1. Policy & Management

Wadden Sea World Heritage Site. What is happening?

Shortly after the inscription of the Dutch-German Wadden Sea on the World Heritage List in June 2009, a communication and marketing action plan has been developed in cooperation with many stakeholders on the governmental and NGO level for the period until the Wadden Sea Conference on Sylt in March 2010.

Since August 2009, we have worked to implement the products and activities of the action plan: The official website portal is currently being completely renewed with a new functional structure and design including interactive maps as a result of the stakeholder meeting in Bremen on 30 November 2009. The website will be officially presented at the opening of the World Heritage exhibition at the Sylt conference on 17 March 2010. A new joint Wadden Sea World Heritage logo is being developed in a creative competition in order to be able to present the new logo before summer 2010. The first anniversary of the Wadden Sea World Heritage will be celebrated in the regions at various occasions (for example in Lauwersoog on 19-20 June) and in the framework of a joint campaign 2010.

The work on the development of a sustainable tourism strategy for the site has already started by defining the objectives, principles, work field and organizational aspects of the strategy. The strategy itself will be developed together with all stakeholders in a participatory process in 2010/2011. Another main focus over the last months was World Heritage education. Over 45 visitor centers along the Wadden Sea coast have been invited to jointly develop a World Heritage education strategy, building on the successful network of the International Wadden Sea School (IWSS) (see below section 3. Education).

In order to establish a more long-term framework plan for the next three years, 2010 - 2013, the stakeholders met at a workshop in Bad Nieuweschans on 22 February and commonly defined the objectives of the framework plan for the three-year period and the activities to be undertaken in the period within four work priorities: information and awareness, environmental education, tourism and recreation, and national and international cooperation.

More detailed communication objectives and a common motto which must be used in all regional activities was regarded as one of the most important elements communicating the Dutch-German Wadden Sea as one site. Local people working and living in the region were identified as the main target group for communication in 2010 to increase awareness and support. It was underlined that the definition of goals for marketing and other main elements of the tourism strategy should be endorsed by all stakeholders as a common starting point for developing specific World Heritage tourism products.

With regard to World Heritage education, training of multipliers in education (guides, visitor centers) and information for teachers should have priority, as well as development of material and products which can be included in existing educational activities (as already done by the IWSS).
On the basis of the Nieuweschans workshop, a draft communication action plan will be prepared and submitted to the trilateral Wadden Sea Board for approval in April 2010.

The next stakeholder workshop is planned in Hamburg, on 29 October 2010, to take stock of the various activities and to further elaborate the activities planned for 2011.

Further information about the World Heritage: http://www.waddensea-worldheritage.org/

Onto new frontiers: The Sylt Conference, 17- 19 March 2010

In mid March, the 11th Trilateral Governmental Conference on the Protection of the Wadden Sea, the Wadden Sea Ministerial Conference, will be held at the Conference Center in Westerland, Sylt. The preparation of the Conference has almost been concluded. 17 March is devoted to several pre-meetings to finalize the documents for the meeting of the ministers in the Council the next day. In the afternoon of the 17th, the exhibitions which have been prepared for the Conference by a number of organizations will be opened by the ministers.

A highlight of the day is the signing of the 2010 Joint Declaration on the Protection of the Wadden Sea in a formal signing ceremony at the Kurhaus in Westerland. The signing of the 2010 Joint Declaration formally concludes the evaluation of the Cooperation, which was initiated after the 2005 Conference on the island of Schiermonnikoog. The 2010 Joint Declaration replaces the Joint Declaration signed at the 1982 Wadden Sea Conference in Copenhagen which had become progressively outdated. The 2010 Declaration will not alter the spirit or legal status of the Cooperation. It will remain a formal (but not legally binding) Cooperation between the governments of the three countries. The Joint Declaration 2010 encompasses the overall principles for the protection of the Wadden Sea and the objectives and areas of cooperation. Furthermore, the Declaration sets the overall institutional and financial framework for the Cooperation.

In conjunction with the signing of the 2010 Joint Declaration new governance structures will be launched and replace the existing structures. The Trilateral Wadden Sea Governmental Council will be the politically responsible body (Ministers) for the Cooperation. The Trilateral Wadden Sea Board will be the governing body of the Cooperation. The Board will be chaired by a senior government official appointed by the Council and rotating between the countries. With the 2010 Joint Declaration and the new governance arrangements the Cooperation is fit-for-purpose and future directed.

The Conference will be opened in the morning of the 18th of March by the German Federal Minister for the Environment, chair and host of the meeting. The morning session is an open session for all participants of the conference to discuss a future vision for the Wadden Sea. The Ministerial Council will meet for the first time under the chairmanship of the German Federal Environmental Minister. The Council will discuss and adopt the Ministerial Council Declaration, the Sylt Declaration. Important issues in the Declaration are the follow up of the World Heritage designation last year, the Wadden Sea Plan, climate change, alien species and shipping safety.
On 19 March, an excursion has been organized for participants of the conference: “A walk through the Wadden Sea Plan” under the guidance of Karsten Reise of the Wadden Sea Station, List.

Further information about the conference:
http://www.waddensea-secretariat.org/tgc/TGC-Sylt-2010.html

2. Research & Monitoring

Dutch Wadden Academy: Successful consultations between the Wadden Academy and German and Danish researchers

On 4 December 2009, Wadden Academy representatives and the chair and secretary of the Sea and Coastal Research Program of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research were in Hamburg to meet approximately 25 German and Danish research managers. The program was co-organized by the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat in Wilhelmshaven and Prof. Franciscus Colijn, member of the Administrative Advisory Council. You can view the program and the presentations here.

