the World Heritage Convention.• Also the EC-bird directive should be implemented in the whole

Wadden Sea.None of these designations would stand in the way of achievingeconomically and ecologically sustainable improvements in thewelfare of the people of the three Wadden Sea states. On thecontrary, they could help improve international recognition of thevalue of the Wadden Sea and lead to increased cooperation andsupport in resolving current problems such as pollution.The WWF also suggests that cooperative arrangements be set upwith authorities responsible for other internationally importantwetlands and natural areas around the North Sea coast and alongthe East Atlantic Flyway to promote the conservation of migratorybirds.In all this the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat could play a lead-ing role. Therefore the WWF suggests that the role of this Secre-tariat be reinforced.It is clear that all the necessary international conventions, treatiesand other tools exist to promote the conservation of the WaddenSea. What is needed next to the steps recommended above is thecommitment of the Wadden Sea states to live up to the obliga-tions they have agreed to in ratifying these treaties by adoptingappropriate control measures in joint, national and local policiesand domestic legislation and then enforcing these laws against of-fenders.

4.5.2 Integrate the Three Different National

Management StrategiesThe marine and coastal ecosystems in the Wadden Sea must betreated as one management unit. Due to the scale of this areaand complex mix of uses, a unified management strategy is re-quired to integrate the three different management strategiesnow in force. Another reason for integration is that, because theWadden Sea ecosystem transcends the jurisdiction of an individu-al nation, the effect of management decisions taken in one coun-try must be analyzed in terms of their effect upon the entire Wad-den Sea ecosystem. A longerterm objective must be the integra-tion of the administrative and legislative systems relating to theprotection of the Wadden Sea. It is recommended that the Wad-den Sea states establish a unified management strategy using therelevant parts of the Dutch PKB Waddenzee concept as the basisfor a central policy for the entire Wadden ecosystem based uponthe natural development principle. All agencies within the threenations with an interest in the management of the Wadden Sea

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would then be required to adhere to that basic policy. National, oreven international, parks must be included as a key instrument forprotecting unique habitats and controlling human activities. Abuffer zone, including the North Sea and mainland bordering are-as, must also be included as is already the case in Denmark. Spe-cial attention should be payed to the creation of zero-use areas inall three countries.

4.5.3 Streamline the AdministrativeArrangements

Existing arrangements for the protection of the Wadden Sea andmanagement of sectoral activities are cumbersome, and it is notalways clear who has authority to make critical decisions affectingits use.It is recommended that each Wadden Sea state takes the initiativeto streamline its administrative arrangements for Wadden Seaprotection. Existing national laws should be used to their full ef-fect, and existing regulations should be strengthened by clarifyingtheir purpose, what agencies, individuals or activities they applyto, and by monitoring their enforcement.

4.5.4 Strengthen Public SupportIt is recommended that the Wadden Sea states strengthen publicsupport to conserve the Wadden Sea by a substantial increase inadministrative and financial support for education, interpretationand warden services on a national, if not international, basis.

4.6 Strengthen Controls Over the AdverseEnvironmental, Economic and Social

Impact of Human ActivitiesA reference system defining acceptable levels of pollutants or usesof specific resources would:1. assist in the enforcement of current legislation,2. provide guidance in assessing the potential impact of propo-sed new development, and3. assist policy makers, decision takers and planners in assessingthe effectiveness of existing management arrangements for pro-tecting the Wadden Sea.The practice of evaluating the possible risk of individual pollutantsor activities in isolation from their potential for interacting withother materials or activities must be replaced with a more com-prehensive method of environmental assessment. Such assess-ments must be appropriate for the most fragile marine and coast-al components of the Wadden ecosystem and the ecological rela-tionships which link these components.This is by no means an easy task because it is virtually impossibleto define acceptable levels and/or assimilative capacities for sub-stances or activities that are entirely alien to the Wadden Sea en-vironment. Due to the difficulty of setting environmentally soundstandards for such materials or activities, the Precautionary Princi-ple should be observed. This means that, where the effects of in-dividual contaminants or activities are not fully understood orwhere synergistic interactions may occur among different materi-als (toxic chemicals and excess nutrients included), the risk ofharm which the materials or activities pose to the Wadden eco-

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system must be considered unacceptable. The ultimate aim ofthese measures is to promote wise human use of the Wadden Seawhile setting achievable environmental standards which will pro-tect the integrity of the marine and coastal ecosystems.A further build up of polluting and eutrophicating substancesmust not be permitted in the Wadden Sea and all managementactivities should seek to reduce current pollution and eutrophica-tion. Little can be done to remove pollutants already in the Wad-den Sea environment. The major issue which must be addressed isstopping of any further inputs of pollutants and nutrients into theSea and avoiding the reintroduction of existing pollutants into thewater column by disturbing contaminated sediments.Priority must be given to reducing pollution and discharge of nu-trients at the source with Uniform Emission Standards using BestAvailable Technology and scientific knowledge. In addition, Envi-romental Quality Objectives should be used for emmision control.Specific management guidelines can then be developed to makemore effective use of existing pollution control measures and toprevent existing pollutants trapped in sediments from being re-introduced into the water column. An example is the establish-ment of strict standards for assessing potential contamination ofsediments before any dredging plans are approved.Current initiatives aimed at reducing pollution in rivers by 50% by1995 should be seen as an initial step in a continuing programmeto reduce pollution loads in rivers, the North Sea and the atmos-phere over Europe by at least 90%. The same applies to nutrientsresponsible for eutrophication. Priority must be given to acceler-ating the reduction of toxic materials such as heavy metals and ofbiocides.A common set of counter measures should be developed to re-duce the hazard of shipping accidents and other sources of acci-dental pollution and to combat such pollution when an accidentoccurs.All development activities planned for the Wadden Sea must besubject to comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)procedures with very high standards of assessment relevant to theunique conditions found in the coastal and marine ecosystems ofthe Wadden Sea. These standards should be incorporated into theEC guidelines on EIA and steps taken to ensure that potential syn-ergistic and cumulative impacts resulting from individual develop-ment proposals are assessed.

4.7 Wadden Sea CouncilThe integrated management of the Wadden Sea as an ecologicalentity requires positive guidance at the international level to en-sure that the Guiding Principle and Common Conservation Goalsare adequately addressed and unified policies are enforced. Alsothere needs to be a body to oversee the management of the Seaas an ecological entity to which any disputes can be referred forarbitration. This could be achieved by the establishment of a smallbut strong international body, such as a Wadden Sea Council,made up of representatives from the three Wadden Sea states in-cluding local government representatives.The WWF suggests that an international Working Group madeup of members from the Wadden Sea states be set up to review

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this concept of a Wadden Sea Council with the aim of recom-mending how it should be constituted, its powers, staffing andbudget. This Working Group should report within one year afterits constitution.Consideration should also be given to strengthening the CommonSecretariat for the Cooperation of the Protection of the WaddenSea so that it could effectively service such a Wadden Sea Coun-cil.The first task of an International Wadden Sea Advisory Councilcould well be to review the present situation of the Wadden Seaand its management and to make recommendations for measuresby the Wadden Sea states to improve the conservation status ofthe Wadden Sea. Given sufficient financial means this can beachieved within one year after its constitution.

4.8 Introduce a Wadden Sea Charter toharmonize the Protection of the Wadden

Sea EnvironmentThe harmonization of national policies under the existing legislati-ve systems will be difficult and will take considerable time. TheWWF proposes that a Wadden Sea Charter be prepared as ameans of promoting the harmonization of policies and unificationof conservation principles among the three nations. The Charter isbased upon the guiding principle and makes it possible for any in-terested party to declare its responsibility for the Wadden Sea bysignature.The WWF invites all organizations to sign such a Wadden SeaCharter. This charter should be finalized by the trilateral govern-mental conference and afterwards presented to the internationalcommunity. A draft of the proposed Wadden Sea Charter is pre-sented in Appendix 1.

4.9 Specific Suggestions for Reducing theAdverse Impact of Human Activities

4.9.1 Coastal EngineeringIf sea level rise accelerates, it will be increasingly important to en-sure that tidal flats and other components of the coastal systemcontinue to act as breakwaters reducing the erosive forces gen-er-ated by tides, currents, waves and winds. Urgent attention shouldbe given to applied research to determine the full potential forcombining appropriate engineering technology with natural proc-esses to defend coastal populations and activities as well as con-serving the Wadden Sea ecosystem. In some areas it may be nec-essary to give up summer polders or even mainland polders. At-tention must also be given to restoration of transition zones be-tween land and water and fresh and saltwater. The adverseeffects of channel dredging in terms of increasing tidal ranges alsoneeds to be examined with respect to its compounding difficultiesof coastal protection and counteracting sea level rise.An example of where sound engineering combined with naturalprocesses can work is in preventing the loss of islands due to ero-sion. Where there are major social or economic reasons for com-batting erosion, a solution may be to dredge sand from the deep-

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er parts of the North Sea to replace materials eroded from islandsdue to changes in currents or the natural supply of sand to theWadden Sea. Careful placement of the new sand with respect totidal currents and wave forces can conserve the islands and asso-ciated intertidal sand flats.The use of engineering measures to promote the restoration ofnatural systems is more problematic. There were plans to ”build“new marshes and transition zones between fresh and saltwaterenvironments in the Dutch area of the Wadden Sea. There arealso plans to develop breakwaters to create low wave energy are-as to promote salt marsh growth and areas with low turbidity tostimulate the growth of eelgrasses. Plans for the construction of‘bird islands’ are similar in nature. Such activities are in conflictwith the Guiding Principle of no interference in natural processesand should not be carried out.Patterns of trade and the nature of economic activities inlandhave changed since many of the harbours were established. Thisraises the question whether it is sensible to continue to use har-bours which require excessive dredging when the current andpredicted tradevolume can be efficiently handled by a smallernumber of harbours located in areas where limited dredging is re-quired. Such questions must be addressed in terms of regional de-velopment planning or with respect to the environmental impactsupon the Wadden Sea. Many harbour authorities are competingwith one another for trade. The location of new activities andmuch of the cost of dredging is paid by public authorities and thecosts associated with the adverse environmental and economiceffects are borne by activities downstream.Engineering activities will continue to form part of the mosaic ofactivities in the Wadden Sea. Sea level rise will result in the loss ofislands and salt marsh areas and could threaten the lives andproperty of a large number of people unless appropriate mea-sures are taken. However, a sensible balance must be achievedbetween the conservation of the natural ecosystems and proces-ses which maintain the Wadden Sea and the use of carefullythought through engineering solutions to critical problems suchas sea level rise.

4.9.2 PollutionImprovement of the water quality in the Wadden Sea dependsheavily upon reduction in the pollution loads in all rivers draininginto the North Sea or directly into the Wadden Sea. It is estimatedthat current pollution loads will have to be reduced by 70-80 %before restoration of the ecological health of many of these riverscan be achieved. For the North Sea, it has been agreed by theConference of Ministers that the level of pollution in rivers will bereduced by at least 50% by 1995. However, little concrete actionhas been taken by the riparian states to meet this target exceptfor the reduction of emissions from chlorine-alkali plants and pulpand paper mills. If the proposed 50% reduction is actuallyachieved, it should be seen as a first step in a continuing pro-gramme where a 70-80% reduction in pollution in all rivers is themedium-term objective. Achieving this level of reduction will re-quire a virtual cessation of the release of micropollutants from in-dustrial point sources and a 50-80% reduction from diffuse

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sources. With regard to, for example, biocides the latter can only-be achieved by restraining production and application of certaincompounds, either by selective licences or the force of law.The findings of the 7th International Wadden Sea Symposiumstate that a reduction of up to 90% for phosphorus and 80% fornitrogen from point sources, and 50 % for nitrogen from diffusesources is required to restore the natural plant and animal com-munities in the Wadden Sea.It is recommended that, to be effective, the Precautionary Princi-ple needs to be expanded to include nutrients and other non-tox-ic materials, and extended to other human activities, such as theadverse impacts of poor resource management practices. It mustalso be backed up by the force of law.Both the level of chronic pollution entering the Wadden Sea andthe risk from accidental spills of hazardous materials and oil arefar too high and have to be drastically reduced. To cope with thehuge problem of non-point sources, clean products have to bedeveloped and stimulated. This must be supported by:• restraining the use, turnover and/or import of, for example,

biocides, harmful solvents, nitrogen fertilizer in/into the catch-ment area;

• stopping the production and supply of persistent toxic mate-rials such as halogenated hydrocarbons;

• phasing out detrimental methods of disposal such as incinera-tion of toxic or mixed waste.

Steps have to be set to reduce the level of micropollutants frompoint sources entering into rivers and into the atmosphere fromthe surrounding region. Industries located in the immediate hin-terland of the Wadden Sea should be subject to stricter environ-mental regulations. Clean technology should be stimulated andexisting polluting processing techniques should be replaced byclean technology. Diffuse sources and domestic waste sourcesshould also be significantly reduced. Greater control is also re-quired over excess nutrient loads created by inefficient use of fer-tilizers and biocides in agriculture.Improved standards for controlling pollution are required. A logi-cal step would be to unify the standards adopted by the threeWadden Sea states using the highest standards applied or pro-posed from each country. Agreement should also be reached onthe methods of analyzing specific pollutants so that results can becompared between different laboratories.The level of pollution resulting from operational discharges fromships and the oil and gas industry need to be substantially re-duced. Measures which should be taken include:• The three Wadden Sea states could establish a combined Ex-

clusive Economic Zone in which their legal powers to enforceinternational regulations to control illegal operational dischar-ges would be increased;

• Those involved in illegal discharging oil and other substancesshould be prosecuted to the full extent of the law;

• The three Wadden Sea states could bring pressure to bearthrough the MARPOL Convention to have allowable levels ofoperational discharges in the North Sea and the Wadden Seareduced under Annexes I and II;

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• Aerial surveillance need to be intensified and control and enfor-cement strengthened;

• Adequate reception facilities should be provided at all harbourswhere tankers and ships carrying hazardous materials can dis-pose of operational wastes;

• Enforcement of stricter safety standards could help to encou-rage the development of new, clean technologies for use onboard ships which would further reduce the generation ofwastes;

• The „gentlemen’s agreement“ between oil companies and theDutch Government restricting oil and gas development in theWadden Sea until 1994 should be extended.The risk of major oil or hazardous chemicals being accidentallyspilt could be reduced through the following measures:

• A Vessel Traffic Management Scheme could be developed as acomplement to the existing Traffic Separation Scheme to pro-vide information on the position of ships carrying hazardouscargo;

• All ships carrying dangerous substances could be made to usethe deep water and traffic separation scheme shipping routeslocated away from the coast;

• With the exception of the approaches to major ports, all coastalwaters up to a distance of 20 nautical miles could be designa-ted as „Areas to be Avoided“ for vessels carrying hazardousmaterials by the International Maritime Organization;

• Pilotage must be made obligatory for ships carrying hazardoussubstances in the main shipping lanes within and adjacent tothe Wadden Sea;

• Oil and gas pipelines must be sited outside the boundaries ofthe Wadden Sea with suitable landfalls in adjacent coastal areaswhere there is little risk of serious environmental damage fromthe rupture of the pipeline.It would be prudent to reduce the potential impact of any acci-dent by making sure that effective contingency plans are inplace. Measures which could be taken to prepare for an acci-dent include:

• Improving the capacity to combat oil pollution in adjacent wa-ters before it can reach the Wadden Sea by ensuring that theright forms and amounts of equipment are located in strategiclocations related to the Deepwater and TE passages which areamong the busiest tanker shipping routes in the world;

• Develop methods to combat chemical spills;• Encourage more countries to ratify the MARPOL Convention.

Thought could also be given by the EC to put pressure oncountries whose ships trade with the Wadden Sea Ports to rati-fy the MARPOL Convention or else be banned from the Wad-den Sea.

4.9.3 FisheriesThere is no basic reason why a diverse range of fisheries cannotbe sustained in the Wadden Sea. Most adverse impacts from fish-eries are avoidable. Several measures are required to achieve sig-nificant reductions in these impacts. These are:1. A shift away from fisheries management policies based solelyupon controlling fishing effort and a shift towards the formulation

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of policies and management measures which include main-tenance of environmental conditions which allow natural pro-cesses to maintain the the ecological systems which also sustainfishery resources. This will help to reduce adverse effects fromfisheries activities and will give emphasis to the importance tofisheries of improving environmental conditions through the re-duction of pollution and the avoidance of further alienation of co-astal ecosystems which help sustain fish populations;2. harmonization of fisheries management policies and manage-ment measures by the three Wadden Sea states based upon thetreatment of the Sea as an ecological entity rather than separatejurisdictions;3. effective extension service advice must be made more freelyavailable to help fishermen to develop less environmentally dam-aging techniques and to avoid unnecessary impacts;4. fisheries interests must be encouraged to join forces with othereconomic sectors which rely on the Wadden Sea’s resources incalling for a reduction in adverse environmental and economicimpacts resulting from other activities in the Wadden Sea and itssurrounding region.The further development of the EC will sweep away restrictionson access to fishery resources in 1992. A unified managementstrategy to conserve fish stocks throughout the Wadden Seashould be formulated in advance of 1992. This strategy and man-agement policies governing different fishery activities should bebased upon the protection of the environmental processes andhabitats which sustain fishery resources. The following measureswill help to improve the wise use of fishery resources:• Improved fishery statistics are required to manage fishing effort

and to monitor the effectiveness of controls;• The collection and transfer of mussel spat to seed culture beds,

where allowed, must be rationalized in terms of the areas har-vested and of improvement of fishing and culture methods inorder to have better survival of the seed;

• In areas with mussel culture, quotas on seed mussels should beintroduced to stimulate more efficient mussel culture and de-crease pressure on seed stocks due to unregulated competition;

• Collection of spat from intertidal beds should be prohibited;• The introduction of stock from areas outside the Wadden Sea

should be forbidden to minimize the risk of introducing disea-ses and/or spreading epidemics;

• No-use areas, such as core zones in German National Parks,defined as critical habitat for the conservation of nature andnatural resources should be defined for all sectors of the Wad-den Sea. No mussel collection or other forms of fisheries har-vest should be permitted within these areas;

• Improvements in the ecology of the Wadden Sea and the ef-fectiveness of controls over fisheries would be more rapid ifthere was an improved dialogue between nature conservationbodies and fishermen. Essentially the long-term welfare of thefishermen is closely linked to the conservation of the naturalsystems which sustain the generation of fish stocks. The creati-on of rigid posi-tions on both sides based upon inadequate in-

formation on the effects of fisheries or the ecology of the Sea willonly hamper cooperation.

Natural musselbancs get rare. Un-used areas shouldbe defined for allsectors of the Wad-den Sea to helpthem to recover.

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Cockle fishing is prohibited in Schleswig-Holstein and will bebanned in Lower Saxony and in Denmark in the near future. Themain problem is therefore confined to the Dutch area of the Wad-den Sea where new long-term management measures are re-quired to maintain natural cockle beds, to reduce the adverse en-vironmental effects of dredging operations on bottom life, and toavoid competition with birds such as oystercatchers. It is recom-mended that cockle fishing must be limited to 25 - 50 % of thearea of the Dutch Wadden Sea. The amount of cockles occurringnormally in this area is sufficient for a sound enterprise.

4.9.4 AgricultureThe current practice of intensive grazing and arable farming hasled to a flow of nutrients and biocides to the Wadden Sea withgreat impact on its biological processes. Steps must be takenwithin the Greater Wadden Sea region to promote less environ-mentally damaging forms of agricultural production. The firstmeasure would be to change to subsidies paid per hectare andthen link them with the responsibilities for carrying out specificmeasures to promote nature conservation. These may range fromorganic farming, without the use of industrial fertilizers and bio-cides, to limits on the numbers of sheep or cattle, or a changefrom arable farming to grassland and could include the irrigationof marshland areas as in the Tondermarsh.

4.9.5 Recreation and TourismSteps should be taken to plan ahead to deal with the expectedmajor increase in pressures for recreation and tourism. Long-termsustainable tourism and recreation development depend heavilyon maintaining the quality of the environment and the availabilityof diverse recreational opportunities.The conservation and, where necessary, rehabilitation of signifi-cant natural features which attract people for tourism and recrea-tion should be a fundamental principle in any management plan.Good planning and management will be required to ensure thattourism and recreation development does not destroy the very re-sources that attract people to the Wadden Sea. This will requirelimiting tourist capacity and positive guidance on the location offacilities in relation to the carrying capacity of different areas andthe overall capacity of the Wadden Sea ecosystem to sustain spe-cific forms of recreation and tourism. Shipping traffic and watersports must be regulated by harbour capacity and a zoning sys-tem in order to make provision for undisturbed areas.

Planning for recreation and tourism development should be car-ried out on the basis of the Greater Wadden Sea region ratherthan through the formulation of independent national or districtlevel plans which do not take into consideration the effects of con-trols or development on adjacent areas. Recreational pressuresshould be diverted away from ecologically fragile and vulnerableareas. The zoning systems currently used by the three Waddenstates should be made more uniform in terms of the criteria usedand the level of control over activities that is exercised. A comple-mentary measure would be to create new or alternative forms ofrecreation in non-vulnerable areas in the neighbourhood.

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The potential adverse effects of tourism and recreation can be re-duced by measures to educate the public about the sensitivity ofdifferent ecosystems or plant and animal species. However, itshould be clearly understood that certain activities will cause un-acceptable impacts in specific areas, or at certain times in differentareas and should be prohibited. Financial and work force resourc-es must be increased substantially in order to secure adequate in-formation and an effective wardening system

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IThe Guiding Principle of all Wadden Sea policy is to achieve acomplete, natural and sustainable ecosystem in which naturalprocesses proceed in an undisturbed way.

The contracting parties:II

Acknowledge their common responsibility for the Wadden Sea asan entity.

IIIAcknowledge that the whole Wadden Sea is an ecological entityand therefore all human activities must be considered in respectto their possible influence to the whole ecosystem.

