UUUK6295

HERITAGE LAW

ASSIGNMENT 1

EVALUATE THE ISSUES AND LAWS, BOTH NATIONAL AND

INTERNATIONAL, IN PRESERVING AND CONSERVING THE WORLD
HERITAGE SITE OF WADDEN SEA
PREPARED BY:
NORMAWADDAH BINTI RAMLI (MATRIC NO: P111020)
PREPARED FOR:
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR. RASYIKAH MD KHALID

FACULTY OF LAW
UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA

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 ❑ The Wadden Sea is one of the largest intertidal areas in the world.
❑ The Wadden Sea is unique in that it consists entirely of a sandy-muddy tidal
system with only minor river influences on morpho dynamics.
❑ The Wadden Sea ecosystem is characterized by tidal flats and a barrier island
system with extensive salt marshes. It is the only tidal flat and barrier island
depositional system of this scale and diversity in the world.
❑ It encompasses almost the entire Wadden Sea in Denmark, Germany, and the
Netherlands: an area of nearly 11,500 square kilometres along a coastal strip of
Introduction about 500 kilometres.
❑ In the Wadden Sea, two types of seals, harbour seals and grey seals. In the past,
these mammals hunted, but today they are protected by law. The Islands attract
many guests, there are lots of water sports place on the mudflats and mud flats
from various places one can. This leads to disruption of the omnipresent
animals. On the other hand, carries the leisure opportunities in the area to raise
awareness of the importance of the Wad.
❑ For that reason, major parts of the Wadden Sea Conservation Area have
inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In June 2009, the German and
Dutch part of the Wadden Sea area has been inscribed on the UNCESCO
World Heritage List.

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 ❑The Wadden Sea, stretching for over 500 km along the North Sea coast of
Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, has evolved over the last 8,000
years and is therefore a young ecosystem in geomorphological and
evolutionary terms.
History of the
Wadden Sea ❑The name 'Wadden' is derived from the Dutch word 'wad' which means
'mud flat', due to its extensive tidal mud flats.

❑The main landscape of Wadden Sea was formed by storm tides between the
10th and 14th centuries, but it continues to evolve as it forms and erodes with
the sea. It is believed that the Wadden Sea was originally formed 7000 years
ago during the post glacial period.

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 Applicable International World Heritage
Convention

1. UNESCO World Heritage Convention

❑ In 2009, the Wadden Sea was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in recognition of the ‘Outstanding
Universal Value’ of the area and the progress made in protecting and managing it for more than a generation.
The World Heritage status is the highest possible award for a natural site and recognition and acknowledgement
of its outstanding global importance. Thus, the Wadden Sea is on the same footing as other World Heritage
properties such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon. The inscription into the World Heritage List
means that the Wadden Sea carries outstanding universal value and must be preserved for the benefit of present
and future generations.
❑ To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must qualify in three ways – they must meet one of the
UNESCO’s selection criteria, show integrity and be adequately managed and protected. All three must be in
place for a property to be judged to have Outstanding Universal Value, which is the final piece to the puzzle of
becoming a World Heritage site.

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The Wadden Sea checked off all of the requirements:-

1. Geological processes (Criterion viii)

➢ Nowhere else on the planet is there such diverse and dynamic coastline of this scale, continuously being shaped by
wind and tides. These natural processes, running largely uninterruptedly across the Wadden Sea for millennia,
creating islands, sandbanks, channels, mud flats, gullies, saltmarshes, and dunes you can experience today.

2. Ecological and biological processes (Criterion ix)

➢ Nature has provided an invaluable record of past and ongoing dynamic adaptation of plants, animals and their
coastal environments to global change. The productivity of biomass is one of the highest in the world and offers
wide food availability for fish, shellfish and birds.

3. Biodiversity (Criterion x)
➢ Despite its tranquil appearance, the Wadden Sea World Heritage is among the largest wildernesses in Europe and a
one of the main hotspots of biodiversity in the world. The Wadden Sea sustains over 10,000 species of plants and
animals. In addition, it plays an indispensable role well beyond its borders: the richness of local species is crucial for
up to 12 million of migratory birds that make a stopover in the area on their journey to their wintering or
summering grounds.

