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Trilateral Wadden Sea Plan Eighth Trilateral Governmental Conference on the Protection of the Wadden Sea Stade, Germany, October 22, 1997 Contents: Preface I. Integrated Management II. The Targets: 1 Landscape and Culture 2 Water and Sediment 3 Salt Marshes 4 Tidal Area 5 Beaches and Dunes   6 Estuaries 7 Offshore Area 8 Rural Area 9 Birds 10 Marine Mammals   Appendix I: Maps Appendix II: Index of Activites Appendix III: Glossary

I. Integrated Management of the Wadden Sea       The Wadden Sea Plan 1 At the 6th Trilateral Governmental Conference in Esbjerg in 1991, it was decided to elaborate a management plan covering the Wadden Sea from Den Helder to Esbjerg in order to further substantiate the joint coherent protection. At the Esbjerg Conference, and the subsequent conference in 1994, the Leeuwarden Conference, the cornerstones of the Wadden Sea Plan were adopted: the delimitation of the Trilateral Area of Cooperation and Conservation, the Guiding Principle, the Management Principles, and the Targets. 2 A precondition is, that all measures, activities and policies mentioned in this plan, are to be realized in a sustainable way, as defined in the Convention on Biological Diversity. The three parties stress that this definition implies that the use of components of biological diversity may not lead to the long-term decline of biological and ecological diversity and that nature protection may not lead to the long-term decline in socio-economic conditions for the inhabitants of the Wadden Sea Area. The interests of all user groups within the Wadden Sea Area must be weighed against general and specific protection aims in a proper way. The impairment of traditional interests of the local population, which are not contrary to the protection aims, should be avoided. 3 The implementation of the Plan will not affect the protection of the local inhabitants against the sea.   Status 4 The Wadden Sea Plan entails policies, measures, projects and actions which have been agreed upon by the three countries. The Plan is a framework for the overall Wadden Sea management and will be revised at regular intervals. It is a statement on how the three countries envisage the future coordinated and integrated management of the Wadden Sea Area and the projects and actions that must be carried out to achieve the Targets. 5 The Wadden Sea Plan was developed with the participation of authorities and interest groups. The Plan was prepared with financial support from the European Commission. 6 The Plan is a political agreement* and will be implemented by the three countries in cooperation, and individually, by the competent authorities on the basis of existing legislation and through the participation of interest groups. The implementation of the Plan shall not interfere with legislation regarding, in particular, marine navigation, management of marine navigation * Meaning it is a legally non-binding document of common political interest   Delimitation 7 The geographical range of the Wadden Sea Plan is the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation Area, in short, Wadden Sea Area, which is - the area seaward of the main dike, or where the main dike is absent, the spring-high-tide-water line, and in the rivers, the brackish-water limit; - an offshore zone 3 nautical miles from the baseline; - the corresponding inland areas to the designated Ramsar and/or EC Bird Directive areas; - the islands. The trilateral conservation area , in short the Conservation Area, is situated within the Wadden Sea Area, and consists of: - in The Netherlands, the areas under the Wadden Sea Memorandum including the Dollard; - in Germany, the Wadden Sea national parks and protected areas under the existing Nature Conservation Act seaward of the main dike and the brackish water limit including the Dollard; - in Denmark, the Wildlife and Nature Reserve Wadden Sea. A map of the Wadden Sea Area and the Conservation Area is given in Appendix I. It is recognized that within the Wadden Sea Area, there are areas in which human use has the priority.   Shared Principles 8 The Guiding Principle of the trilateral Wadden Sea policy is "to achieve, as far as possible, a natural and sustainable ecosystem in which natural processes proceed in an undisturbed way" (ED §1). The Principle is directed towards the protection of the tidal area, salt marshes, beaches and dunes (LD §8). In addition, seven Management Principles have been adopted which are fundamental to decisions concerning the protection and management within the Wadden Sea Area (Esbjerg Declaration §3): the Principle of Careful Decision Making, i.e. to take decisions on the basis of the best available information; the Principle of Avoidance, i.e. activities which are potentially damaging to the Wadden Sea should be avoided; the Precautionary Principle, i.e. 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; the Principle of Translocation, i.e. to translocate activities which are harmful to the Wadden Sea environment to areas where they will cause less environmental impact; the Principle of Compensation, i.e. that the harmful effect of activities which cannot be avoided, must be balanced by compensatory measures; in those parts of the Wadden Sea, where the Principle has not yet been implemented, compensatory measures will be aimed for; the Principle of Restoration, i.e. that, 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; the Principles of Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practice, as defined by the Paris Commission. Unreasonable impairments of the interests of the local population and its traditional uses in the Wadden Sea Area have to be avoided. Any user interests have to be weighed on a fair and equitable basis in the light of the purpose of protection in general, and the particular case concerned .   