DU Wiki > Ă„mnen - Subjects > Tourism studies > KG3012 > Seminar 1 Cultural and natural World Heritage sites > The Netherlands by Sander Christiaan de Vries > The Netherlands, de Waddenzee by Sander Christiaan de Vries (Seminar 1)
The Netherlands, de Waddenzee by Sander Christiaan de Vries (Seminar 1)
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Description of Wadden Sea (Dutch: Waddenzee)
The Wadden Sea was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list by the World Heritage Committee on 26 June 2009. Both the Dutch and the German part . The UNESCO describes it as: ‘the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world’. The site covers the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area, the German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, and most of the Danish Wadden Sea maritime conservation area (see figure 1) . A wide range of different plant and animal’s species are living in this area. Such as: seals, mammals and porpoise. It is therefore not strange that the area, even before being added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, has been protected for more the a hundred years . This has been done by setting up laws, agreements, directives and treaties. Not only national level, but also on European and worldwide level. In Germany several national park have been developed for the Wadden Sea, and in the Netherlands the Wadden Sea is even being designated as a ‘State Natural Monument’. The label as a World Natural Heritage site has not altered the status of these protected parts. No new laws or regulations have been added .
Figure 1: An overview of the Wadden sea .
Why is the Wadden Sea Important?
National Parks & Touristic regions
Figure 2: Overview of the main tourism organizations off the Wadden Sea indicated by an yellow dot.
Figure 3: Tidal walking at the Wadden Sea .
The Wadden Sea area has several threats that might endanger the protection and perseveration of the area. Fishing activities is one of them, too much of it will leave the sea empty. Harbors also have to be maintained and developed, and business facilities near the area can do harm through their oil and gas pipes. But also the impacts from climate change shouldn’t be forgotten as a threat to the area . The three countries bordering the Wadden Sea, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, make up the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation which has been established in 1978 . Together they discuss issues concerning the protection of the area and policies. Once every four years they all meet . In this way a structure for the conservation and management of the Wadden Sea has been coordinated between the three countries. Topics that are being addressed include: finances, human resources, research, monitoring, resources, planning and management . All of them are being discussed in order to keep the property of the Wadden Sea preserved, throughout all the three countries.
[1 Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (2014) Celebrating 5 Years Wadden Sea World Heritage. waddensea-worldheritage.org. Available at: http://www.waddensea-worldheritage.org/?id=1&L=0 [Accessed on 14-11-2014].
 UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2014) Wadden Sea. whcunesco.org [Online] Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1314 [Accesed on: 13-11-2014].
 Nordseetourism (2014) UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Nordseetourismus.de [Online] Available at: http://www.nordseetourismus.de/en/wa...eritage-site-1 [Accessed on 13-11-2014].
 Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (2014): Touristic regions. waddensea-worldheritage.org. Available at: http://www.waddensea-worldheritage.o...ristic-regions [Accessed on 25-11-2014]
 Wikipedia (2014) Wadden Sea National Parks. Wikipedia.org [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadden_...National_Parks [Accessed on 04-12-2014].
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