Model example of transboundary nature conservation
The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany aim to further improve protection of the Wadden Sea. Federal Environment Minister Gabriel, the Dutch Agriculture Minister Gerda Verburg and the Danish Environment Minister Troels Lund Poulsen signed a Letter of Intent to this end this evening in Bonn on the margins of the 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD. "The trilateral cooperation on protecting the Wadden Sea is a success story and a model example of transboundary conservation of biological diversity", noted Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
For decades, the Wadden Sea cooperation has been successfully achieving precisely what the international community is currently negotiating in Bonn: "By working together it is possible to halt the loss of biological diversity and to preserve the balance of an ecosystem while allowing sustainable use and involving the local population in the conservation of their environment", said Minister Gabriel. The trilateral Wadden Sea cooperation has existed for 30 years. Many framework conditions have changed, for example EU legislation, and new challenges have emerged, such as climate change and the global loss of biological diversity. This is why the Federal Länder involved - Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg - the German Federation, Denmark and the Netherlands are currently putting the cooperation through a comprehensive modernisation process.
Together these partners are working on revising the founding document - the Joint Declaration - streamlining organisational structures and supporting the Wadden Sea forum, an association of local stakeholders. "We are making the Wadden Sea cooperation fit for the future! This includes even greater consultation with local actors and involving them in the protection of the Wadden Sea", stressed Minister Gabriel. Other elements are greater emphasis on landscape conservation and preservation of cultural heritage - these aspects will also flow into the trilateral management of the Wadden Sea.