OBJETIVO DE LA LÍNEA

As indicated above the conservation task remains at the core of the efforts to protect and manage the Wadden Sea World Heritage. This must ensure that its values are maintained and, where necessary, enhanced in the future. It is basically a reinforcement of the national protection schemes and of the Trilateral Cooperation in terms of the Wadden Sea Plan, the TMAP and other central tasks.

As indicated above, the World Heritage Committee in the context of the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value decided to request the State Parties “….. to implement a strict monitoring programme to control invasive species associated with ballast waters and aquaculture in the property“. In implementing the decision which was incorporated in the 2010 Ministerial Council Declaration (the Sylt Declaration) in the sense that an alien species strategy should be developed, an inventory was made with the aim to collect state of the art information on, in particular, ballast water, aqua culture, and biofouling related to introductions of alien species in the international Wadden Sea. An

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observation of the report is that once an invasive alien species has been introduced into the Wadden Sea and exists with a self-sustaining population, the perspective for eradication and control measures is limited. In case new alien species are detected in a confined area, the area should be isolated and eradication undertaken. On the basis of the inventory a draft alien species strategy has been elaborated which will shortly be discussed between the partners with a view to an approval of the strategy.

A further issue of concern in this context is the impact of climate change. Enhanced water temperatures may further the invasion and settlement of non-native species such as the pacific oyster, but the Wadden Sea Region is a flooding risk area which will be subject to further risk with regard to an enhanced sea level rise. The normal sea level rise is about 20-25 cm per century with which the Wadden Sea is able to cope. The normal sea level rise is actually precondition for the survival of the Wadden Sea as a sediment transport system.

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Figure 7: Development of mean tidal half water level (= approximately Mean Sea Level) at Norderney

(CPSL, 2010).

So far an accelerated sea level rise has not been observed but can be assumed following the assessment of the ICCP. The Coastal Protection and Sea Level Rise Expert Group (CPSL) earlier looked into various sea level rise scenarios and impacts on the Wadden Sea and costs for coastal protection. For the most realistic scenario (25 cm of sea-level rise in 50 years) changes in the Wadden Sea ecosystem (morphology and biology) are expected not to be substantial and costs for coastal defence might increase by 5 to 15%. For the “worst-case” scenario (50 cm of sea-level rise in 50 years), the capacity of the system to balance changes might become exhausted and the Wadden Sea tidal basins might start to evolve into tidal lagoons. These morphological changes will substantially influence the biology and the costs for coastal defence might double.

There are a number of strategies to respond to enhanced sea level rise such a reinforcing the sea dikes and creating additional flooding area. One of the most effective ones is to adapt to the sea level rise by creating e.g. wash-overs on the islands to increase the natural sedimentation on the islands. An additional positive effect is that this also helps to establish a higher biodiversity and a more resilient system. Other strategies include realignment of the coastal defence and sediment nourishment of the coast in particular on the islands to ensure that the system has sufficient sediment to” grow” with the enhanced sea level rise.

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Another request from the World Heritage Committee was to strengthen the cooperation on management and research activities with States Parties on the African Eurasian Flyways. This was a recognition of the key role of the property for migratory birds migrating along, in particular, the East Atlantic Flyway and the responsibility of the states for protection and good cooperation with other states along the flyway. As a first step an extensive inventory was made of past and on-going activities in the field of management, monitoring and international cooperation including an overview of the relevant international conventions and agreements and current initiatives. At an international workshop in March 2011 with participation of renowned international experts, it was recommended to develop a clear vision with regard to the flyway management and the role of the Wadden Sea states in this context. It was further recommended to start projects with regard to monitoring bird species in West Africa and capacity building activities in close cooperation with the relevant international organizations such as Wetlands International and the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and organizations in West Africa.

Figure 8: The Wadden Sea is the turntable of bird migration of the African-Eurasian Flyway.

Two projects have been developed under what is now known as the Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative. The projects, which run from 2012 to 2014, are funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. The aims of the Initiative are to support the conservation of migratory waterbirds in the

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region, to obtain more detailed monitoring data and to develop a long-term perspective for the cooperation of the Wadden Sea with countries along the whole flyway.

The Initiative works in close collaboration with other migratory bird conservation projects and initiatives in West Africa, most notably AEWA and the Conservation of Migratory Birds (CMB) project of Birdlife International and Wetlands International. Both projects are coordinated via the CWSS. A steering committee with participation of experts from the governments and the international organizations provides advice on the implementation of the projects and reviews their results, and on the basis hereof also delivers an outline for the vision and the follow up, to be adopted at the next Wadden Sea Ministerial Council Meeting in February 2014.

The inscription on the List also includes an obligation to participate in the relevant activities of the Convention and to bring in experiences, information etc. that can support the world community in protecting its natural treasures. This is done in particular through the UNESCO marine programme in which the World Heritage marine sites participate. The cooperation with tidal areas in West Africa and Korea is intended to be further extended in this context.

A central issue of the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value is to maintain and enhance maritime safety, in particular offshore the Wadden Sea World Heritage, which constitutes one of the busiest shipping areas in the world with ships also serving the major ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven. With the opening of the new Wilhelmshaven container harbour shortly it can be anticipated that the intensity will also increase in the context of the overall anticipated increase of maritime traffic. The Wadden Sea was declared a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) by the IMO in 2002. A PSSA is an area that needs special protection through action by the IMO because of its significance for recognized ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons, and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities. The PSSA aims to maintain and where necessary enhance maritime safety. As a result of an evaluation of the Wadden Sea PSSA in 2009 the Governments agreed to develop a vision on the Wadden Sea PSSA with regard to the future maritime safety and prevention of pollution stemming from shipping. The vision is currently under development by a trilateral task group and in cooperation with the stakeholders.