IVAcknowledge that, within the Wadden Sea between the seadykes and the ten meter isobath, all human activities must besubordinate to the Guiding Principle. Protection of human life andthe security of the population in the Wadden Sea area howeverremains the first priority.

VAcknowledge the borders of the Greater Wadden Sea region inAppendix 2 of this charter.

VIAcknowledge that within the Greater Wadden Sea region, includ-ing the political and administrative areas neighbouring the Wad-den Sea and some areas of the North Sea, all activities must beplanned and managed in accordance with the Wise Use principleas set out in the Ramsar Convention.

VIIAcknowledge that all bodies having responsibilities within theWadden Sea must contact the state authority responsible for na-ture conservation in their area as early as possible if they plan anaction which could have possible impact on the Wadden Sea eco-system.

VIIIAcknowledge the Precautionary Principle in the sense that humanactivities must not be started or continued if there is any doubtwith regard to their negative impacts on the ecosystem. In thecase of new activities this burden of proof shall lie on the side ofthe party proposing any change in the use of the Wadden Sea.

IXCommit themselves to active support of all nature conservationmeasures and agree to inform all responsible parties of plans fordevelopment within the Wadden Sea coming under their respon-sibility.

XRecognize that, in order to increase public support for measuresto conserve the Wadden Sea, the views of local committees, con-cerned individuals and non-governmental organizations should beintegrated at an early stage into the planning and managementprocess.“

The WWF recommends that the Charter should be finalized bythe trilateral governmental conference and afterwards presentedto the international community.

5.05.1 AppendixProposal for a”Wadden Sea Charter“

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of their „State of the Art“-papers, which were used as backgroundinformation for this report (full texts of these papers are produced inan additional ”Technical Report“)

Abrahamse, Jan, Siderius, Kees & Zinnemers, Ruud (Waddenbulletin, Groningen): Landscape picture / perception ofthe Wadden Sea

Bartholdy, Jesper & Pejrup, Morten(Central Institut, København Universitet): Sedimentology - Den-

markBerghahn, Dr. Rüdiger

(Institut für Hydrobiologie und Fischereiwissenschaften der Uni-versität Hamburg): Fisheries in the Wadden Sea. Shrimp Fishery

Buchwald, Prof. Dr. Konrad(Universität Hannover): Aufgaben der Regional- und Landes-planung in Nordwest- und Norddeutschland für Schutz und Entwicklung des Wattenmeer-Raumes

Buxton, Richard(Mills and Reevs Cambridge): International Law and Wadden Seaconservation

Carstensen, Hans(Husumer Nachrichten, Mildstedt): Ökonomie in Schleswig- Hol-

steinConrady, Dr. Dierk

(Friedland): Hunting in the National Park ”Wadden Sea of Schleswig-Holstein“

de Jonge, Victor(Dienst Getijdewateren, Haren): Maintainance of harbours andnavigation routes

Dijkstra, Simon(Dienst Ruimte en Groen, Provincie Noord Holland): Recreation

and Tourism in the Wadden SeaDogterom, Jan

(International Center for Waterstudies, Amsterdam): Micropollutants in the International Wadden Sea

Eisma, Prof. Dr. Doeke(NIOZ, Texel): Sedimentology in the Netherlands

Feldt, Walter(WWF, Lehrte-Arpke): Industrie- und Hafenentwicklung an derbundesdeutschen und dänischen Wattenmeerküste

Graßl, Prof. Dr. Hartmut(Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Hamburg): Sea level rise.A short review

Hansen, Jacob Funder(Hellerup): 1.Socio-economic development in the Danish WaddenSea area. 2. Ecologically sound management of the Wadden Sea.

Jensen, Dr. Arne(Forskningscenter Risø, Afdeling for Miljøforskning, Roskilde):Eutrophication of the Wadden Sea

König, Dr. Dietrich(Kronshagen) : Culture and History

König, Dr. Günter(Industrie-und Handelskammer Oldenburg): Wirtschaftsent-wicklung im nordwestdeutschen Wattenmeerraum

Köster, Prof. Dr. Rolf(Geologisches Institut der Universität Kiel): Entstehung undkünftige Entwicklung des deutschen Wattenmeeres

Kramer, Johann(Aurich): Küstenschutz an der Nordsee mit vorgelagertem Wattenmeer von Den Helder bis SkallingenLandsbrugsministeriets Vildforvaltning: Hunting in the DanishWadden Sea

Landesbrugsministeriets Vildforvaltning(Kalø): Hunting in the Danish Wadden Sea

5.05.2 AppendixAuthors and titels

54

Nentjes, Prof. Dr. Andries(Vakgroep Economie en Openbare Financiën, RijksuniversiteitGroningen): Socio-economic developments in the Dutch WaddenSea area

Peet, Gerard(Rotterdam): Maritime Transport in and near the Wadden Sea.

Pieper, Jochen(Luftfahrtbundesamt Braunschweig): Situation des Flugverkehrsim deutschen Wattenmeer

Reineking, Bettina(Internationales Wattenmeersekretariat, Wilhelmshaven): Oilpollution.

Revier, Hans(Landelijke Vereniging tot Behoud van de Waddenzee, Harlingen): Military activities in the International Wadden Sea

Ruth, Dr. Maarten(Institut für Meereskunde der Universität Kiel): Muschelfischerei.

Saxtrup, Søren Bo(University of Esbjerg): Regional planning in Denmark

Schatzmann, Prof. Dr. Michael(Meteorologisches Institut der Universität Hamburg): PollutantInput from the Atmosphere into the Wadden Sea

Schauser, Ulf-Henning(Forschungs- und Technologie Zentrum Westküste der UniversitätKiel, Büsum): Environmental planning and land use in the WaddenSea

Scherer, Dr. Bernd(Landesamt für den Nationalpark Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wat-

tenmeer, Tönning): Short report on Ecological ResearchSterr, Dr.Horst

(Geographisches Institut der Universität Kiel): Environmentalplanning and land use in the Wadden Sea

van der Veen, Anne(Vakgroep Bestuurskunde, Technische Universiteit Twente, Del-den): Industrial development in the Dutch part of the WaddenSea

van der Windt, Henny(Sectie Wetenschap en Samenleving, Biologisch Centrum, Rijks-universiteit Groningen): Regional planning in the Dutch WaddenSea area

van der Zwiep, Karel(Landelijke Vereniging tot Behoud van de Waddenzee, Harlingen): Legal aspects of marine conservation

von Meyer, Dr. Heino(Institut für ländliche Strukturforschung der Universität Frankfurt):Wattenmeer, Landwirtschaft und EG-Politik

Wellershaus, Dr. Stefan(Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung,Bremerhaven): Fine sediments in harbours, estuaries and theWadden Sea

Wesemüller, Holger(WWF-Projekt Wattenmeer & Nordseeschutz, Bremen): The roleof nature conservation societies in the protection of the Wadden Sea

Wolff, Prof. Dr. Wim(Rijksinstituut voor Natuurbeheer, Leersum): Ecology of theWadden Sea

Woudstra, Anky(Landelijke Vereniging tot Behoud van de Waddenzee, Harlingen): State of the Art - Report on Agriculture (mainly in the Netherlands)

55

5.3 Non-Governmental Organisationssupporting this report

Denmark

BiologforbundetØstergade 98450 Hammel

Danmarks NaturfredningsforeningNørregade 21165 København K.

Danmarks SportsfiskerforbundWorsøesgade 17100 Vejle

DMU-danske fritidssijlereHjulmagervej 13d7100 Vejle

Dansk Ornithologisk ForeningVesterbrogade 1401620 København V.

Fanø MiljøforeningSdr. Banssti 46720 Fanø

Foreningen af Danske BiologerSkoletoften 168382 Hinnerup

Greenpeace DenmarkThomas Laubs Gade 11-132100 København Ø

Jagtorganisationernes FællesudvalgKalø, Grenåvej 148410 Rønde

Natur og UngdomKlostermøllevej 48a8660 Skanderborg

Naturhistorik ForeningCarit Etlars Alle 526700 Esbjerg

NordsøgruppenBavnebjerg 596720 Fanø

WWF VerdensnaturfondenRyesgade 3F2200 Copenhagen N

Germany:

Arbeitsgemeinschaft beruflicher und ehrenamtlicher Naturschutz e.V.Konstantinstr. 1105300 Bonn 2

Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz DeutschlandBundesgeschäftsstelleIm Rheingarten 75300 Bonn 3

Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz DeutschlandArbeitskreis Meer und KüsteSchmidtstr. 92800 Bremen 1

Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz DeutschlandLandesverband Niedersachsen e.V.Goebenstr. 3a3000 Hannover 1

Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz DeutschlandLandesverband Schleswig-Holstein e.V.Lerchenstr. 222300 Kiel 1