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2.The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar
Convention)

❑Ramsar Convention is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands. It is
the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem

❑As of December 2015, the Danish-Dutch-German Wadden Sea is included in the List of Transboundary
Ramsar Sites, under the name “Wadden Sea”. The 13 national Ramsar sites that already existed across the
Wadden Sea are all considered to be part of this overarching site. The recognition of one single
Transboundary Ramsar Site underlines the integrated nature of the Wadden Sea as one single natural area.

3.The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

❑CBD is an international legal instrument for "the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of
its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic
resources" that has been ratified by 196 nations.

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4.Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, Bonn Convention)

❑ signed in 1979, is an environmental treaty under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme. It provides a
global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats.

❑ CMS is the only global and UN-based intergovernmental organisation established exclusively for the conservation and
management of terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout their range.

5.Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats ( Bern Convention)

❑ The Bern Convention is a binding international legal instrument in the field of nature conservation, covering most of
the natural heritage of the European continent and extending to some States of Africa.

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 Applicable National Laws and Implementing Agencies of Wadden Sea

❑ Since 1978, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands have been cooperating to protect the Wadden Sea as an ecological
entity. The Guiding Principle of the Trilateral Cooperation on the Protection of the Wadden Sea, in short Trilateral
Wadden Sea Cooperation (TWSC), is “to achieve, as far as possible, a natural and sustainable ecosystem in which
natural processes proceed in an undisturbed way”.
❑ The Cooperation is based on the “Joint Declaration on the Protection of the Wadden Sea”, which was first signed in 1982
and last updated in 2010. The Joint Declaration is a declaration of intent and describe the objectives and areas of the
cooperation as well as its institutional and financial arrangements.
❑ For the past four decades, the Cooperation has fostered cooperation and exchange between partners from politics, nature
conservation, science, and administration, as well as local stakeholders. Together they represent an enormous pool of
knowledge and experience. This transboundary ecosystem-based collaboration was a requirement for the designation of
the Wadden Sea as World Heritage site.
❑ At National level: in each of the three collaborating countries with a territorial responsibility within the Wadden Sea area
the conservation activities are embedded in a variety of legal frameworks, national policy plans and programmes, which
may differ per country.
(a) The Danish Wadden Sea is protected through comprehensive provisions of the Statutory Order on the
Wadden Sea Nature and Wildlife Reserve, municipal planning and administration of the international
protection areas in the Wadden Sea region. In 2010, the Danish Wadden Sea National Park was
established. It is responsible for the implementation of the National Park Plan, which contains guidelines
and objectives for the National Park’s nature, landscape and cultural heritage values. The Danish National
Park Wadden Sea (NPV) is a unit under the Ministry of Environment and Food (formerly the Ministry of
Environment), the same ministry as the Danish Nature Agency (NST) and Danish Agency for Water and
Nature Management (SVANA).
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(b) In Germany, the coastal federal states of Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein are in
charge of the implementation of the Federal Nature Conservation Act which sets the framework for
establishing nature reserves and national parks.
➢ The World Heritage Site includes three national parks: (1) the National Park Schleswig-
Holsteinisches Wattenmeer (established in 1985), (2) the National Park Hamburgisches
Wattenmeer (established in 1990) and (3) the National Park Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer
(established in 1986).
➢ The main objectives of the national parks are to protect the Wadden Sea and to allow natural
processes to take place with a minimum degree of disturbances and other detrimental effects of
human activities. Each national park is protected under a National Park Act by nature
protection law of the respective federal state. The three national park authorities are responsible
for the implementation of the respective legislation and management of the site.
(b) In the Netherlands, protection combines a unique national physical planning approach, the Key
Planning Decision Wadden Sea, 3rd Policy Document Wadden Sea (PKB, since 1980), with a
designation of the Wadden Sea under the Nature Conservation Act 1998, supported by additional
designation such as the Flora and Fauna Act. Together with the Ecological Main Structure (EHS),
they form the basis for protection and management of the Dutch part of the Wadden Sea. The PKB
defines the overall objectives of conservation, management and use of the Wadden Sea and is
binding for all state, regional and local authorities. 14
 Issues in Heritage Protection
❑ Issue1 Wise Use of the Wadden Sea as a Natural Ecosystem
(a) Strong evidence suggests that the natural processes that maintain the health and productivity of the Wadden Sea
ecosystem are not being adequately protected. A major problem is the failure to control, and where possible,
eliminate the adverse impacts created by human activities (recreation and military manoeuvres) within and
surrounding the Wadden Sea.
(b) This is due primarily to the failure of national, regional and local management plans governing different
sectoral activities to ensure that sufficiently high standards of environmental planning and management are
implemented to ensure the protection of the Wadden ecosystem. The impact of different activities, the need for
improved standards of environmental management and the conservation of undisturbed areas.
(c) Elimination of or damage to the natural structure and processes of ecosystems resulting from major
modifications or their conversion to make way for new uses of an area. Specific examples include: coastal
defence, land reclamation, port development, causeway construction, and dredging. Disruption of processes
that maintain the health and productivity of ecosystems through the introduction of excessive sediment loads,
nutrients or chemicals and organic materials alien to the Wadden ecosystem

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(d) Pollution transported by rivers and through the atmosphere from a wide area within Europe is
the major cause of disruption of natural processes in the Wadden Sea.
(e) Overexploitation of natural resources. Examples include the disappearance of once abundant
beds of native oysters and the destruction of mussel and cockle beds.
(f) Disturbances due to human activities, for example recreation and military manoeuvres. This
steadily increasing impact, alters the distribution, survival and reproduction success of birds and
marine mammals.

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 Issue 2 Socio-Economic Problems Related to the Conservation of the Wadden Ecosystem

❑In attempting to provide equal standards of employment and social facilities, and protect the Wadden
Sea environment, governments are faced with a very difficult situation. The relative isolation of many
parts of the Wadden Sea area, especially many of the islands, and the lack of infrastructure make it
difficult to compete with more industrialized urban centres for new forms of industrial and
commercial development. New incentives for investment in the area, such as tax relief, have not
stimulated the establishment of new growth industries. Increasing controls over pollution and the
transfer of costs of cleaning up the environment from public agencies to the activities which pollute
leads, in some cases, to a decrease in competitiveness of the older industries.

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Issue 3 Current Management Arrangements do not Adequately Protect the Wadden Sea

❑ Inadequate standards of environmental planning and management within the Wadden Sea and surrounding region.
This gives rise to a number of conflicts and diseconomies, namely:

✓ Activities which take place within the Wadden Sea area can have an adverse economic effect on other activities. For
example, dumping of contaminated dredge spoil combined with other forms of pollutants can induce increased
incidence of diseases in commercial fish stock which reduces their marketability and sale price.

✓ Activities within the Wadden Sea can cause social disruption. An example is the development of facilities on certain
islands which create demands for fresh water that exceed available supplies. This creates water shortages which
adversely affect people who do not benefit from the new developments.

✓ Pollution from sources outside the Wadden Sea creates economic costs for activities within the Wadden Sea. The
costs borne by the Rotterdam Port Authority in disposing of contaminated dredge spoil is a case in point.

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 Initiatives by the Government
The Wadden Sea is a fully nature protected area within the relevant national protection schemes. The area has a rich
cultural inheritance, reflecting the struggle of mankind against the forces of nature.

(1) Improvement of Wadden Sea management- on 20 June 2019, the Dutch Government presented an initiative
to proposes the creation of a Wadden Sea Management Authority to enhance cooperation and mutual
consultation between various authorities involved with the Wadden Sea. On 12 July, the municipality council
of Noardeast-Fryslân, which encompasses and borders a large part of the Wadden Sea, adopted a motion
calling for more rights for the authority. The motion calls for the Wadden Sea to be granted its own and
independent identity and place in the Dutch legal system, similar to a municipality or company.

(1) For tourism, nature is an invaluable asset that provides economic and social benefits. Therefore, to benefit
from the World Heritage designation, it is in the interest of businesses and communities to contribute to the
protection and conservation of the ecological integrity of the Wadden Sea ecosystem. The Trilateral Wadden
Sea Cooperation (TWSC) works towards increasing understanding and cooperation between nature
conservation and the business sector. Concept of sustainable use is based on the definition contained in
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and reflected in the Wadden Sea Plan. The overall policy
objective is to further develop a consistent integrated trilateral management approach to the Wadden Sea
ecosystem, based on the status of its protected areas and including sustainable use, aspects of landscape and
cultural heritage and the integrity of the World Heritage Property.

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(3) Environmental Education

• In each Wadden Sea region there are national and regional initiatives and projects such as
"Waddenzeeschool" in the Netherlands, educational offers from the three German Wadden Sea National
Parks, e.g. "Nationalpark-Schulen", and "Mit Vadehav" in Denmark.
✓ International Wadden Sea School

• Founded by the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation and nature NGOs in 2003, the International Wadden
Sea School (IWSS) aims to raise awareness of the Wadden Sea as ONE shared nature area among
multipliers and users of Wadden Sea education.

• The IWSS brings together environmental educationalists from Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands at
annual workshops throughout the Wadden Sea Region. They share their experience and approaches to
Wadden Sea education – from visitor centers and guided tours to online learning platforms and school
programmes – and jointly develop ideas for translation activities and trilateral resources.

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✓ Trilateral education strategy
The “Wadden Sea Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development and World Heritage
Interpretation” aims to provide a transboundary framework for environmental education and
interpretation in the entire Wadden Sea World Heritage Site. It stands for ONE Wadden Sea, builds on
local, regional and national strategies, concepts and individual activities – without replacing these –
and provides an umbrella to promote the Wadden Sea’s Outstanding Universal Value in an
international and interdisciplinary approach.

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 Conclusion
• The Wadden Sea is shared by three countries, located in the south-east region of the North Sea, made up of wetlands and
tidal flats and containing very rich biodiversity. The Wadden Sea's coastline has been modified greatly by human activity
including the construction of causeways and dikes. The Wadden Sea is rich in birdlife and flora and fauna. It is a popular
migration stopover area for ducks, geese, and shorebirds that number in the hundreds of thousands. Prior to human
exploitation of the area, Wadden Sea was even more diverse in its bird population and included species such as eagles,
flamingos, pelicans, and herons. At one point fish species such as Atlantic salmon, and brown trout were popular in the
waters of Wadden Sea, as well as oyster beds, and lacuna snails. They have disappeared since.

• Natural world heritage is the great legacy from the past. If we want to live with it today, it would be wise to know how it
came to be the way it is now. If we want to pass this legacy on to future generations, our knowledge of its responses to
challenges in the past is likely to provide the best information we could convey along with the heritage itself.

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 References
(1) IUCN World Heritage Outlook: https//worldheritageoutlook.iucn/org- wadden sea-2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment.
(2) The Wadden Sea area: nature conservation, nature management and spatial planning, (The original report Waddengebied: natuurbescherming,
natuurbeheer en ruimtelijke inrichting was adopted on 20 November 2013 and presented to the Dutch House of Representatives on 28 November
2013.)
(3) RESEARCH ARTICLE A case for granting legal personality to the Dutch part of the Wadden Sea Tineke Lambooya,b,c, Jan van de Venisd and
Christiaan Stokkermanse, WATER INTERNATIONAL 2019, VOL. 44, NOS. 6–7, 786–803 https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2019.1679925
(4) Wadden Sea, 2014, UNESCO World Heritage, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1314,
(5) Wadden Sea, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadden_Sea,
(6) About the Wadden Sea,2013 Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, http://www.waddensea-worldheritage.org/wadden-sea-world-heritage
(7) The Common Future of the Wadden Sea, A report by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF, November 1991)

Thank You

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