Wadden Sea (1179)
Netherlands, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B1, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Waddenzee
Central coordinates: Latitude: 53.3000, Longitude: 5.3833
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): -20 00
Area of KBA (km2): 2717.57959
Protected area coverage (%): 99.70
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Together with the Danish and German sections, the Wadden Sea (Waddenzee) is the largest intertidal area in Europe. Important habitats of the ecosystem include mudflats, sandflats, saltmarshes, shallowly submerged sandbanks, and estuaries. The Dutch section is bounded by the Waddeneilanden and the mainland. It was separated from Lake IJsselmeer (site 034) in 1932 and from the Lauwerszee (015) in 1969. The Wadden Sea IBA includes the main part of the intertidal system but the main isles (005, 009), the bays (013, 017) and the saltmarshes/forelands (002-004, 006-008, 010-014, 016) have been considered as separate sites. The area covered by the Wadden Sea Memorandum (national policy paper), of which the boundary is determined by the mean of the annual maximum high-water mark, overlaps with these sites and has a total area of 272,100 ha. Human activities include extraction of natural gas and of sand, and shellfish fisheries.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: The Wadden Sea is a major breeding, staging, wintering, feeding and moulting area for huge numbers of many duck, goose, wader, gull and tern species. No numbers are given for breeding birds as most nest in immediately adjacent IBAs. This complex site was not taken into account for the application of C6 criterion (`five most important sites in NUTS region'), because of its close proximity to adjacent sites (002-014, 016-017).
Habitats
Land use: fisheries/aquaculture (90%) | military (18%) | nature conservation and research (85%) | tourism/recreation (100%) | urban/industrial/transport (11%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Intertidal | 50 | |
| Marine Neritic | 50 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Mechanical fishing of cockles Cardium by suction dredging, military training, recreation, and gas extraction are the main threats to the area. Cockle fishing affects the food resources of birds such as Somateria mollissima and Haematopus ostralegus and destroys the sediment structure, while all long-established banks of mussels Mytilus have been removed, and the recovery of eel-grass Zostera is hindered. The Special Protection Area and the Ramsar designation cover the whole of this site although the area-sizes given in the designation orders are much less. The two Natural Monuments together cover about 85% of the area, including all of the saltmarshes and most of the intertidal flats. The current management plan covers the period 1996-2001.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic native species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Excess energy | Light pollution | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Ongoing | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Only in the future | |
| Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Ongoing | |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Ongoing | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Only in the future |