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Dieren en planten

Animals   Plants   Flora on tidal flats   Fauna in tidal areas   Benthic fauna   Fish   

Mens en Milieu

Wadden Sea policy   World heritage   
Hallig (Schleswig Holstein), Ecomare

Wadden region World Heritage?

In the summer of 2009, all of the outer dike areas of the Dutch and German wadden region were added to the World Heritage list of the UNESCO. Other important nature areas are also on this list, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Grand Canyoun in the United States. The Danish part of the Wadden Sea was not included at the time because the Danes first wanted to designated their wadden region as a National Park. That took place in October 2010.

  • Sceptical or opportunities

    For a long time, there was a lot of resistance to a World Heritage status among the residents living in the wadden region. They were afraid that the wadden region would be tied to all kinds of limiting regulations. When it became clear that the inhabited part of the region would not fall under the status, the resistance was broken. And when they realized that 'bordering a World Heritage' could mean a great advertisement slogan for the recreation branch, more and more people let their objections fall.