The Main Elements of Trilateral Policy
and Management
The Guiding Principle of the trilateral Wadden Sea policy
as agreed at the Esbjerg Conference in 1991 is to achieve, as
far as possible, a natural and sustainable ecosystem in which
natural processes proceed in an undisturbed way.
For the implementation of the Guiding Principle eight Management
Principles have been adopted which are fundamental to any
decisions concerning the protection and management of the Wadden
Sea.
Common Management
Principles:
- Principle of Careful
Decision Making
to take decisions on the basis of the best available information
- Principle of Avoidance
activities which are potentially damaging to the Wadden Sea should
be avoided
- Precautionary Principle
to take action to avoid activities which are assumed to have
significant damaging impact on the environment, even where there
is no sufficient scientific evidence to prove a causal link between
activities and their impact
- Principle of Translocation
to translocate activities which are harmful to the Wadden Sea
environment to areas where they will cause less environmental
impact;
- Principle of Compensation
the harmful effect
of activities which cannot be avoided, must be balanced by compensatory
measures
- Principle of Restoration
where possible, parts
of the Wadden Sea should be restored if it can be demonstrated
by reference studies that the actual situation is not optimal,
and that the original state is likely to be re-established;
- Principle of Best Available
Techniques
to apply the latest
stage of processes, facilities or methods with the aim of limiting
emissions, reducing bycatch etc.
- Principle of Best Environmental
Practice
to apply the most
appropriate combination of measures with the aim of limiting
environmental impacts
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Common
Objectives
At the Esbjerg and
Leeuwarden Conferences the regulation of basically all major
common uses and activities in the Wadden Sea was laid down in
so called common objectives. These objectives set standards for
what should be done by the countries to ensure that the Wadden
Sea is protected as an entity and used in a sustainable way.
Here, as an impression, some agreements are listed:
- for sea defence it has been agreed to prohibit, in principle,
further embankments of the Wadden Seaand to minimize unavoidable
loss of biotopes by sea defence measures;
- for mussel fishery the negative ecological impact on the Wadden
Sea shall be limited by closing considerable parts of the Wadden
Sea for this activity;
- zones shall be established covering the most sensitive areas
where no recreational activities are allowed.
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