Targets 9 The trilateral conservation policy and management is directed towards achieving the full scale of habitat types which belong to a natural and dynamic Wadden Sea. Each of these habitats needs a certain quality (natural dynamics, absence of disturbance, absence of pollution), which can be reached by proper conservation and management. The quality of the habitats shall be maintained or improved by working towards achieving Targets which have been agreed upon for six habitat types. Targets on the quality of water and sediment are valid for all habitats. Supplementary Targets on birds and marine mammals have been adopted, as well as, Targets on landscape and cultural aspects.   Zoning 10 In a large complex ecosystem like the Wadden Sea, a differentiated management is necessary to balance the implementation of the Targets and sustainable human use. At the Leeuwarden Conference, it was agreed 'to acknowledge zoning as a valuable management instrument and consider the need for harmonization of this and other management instruments' (LD §18.5). 11 The three Wadden Sea countries use different approaches to zoning. In order to be able to compare the implementation of the Targets in the different parts of the Wadden Sea Area, a common understanding of the various protection regimes and the way they are applied in the three countries is necessary. To this end, the different national protection regimes will be compared and assessed on the basis of a common classification tool. On the basis of this assessment, the need for harmonization of zoning, in relation to other instruments, will be investigated.   Economic development and potentials 12 Within the constraints of a suitable protection and a natural development of the Wadden Sea, economic activities remain possible. Agriculture, industry, shipping, fisheries, tourism and recreation have considerable economic significance for the Wadden Sea region and must be balanced in a harmonious relationship between the needs of society and ecological integrity. This will be done in cooperation with the stakeholders. Regarding sustainable tourism development and recreational use in the Wadden Sea region, a joint proposal will be elaborated, together with the Interregional Wadden Sea Cooperation, for a policy emphasizing the development of communication and the involvement of the stakeholders. The policy should aim at contributing to maintain the social structures and cultural identity of the region.   Communication and information 13 The Targets are the focal point of this plan. In order to achieve the goal to protect the full scale of habitat types in the Wadden Sea Area and a successful implementation of the Wadden Sea Plan, the active support of relevant authorities, interests groups and local citizens is important. 14 Effective communication on this plan and Targets are essential and possibilities to enhance this and improve public participation will be explored. Notwithstanding the responsibility of competent authorities for the conservation and protection of the Wadden Sea Area, different types of active involvement of stakeholders (co-management) can contribute to many aspects of the implementation of the Wadden Sea plan. 15 The following trilateral projects and actions will be undertaken: - The possibilities for enhancing the quality of public participation, amongst others, by different types of active involvement of stakeholders (co-management) will be explored on a national basis. - The results of the Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Program (TMAP) will be made available for relevant authorities, interest groups and local citizens. - The possibilities for a trilateral information and communication site on the Internet will be explored. 16 The competent authorities are invited to submit information on Environmental Impact Assessments in the Wadden Sea region to the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat.   Evaluation and review 17 The progress of the implementation of the trilateral policies and management, projects and actions entailed in the Wadden Sea Plan will be evaluated in preparation of each Trilateral Wadden Sea Conference on the basis of, inter alia, the Quality Status Reports on the Wadden Sea (QSRs) emerging from trilateral monitoring and assessment activities, relevant reports and developments on the national and international level. As appropriate, the Wadden Sea Plan will be amended on the basis of the conclusions and recommendations of the review process.   Structure of the Plan 18 This document is structured according to the Target categories as adopted at the Leeuwarden Conference: o Landscape and Culture o Water and Sediment o Salt Marshes o Tidal Area o Beaches and Dunes o Estuaries o Offshore Area o Rural Area o Birds o Marine Mammals For each Target category, a brief description is given followed by its current status, the precise wording of the relevant Target(s), an assessment of the situation and how to proceed. On the basis hereof, trilateral policy and management and proposals for trilateral projects and actions necessary for the implementation of the Targets have been developed, taking into account the Esbjerg and Leeuwarden Declarations. The measures, projects and actions generally apply only to the habitat under consideration. The chapters 'Landscape and Culture', 'Water and Sediment', 'Birds' and 'Marine Mammals' have a habitat crossing character. Measures, projects and actions contained in these chapters also apply to one or more of the other habitats. Three Appendices are attached to the Plan. In Appendix I, thematic maps of the Wadden Sea Area are given. Appendix II contains an index of entries of activities, Appendix III a glossary.   Top of Page / Next Chapter: II. The Targets: 1 Landscape and Culture