UNESCO describes the Wadden Sea as “the largest unbroken
system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world.” In other words, it's a
surreal hinterland along the coast of Germany and the Netherlands that combines
wide-open stretches of sand and shallow seas.
It’s also home to migratory birds. Go there and you'll feel
a million miles from anywhere else on earth and about as small as one of the
clams at your feet.
To be placed on the list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, a
region must be very special. It must possess unique nature values and be
intact, and its protection must be guaranteed. The Wadden Sea has been deemed
to be globally unique in at least three criteria for outstanding universal
value!
The wadden region is relatively young. It only formed during
the post-glacial period, around 7000 years ago. Although even now sandbanks and
dunes are still forming and eroding in a rapid tempo. The dynamics of the area
are unique. You still find landscapes in all phases of development. Even today
with your own eyes, you can see and experience how landscapes were created in
the glacial period.
Wadden Sea Diversity
- natural forces and dynamics prevail
The Wadden Sea has its own exceptional manner of showing how
nature, plants and animals continually adapt to the daily changeable
circumstances on the flats. Where fresh river water mixes with salty seawater
and processes such as tides, wind and deposition of sand and mud still occur,
you find ingeniously adapted plants and animals. Thanks to its many faces, the
Wadden Sea offers a tremendous variety of plants and animals a place to grow,
live, breed, nurse, grow up, moult or rest.
Wadden Sea Wildlife -
unique in its variety
The wealth of life in the Wadden Sea is phenomenal. Not only
do you find lots of permanent residents, there are also lots of visitors. Every
year, at least 10 to 12 million migrating birds make use of the wadden region.
And did you know that here around 10,000 different plants and animals can be
found living on land or in water? Such an enormous variety as found in the
Wadden Sea exists nowhere else in the world!
The Wadden Sea World Heritage is a Natural Heritage Site. It
is true that people have inhabited the wadden region for thousands of years and
thereby contributed to the formation of the region. Salt marshes were turned
into polders to create grassland and farmland and dikes were built to protect the
land. People still make use of the region. The sea fulfills many purposes, such
as transporting goods and fishing fish, shrimp and mussel seed. Ferry boats
travel back and forth between the islands and mainland, carrying residents and
tourists. People also use the area for enjoyment and relaxation. The emerged
banks are hiked and people sail in the deeper channels.
The Wadden Sea has a long cultural history which is
important for the region. But because of its unique nature values, for which
its preservation is considered of global importance, the Wadden Sea has been
declared a natural heritage.
All these unique features of the Wadden Sea and the large
extraordinary variety of plants and animals in the region are of great
importance to all of us. You can experience its tranquility and vastness and
encounter how unique the tidal dynamics are at this scale. There are few other
areas in the world where it is possible to submerge yourself into the great
forces of nature which change the area daily.
This intense experience, for residents as well as visitors,
is part of the special value this wetland possesses. In addition, there is no
sea in the world where so much research has been performed over so long a
period and where so much is known. This wealth of information makes the Wadden
Sea unusually valuable for education and science. Many studies are still in
progress. This is the only place where is it possible to study bird migration
from Africa on such a large scale. And what scientists are able to do is possible
for everyone! The Wadden Sea is an excellent place for all to learn and
experience firsthand more about the sea and its surroundings.
Wadden Sea Wildlife
Unique in its variety
The Wadden Sea is one of the largest coastal wetlands in the
world. Thanks to its size and great variety of habitats, the Wadden Sea is
invaluable for huge numbers of plant and animal species. On the mud flats you
can hear the sharp tepeet tepeet from the oystercatchers, searching the emerged
seabed with their long bills. The mud flats themselves produce a soft crackling
sound, produced by the shrimp-like Corophium that burrow their way through the
wet mud. The strange piles of 'worms' at your feet are a silent witness to the
activity taking place under the surface. In the puddles between the lumps of
mussels, you see shrimp shooting off in all directions. A small hidden flatfish
flees just in time as you step into the water. In the distance, in a deep
gully, a curious seal sticks its head out of the water.
More than 10,000 species of plants and animals live in the
Wadden Sea, from microscopic organisms to fish, birds and mammals. It is an
indispensible tanking station for the 10 to 12 million migrating birds that
spend a short or longer period of time in the wadden region. While traveling
from their nesting grounds on the borders of the North Pole region to their
winter home as far away as Africa and back again, it is in the Wadden Sea where
they find a sufficient amount of food to accomplish the long journey. This
gives the Wadden Sea invaluable importance worldwide.
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