The Trilateral Monitoring and
Assessment Program (TMAP)

1. Objectives

The aim of the TMAP is:

• To provide a scientific assessment of the status and development of the Wadden Sea ecosystem and
  
• To assess the status of implementation of the trilateral Targets of the Wadden Sea Plan.

2. TMAP Parameters

The TMAP covers the entire Wadden Sea area including islands and offshore areas and spans a broad range from physiological processes over population development to changes in landscape and morphology. The TMAP common package was implemented based on a decision at the Minsterial Conference in Stade 1997.

The TMAP has been revised by the Interrreg IIIB HARBASINS project in 2005 – 2008, as a pilot project of an integrated monitoring and assessment concept for a coherent coastal ecosystem shared by three countries (NL, D, DK). It matches the various approaches and instruments for management, monitoring and assessment and combines the requirements of the EU Water Framework, Habitats and Birds Directives and other relevant agreements.

This TMAP Handbook provides the framework for future technical adaptations and amendments of the Wadden Sea monitoring and is a tool that combines monitoring in the field with the various levels of assessment and reporting requirements by the EU and other international programs. It contains:

• An overview of all relevant monitoring requirements and assessment tools,
• A list of monitoring parameters and parameter groups,
• Monitoring methods,
• Monitoring stations,
• A list of responsible authorities,
• A link to TMAP data exchange including spatial data (TMAP Data Manual).

The TMAP Handbook is an interactive system based on a relational database which allows different surveys on the monitoring program in relation to the different monitoring and reporting requirements. This allows different overviews on the monitoring program either from various EU Directives, OSPAR or other programs (CMS, Ramsar). The TMAP Monitoring Handbook thus connects the ecosystem view with the (partly) sectoral or non-Wadden Sea views of the other conventions and Directives and lays the foundation of further harmonization of tools and approaches.

• Download TMAP Handbook as data base
• View the TMAP Handbook (html version)
• Download TMAP Handbook as text files (version 16 May 2008)

Table 1: Overview about the TMAP Common Package parameters (revised in 2007). The data are exchanged via TMAP Data Units in each country for trilateral assessment such as the Quality Status Report.  Common Package of  Parameters of the revised TMAP Chemical Parameters Nutrients Contaminants in sediment Contaminants in blue mussel, flounder and bird eggs Biological Parameters Phytoplankton Macroalgae Eelgrass Macrozoobenthos Fish Breeding birds Breeding success (in prep.) Migratory birds Beached Birds Survey Marine Mammals Human Use Parameters Fishery Recreational activities Agriculture Coastal protection Habitat Parameters Blue Mussel beds Salt marshes Beaches and Dunes General Parameters Geomorphology Flooding/hydrology Land use Weather conditions Data Handling Data Unit The Netherlands Data Units Niedersachsen and Schleswig-Holstein/ Hamburg   Data Unit Denmark Assessment Thematic Reports, Quality Status Reports (QSR)

3. Data Handling in the TMAP

An elementary component of the TMAP is common data handling which makes monitoring data available for trilateral assessment. For this purpose, identical TMAP Data Units have been installed in each country where the data can be stored in the same way. The monitoring data are now available in a harmonized way and in a shorter time span than in the past. Moreover, all the information which is necessary for the interpretation of the data is part of the database. An overview of the data can be found in the data catalogue which can also be accessed via the Internet homepage of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat. The downloading of the actual data is restricted to selected expert groups responsible for assessing and publishing data. For the first time, the TMAP Data Units have been used extensively for the preparation of the QSR 2004. 

The TMAP data handling system has the aim to exchange monitoring data in a common format which can be used directly in the trilateral assessment work. According to the TMEG Report 1993, it serves the following tasks:

• preparation of Quality Status Reports entailing most recent data and developments,
• preparation of trilateral reports on specific topics (thematic reports, like breeding birds, migratory birds, seals, contaminants),
• preparation of reports on unforeseeable events (e.g. eider mass mortality),
• safeguarding long-term storage of relevant Wadden Sea data,
• use of trilateral data for national and international programs.

The TMAP data handling system is also a valuable instrument for other reporting obligations (e.g. national status reports, EU reports concerning Natura 2000 and the new Water Framework Directive, international reports concerning OSPAR, RAMSAR or other international conventions) by providing up-to-date and harmonized Wadden Sea data from different sources on the national and international level.

