Wadden Sea Research Projects: Information meeting for stakeholders

Objective: Foster exchange between Wadden Sea scientists and other stakeholders
Organisers: Common Wadden Sea Secretariat & Waddenacademie

The Wadden Sea is the largest tidal flats system in the world, where natural processes proceed largely undisturbed. The natural World Heritage Site is situated at the doorstep of three industrial nations and under pressure of the triple planetary crisis. The Wadden Sea needs adequate protection and preservation to maintain its Outstanding Universal Value. In 2023, the Netherlands and Germany announced to invest 15 million euros to help gain a better understanding of the complex pressures on the Wadden Sea to inform effective protection and management of the area.

In the bilateral German-Dutch research call, five projects were selected to study the relation between ecological changes and human usage. In the next four years, these projects are going to combine a focus on sedimentary dynamics and saltmarsh processes with benthic ecology, terrestrial biology, landscape, and legal design. They will pave the road to societal impact by charting options for action and developing strategies for management measures.

Exchange of information among stakeholders from different countries and disciplines is key to ensure that the proposed management actions are realistic and sustainable. This is why all projects have been co-created and will be executed in collaboration with stakeholders. This webinar will introduce the projects to stakeholders within a wider range than the programme community, enabling discussions about, e.g., knowledge gaps, opportunities for collaborations, and/or potential impact of management actions. We will start with a short presentation of the research call and pitches of the five projects, followed by time to discuss the topics in more detail, giving all participants the chance to contribute. The final event agenda will be published in early 2025.

The five granted projects are (a short introduction to each project can be found here):

• PaRCA. Pathways for Realising Climate Adaptation in the Wadden Sea
• SedWay. Safeguarding the natural sedimentary processes in the Wadden Sea for biodiversity and people
• TRICMA². Triple crisis meets trilateral cooperation: Effects of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution on salt marshes & pathways to their sustainable management
• SALTGARDEN. Sustainable Adaptive Landscapes through Transdisciplinary Gardening to Advance the Resilience and Dynamics of our Ecological Natural heritage
• WADWAD. WAD was - WAD can we do? Action plan for ecosystem-based land-sea transition zones

Register here

Preliminary agenda