Deutsche UmwelthilfeBundesgeschäftsstelleGüttinger Str. 197760 Radolfzell

Deutscher NaturschutzringKalkuhlstr. 245300 Bonn 3

Faunistisch-Ökologische ArbeitsgemeinschaftSchleswig-Holstein und Hamburg e.V.Biologiezentrum der UniversitätOlshausenstr. 402300 Kiel 1

Föderation der Natur- und Nationalparke EuropasKröllstr. 58352 Grafenau

Förderverein Forschung im WattenmeerSelckstr. 42253 Tönning

Greenpeace Deutschland e.V.Vorsetzen 532000 Hamburg 11

5.0

56

Landesnaturschutzverband Schleswig-Holstein e.V.Burgstr. 42300 Kiel 1

Landesumweltschutzverband Scheswig-HolsteinFriedrichstal 322390 Flensburg

Landesverband Bürgerinitiativen Umweltschutz Niedersachsen e.V.Waldheimstr. 93000 Hannover 81

Mellumrat e.V.(Naturschutz- und Forschungsgemeinschaft)Balthasarweg 252900 Oldenburg

Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V.BundesgeschäftsstelleAm Michaelishof 8-105300 Bonn 2

Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V.Landesverband HamburgHabichtstr. 1252000 Hamburg 60

Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V.Landesgeschäftstelle HannoverCalenberger Str. 243000 Hannover 1

Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V.Landesverband Schleswig-HolsteinForsthof Friedrichsholz2210 Oelixdorf

Naturschutzgesellschaft Schutzstation Wattenmeer e.V.Grafenstr. 232370 Rendsburg

Naturschutzverband NiedersachsenPostfach 11552906 Wardenburg

Naturschutzverein SüdtondernKrempergraben 132262 Leck

Naturschutzverein UthlandeWiesengrund 72251 Schobüll

Natur- und Umweltschutzverein Hallig Hooge e.V.2251 Hallig Hooge

Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinund HamburgInstitut für HaustierkundeOlshausenstr. 402300 Kiel 1

Schutzgemeinschaft Deutsche NordseeküsteWeserstr. 782940 Wilhelmshaven

Schutzgemeinschaft Sylt-NordfrieslandGeschäftsstelle NaturzentrumM.T. Buchholz-Stig 12283 Wenningstedt-Braderup

Stiftung Europäisches NaturerbeGüttinger Str. 197760 Radolfzell

Touristenverein „Die Naturfreunde“Bundesgruppe Deutschland e.V.Postfach 6004417000 Stuttgart 60

Umweltstiftung WWF-DeutschlandHedderichstr. 1106000 Frankfurt/M. 70

Verband Deutscher Biologen e.V.GeneralsekretariatHohenzollerndamm 1111000 Berlin 33

Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft fürNatur und Umweltschutz e.V.Mooshütter Weg 82942 Jever

57

The Netherlands

Contact MilieubeschermingNoord-HollandNocolaasstraat 2B1506 BB Zaandam

Federation Seas at RiskVossiusstraat 201071 AD Amsterdam

IVN Vereniging voor Natuur en MilieueducatiePostbus 201231000 HC Amsterdam

Landelijke Vereniging tot Behoud van de WaddenzeePostbus 908860 AB Harlingen

Nederlandse Vereniging to Bescherming van VogelsDriebergseweg 16c3708 JB Zeist

Stichting Friese MilieuraadPostbus 7138901 BM Leeuwarden

Stichting Het Groninger LandschapOssenmarkt 99712 NZ Groningen

Stichting Natuur en MilieuDonkerstraat 173511 KB Utrecht

Stichting NoorderbreedteOssenmarkt 99712 NZ Groningen

Stichting NoorderbreedteVereniging It Fryske GeaVan Harinxmaweg 179246 TL Olterterp

Vereninging tot Behoud van Natuurmonumenten in NederlandNoordereinde 601243 JJ’S-Graveland

Wereld Natuur FondsPostbus 73700 AA Zeist

Werkgroep EemsmondStationsstraat 79711 AR Groningen

Werkgroep NoordzeeVossiusstraat 2B1071 AD Amsterdam

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6.0Figure 1The Wadden Sea

59

Figure 2Greater Wadden Sea Area

60

Figure 3The Catchment Areaof the North Sea

61

Figure 4The East Atlantic Flyway Regionof Coasted Bird Populations

62

Figure 5Satellite Image:Western Partof the DutchWadden Sea

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Figure 6 Satellite Image: Eastern Dutch, the Nieder-sachsen and Hamburg Part of the Wadden Sea

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Figure 8/9Aerial Photos: Northern Partof the Danish Wadden Sea(Skallingen, Langli, Fanø)