At the end of the meeting, specific agreements were made about research priorities concerning future trilateral research projects and presenting these at the trilateral Ministers conference in March 2010. The possibilities were also assessed for a meeting of the funding agencies of the three countries, a trilateral Wadden research book and a trilateral 'change atlas'. It was also proposed devoting the next trilateral scientific symposium (2012, NL) to interdisciplinary research topics.

At the meeting, the English translation of the Wadden Academy research agenda "Knowledge for a sustainable future of the Wadden" was presented (see also Newsletter No. 10). The agenda can be downloaded from http://www.waddenacademie.knaw.nl/Integrale_kennisagenda.47.0.html

Dutch nature restoration program adopted

On 22 January 2010, the Dutch Nature Restoration Program "Towards a rich Wadden Sea" was adopted. The Program complements a parallel program for transition towards sustainable mussel fisheries (see Newsletter No. 10).

"Towards a rich Wadden Sea", consists of four clusters:

• Food web and biodiversity. The aim is to improve the natural trophic structure, including all related functions by amongst others improving water quality, reducing impacts on the bottom, and creating natural salt-fresh transitions. Also the recovery of engineers, such as mussel beds and sea grass meadows, is part of this cluster. It is the aim to achieve more knowledge about conditions for development of bio-engineers, including monitoring and comparative international research.
• Morphology and water. This cluster deals with sedimentation and sediment suspension and the natural and anthropogenic factors that have an impact on these processes and thus the transparency of the water column.
• Morphology and water. This cluster deals with sedimentation and sediment suspension and the natural and anthropogenic factors that have an impact on these processes and thus the transparency of the water column.
• International embedding. This cluster contains, amongst others, activities related to alien species, international early warning systems for birds and a trilateral inventory of tidal basins. It is intended to work closely together with the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation.

3. Information & Education

IWSS for World Heritage Education

Looking back on almost seven years of successful development and implementation of trilateral Wadden Sea education, the International Wadden Sea is now enlarging its scope of cooperation: With the Wadden Sea's designation as UNESCO World Heritage Site, new aspects will be integrated into the activities and educational resources. For a broad communication of the worldwide importance of our joint natural heritage, additional visitor centers throughout the Wadden Sea region are invited to join the IWSS network. Within the process of the joint development and implementation of World Heritage communication and marketing, the IWSS is in charge of the education strategy. A first workshop was held in Bremen on 8 February with representatives of numerous visitor centers, the major Wadden Sea NGOs, as well as the Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park administrations. Jointly, an action plan was set up for several short and long-term activities.
The first concrete products planned for 2010 are a set of small activities about the three “outstanding universal values” to help visitor centers integrate the World Heritage site into their mudflat excursions as well as a “World Heritage Logbook” for children and families with a special focus on the “small, big and flying five”. For the coming years, a Wadden-Sea wide “Migratory Bird Program” for children and youths and a joint “Beach Monitoring Program” that also aims at the general public are planned.

Learning from the Wadden Sea: “Getbol” education in Korea

Within the framework of the “Memorandum of Understanding” between the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation and the Ministry for Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs in South Korea, the IWSS contributes to the exchange of knowledge and experience in Wadden Sea Education.
At the first workshop of this Wadden Sea - Getbol Cooperation (“Getbol” is the Korean word for mudflats), held in South Korea in October 2009, the IWSS presented its approach to an “unlimited” Wadden Sea education and the IWSS' material, educational programs and network activities were received with great interest by the Korean colleagues.

Many ideas and materials of the IWSS can now be taken over by the Korean “Getbol”-education initiatives, that are in several respects not yet as advanced. Workshops for Korean mudflat guides and heads of the local visitor centers are planned for 2010 and 2011 with members of the IWSS network presenting our educational programs and jointly adapting them to the Korean situation.

The International Wadden Sea School (IWSS) is a trilateral information and environmental education program of the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation. Further information at: http://www.iwss.org

4. Publications

Economic effects of tourism in national parks

Regionalökonomische Effekte des Tourismus in deutschen Nationalparken.
Job, H., Woltering, M. und Harrer, B., 2009.
176 Seiten,
€18.00,
ISBN 978-3-7843-3976-4
BfN Schriftenvertreib (www.lv-h.de/bfn)

The main objective of national parks is nature protection. But they are also important tourist destinations. This publication attempts to describe the economic importance and impact of tourism for the regional development in the German national parks. Five case studies, one of them the National Park Lower Saxon Wadden Sea, were used to extrapolate the results for all German national parks. It could be demonstrated that national parks play a considerable role as tourism destination and for the regional economy. This would also be an opportunity to better integrate the national parks in regional development and to further increase the acceptance for nature protection on the local level. In this context, the national park label, and even stronger, the recognition of the Wadden Sea as World Heritage site can enhance the attractiveness compared to other destinations and support regional development.

5. Trilateral Meetings

11th Trilateral Governmental Conference (TGC 2010)
17 March 2010, Westerland/Sylt, Germany

A complete overview is at:
http://www.waddensea-secretariat.org/trilat/meetings/meetings.html

Meetings of the Wadden Sea Forum (WSF) are at:
http://www.waddensea-forum.org/calendar.html

6. Symposia & Workshops

Upcoming events

3 - 6 May 2010, List/Sylt, Germany
The Wadden Sea: Changes and Challenges in a World Heritage Site
ECSA 46 Scientific Conference, AWI Wadden Sea Station List
http://www.hull.ac.uk/iecs/ecsa/index.htm

2 - 4 June 2010, Quebec City, Canada
World Heritage and Tourism: Managing for the Global and the Local
http://english.fsa.ulaval.ca/sgc/faculty/quebec2010

A complete list of upcoming events is at:
http://www.waddensea-secretariat.org/news/events/otherconf.html