Additionally, the TMAP data handling system enhances the possibilities to present monitoring data to relevant authorities, interest groups and local citizens in accordance with the trilateral Wadden Sea Plan (Chapter 1, §15).

In 2004, the TMAP data handling was evaluated by an external consultant (Orbis Institute, Canada) implementing the agreements in § 80 of the 2001 Esjerg Declaration. The Orbis Report concluded that the TMAP data handling is an effective tool in providing the required data. The development and establishment of the system has been achieved at reasonable coasts. The data handling has contributed positively to the current QSR 2004 work for those data which have already been filled in. There is large potential to use the TMAP data for other value-added national and international purposes. However, further investment has to be realized to improve data input, as well as, data access for a broader public. 

Download: ORBIS-Report and Annexes (PDF files)

The TWG 04/2, in general, could support most of the recommendations and decided that activities should be carried within the available resources for 2004 and 2005.

4. Assessment Reports

Since 2008, the TMAP results are available on the website and document the recent status of the TMAP.

At regular intervals, related to the Trilateral Governmental Conferences, assessment reports of the Wadden Sea are elaborated. They describe and evaluates the current ecological status of the Wadden Sea, identifies issues of concern and indicate possible measures.

In March 2005, the latest Quality Status Report (QSR 2004) of the Wadden Sea was published. It serves as an update of the QSR 1999, in which, for the first time, an evaluation of the trilateral Targets were carried out. After 1991, 1995 and 1999 it is now the fourth time that a comprehensive, integrated assessment of the Wadden Sea could be presented.

The QSR 2004 report was presented at the Scientific Wadden Sea Symposium in Esbjerg in April 2005 and served as valuable input to the preparation of 10th Trilateral Governmental Conference on the island of Schiermonnikoog, 3 November 2005.

Additionally, the results of the TMAP are published in workshop reports,  thematic reports (the series "Wadden Sea Ecosystem") and in the "Wadden Sea Newsletter".

5. Organization

The Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Group (TMAG) is responsible for implementation and coordination of the TMAP and reports to the Trilateral Working Group (TWG) (see scheme). The TMAG consists of two - three delegates from the national administrations responsible for the coordination of the national monitoring programs and data management.

The TMAP is carried out by national and regional authorities in charge of monitoring. The main partners are the 

• Danish Ministry for the Environment, Environmental Center Ribe
• Danish National Environment Research Institute (NERI), 
• German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety,
• State Ministries for the Environment in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lower Saxony, and the National Park Administrations,
• Dutch Ministries of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, and of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.

Technical groups, like the Trilateral Data Handling Group (TDG), the Coordinator Group on the Joint Monitoring Program for Breeding Birds (JMBB) and the Coordinator Group on the Joint Monitoring Program for Migratory Birds (JMMB) have been installed under the responsibility of the TMAG.

The Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS) is the secretariat for the trilateral Wadden Sea cooperation. In the framework of the TMAP, the secretariat is responsible for the day to day management of the program and the preparation of the meetings of the TMAG and of the technical monitoring groups.

Contact

Dr. Harald Marencic
Common Wadden Sea Secretariat
Virchowstr. 1
D 26382 Wilhelmshaven
phone: +49 (0) 4421 9108 15
fax: +49 (0) 4421 9108 30
marencic@waddensea-secretariat.org

 

6. Background Information TMAP

1.   Integrated Monitoring Program of the Wadden Sea Ecosystem. Report by the Trilateral Monitoring and  Expert Group (TMEG), May 1993

2.   DEMOWAD Definition Report, October 1996 (183 pages, pdf 900 kb)

3.   Implementation of the Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Program (TMAP) Final Report, December 1997

4.   DEMOWAD Workshop on Data Management in International Monitoring Programs (Joint EEA and CWSS Workshop, Copenhagen, 18 - 19 Februrary 1998) [pdf, 500 kb] [html]

5.   DEMOWAD Final Report June 1998 [pdf, 600 kb]

6.   TMAP Evaluation Report February 2001

7.   TMAP Data Handling Manual 2002

8.   QSR 1999

9.   Evaluation TMAP Data Handling 2004:
ORBIS-Report and Annexes (PDF files)

10. QSR 2004