First trilateral summer school on Wadden Sea World Heritage brings students to Borkum
Today, 18 Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD students from the Wadden Sea countries and abroad started a ten-day summer school. The summer school focusses on the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site and the intricate aspects of its ecology, nature conservation, sustainable development, and management. The students will gather in Emden and travel together to the East Frisian Island of Borkum, where they will spend most days, before joining the Wadden Sea Day, a symposium and networking event of the Wadden Sea community spearheaded by the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat and the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park Authority.
The curriculum is a comprehensive blend of expert-led lectures spanning environmental science, social sciences, economics, and law, aimed at unveiling the multifaceted challenges the Wadden Sea faces. With the objective to foster collaborative solution-seeking among students, the course includes theoretical lectures as much as field visits to showcase the practical implications and applications of their studies.
“With our programme, we want to equip the students with a profound comprehension of the complexities involved in the conservation, management, and governance of the Wadden Sea”, says Cristina Nazzari, lead organiser from the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat. “More, we want to give the students a platform to engage with seasoned professionals and peers, thereby fostering a community of future leaders equipped to safeguard one of the globe's important natural heritage sites.”
The Wadden Sea World Heritage Summer School 2024 is a joint initiative of Alfred Wegener Institute, the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences, the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park Authority, the Danish Wadden Sea National Park, and the Waddenacademie, supported by the Trilateral Programming Committee on Wadden Sea Research and the Partnership Hub within the framework of the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation.