The Wadden Sea National Park

On October 16th 2010 the third and largest National Park in Denmark was inaugurated.

Wadden Sea National Park is open for all – you may travel around freely, in the same way as usual, when you are a visitor to Denmark. But in the National Park there will be better possibilities to experience the area and to be closer to it`s rich nature and culture.

National parks in Denmark
When the Wadden Sea National Park is inaugurated, one of Denmark`s unquestionably most important naturereserves becomes part of the National Parks of Denmark. Wadden Sea National Park is the third out of five proposed national parks to be inaugurated. Wadden Sea National Park will be the largest national park in Denmark and it covers 146.600 Ha.

It encompasses the Waddensea, the Waddensea islands, Skallingen, Varde Ådal, the area around Marbæk and part of the marshlands behind the dikes on the mainland ( Tjæreborgmarsken, Ribemarsken, Margrethekogen and the outer ”kogs” in Tøndermarsken (”kog” is land claimed from the sea).

All five national parks are nominated by previous ministers of the environment in accordance with the group of parties supporting the law of the national parks. The first National Park to be inaugurated was Thy (2008), then Mols Bjerge (2009) and this year The Wadden Sea National Park is on the agenda. In the coming years Skjern Å and Kongernes Nordsjælland will follow.

Read about the Danish national parks at: www.danmarksnationalparker.dk

Outdoor life
The islands and the natural coastlands by the Waddensea have become an area in Denmark that really attracts a lot of visitors. It`s unique nature and culture, along with the many holidayhomes, campingsites, youthhostels and other accommodation possibilities, have been the fertile basis for the creation of a strong tourist region.

The Waddensea islands Rømø, Mandø and Fanø lie along the coast like pearls on a string and they offer unique experiences. The sea, the dunes, the woods the heaths and the fauna all speak their own language and they appeal to both children and adults to use it.

On the mainland the dikes, the marshland and the migrating birda impress the natureloving guests.

The Nature
The Waddensea is a part of the Danish/German/Dutch Waddensea, which is one of the most important naturereserves. The Waddensea is on the list of Particular Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) along with the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador.

The Waddensea forms part of the Natura 2000-network of protected areas in the EU.
In Waddensea National Park there is a great potential to strengthen the possibilities of outdoor life, inform about it and experience the nature here, just as the national park may benefit the local developement.

Fauna
The Waddensea is of vital importance to the 10 – 12 million birds that migrate in the spring and in the autumn on their way to their breeding grounds or to their wintering grounds. The Waddensea is a gigantic larder, where the migrating birds are able to find vital needs for their further flight. Here they can find mussels, archimedean screws, lugworms etc. of which the Waddensea is rich of and in the marshes they find other feeds.

The wide mussel banks in the Waddensea are an important source of feeding for, among others, the eider and the oystercatcher. The coastal areas and the areas behind the dikes are also of great importance as a ”larder” especially for the mallard, the wigeon, the pintail as well as for the brent goose and the barnacle goose.

Among the migrating birds we have the starlings, who make an impressive display called ”black sun”.
In the autumn thousands of starlings gather in flocks above the marsh at dusk, before settling  for the night. In the Tøndermarsk the flocks may encompass more than one million starlings.

The Waddensea, incidentially, has the largest population of the common seal to be found in Denmark.
Many places in the Waddensea are banks, which flood at high tide. Here the common seal rests.

Islands and the tide
The whole of the Waddensea carries the status of nature- and gamereserve with specific rules laid out for traffic, shooting of game and various other activities. The area contains more than 30 islands. Of these the three inhabited islands: Fanø, Mandø and Rømø. The wholr of the Waddensea area is affected by the tide, which occurs due to the moon`s force of attraction. This force of attraction gives the tide a regular interval of 6.25 hrs. between high and low tide.

The weatherconditions also affect the tide. Wind from the West will press the sea towards the coast and may increase the effect of the tide by up to four meters in a severe storm. The usual difference between high and low tide is, at Ho Bugt, approximately 1.5 meters.

In the more dry areas, where plants have been able to take root, the water is calm enough for material brought in by the tide to settle.

The rythm between ebb and flood
The rythm of the tide between ebb and flood twice every 24 hrs. provides fine conditions for the dynamic ecosystem of the Waddensea with it`s many microscopic plants and animals, who in return provide the basic feedigs for the seabed fauna of lug worms, mussels and crab. Thousands of these animals are to be found in just 1 m² on the Waddensea bed.

At low tide, when the wadden is dry, the birds have their fill of food before their journey to the breeding grounds in Northern Scandinavia, Siberia and Greenland – or on their way to wintering grounds further South.
The common seal is the only sea mammal to breed in the Waddensea. The seals are, especially during breeding and shedding, dependant on being able to rest undisturbed on the dry banks.

The landscape
The Wadden Sea National Park has a characteristic open landscape, which may be likened to a mosaic of different types of nature. The shallow sea areas, the deep, the tidal channels, dry sands and the wadden, Skallingen and the waddensea islands with their rich and varied nature in the beach- and dune landscapes, the marshes and the shoremeadows, estuaries, areas protected behind dikes and ”kogs”.

The outlet at Varde Å into the HO Bugt is the only natural estuary without dikes and sluices in the Danish/ German/Dutch Waddensea. This area is perhaps the only landscape in the entire Waddensea area least affected by human influence.
The landscape is in constant change as a result of the material brought by the sea.

History of civilisation
In the Wadden Sea National Park you find a number of unique relics of the past, that tell of the correlation between man, the sea and the use of nature`s resources from ancient times to the present day. The shipyards, the dikes, ”kogs” and the charecteristic settlement structure, showing the villages built between the edge of the wet marsh and the dry hills and heaths, all hold a string of tales concerning man`s conditions in this area.

The architecture, the traditions and the cultural historic values clearly show that you have come to a very special, and very different place. With Ribe being the oldest city and Tønder being the oldest market town, there is a lot to be seen, when you explore the local culture.

In the Waddensea area exiting nature experiences are had all year round. To this we can add the many exhibitions, outdoor activities, event parks, museums and small eksklusive restaurants, arts and crafts and recreational possibilities that may all be tried and tested.

The future in Wadden Sea National Park
The establishing of the national parks in Denmark build on a wide local back up. Each national park will have an independent administration, consisting of a committee, a national park council and a secretariat. The committee and it`s chairman are appointed by the Minister for the Environment. All committee members should, as far as possible, have local ties.

The committee will at the outset receive 6 million D. Kr. and will later on, when the first national park plan has been agreed, receive an annual grant from the state. Beyond this the committee will have powers to raise funds via grants, seek local financial support, seek partneships etc.

Local developement
It is important that Wadden Sea National Park is developed  in close correlation with it`s associates, in thisinstance mainly the Intenational Waddensea Collaboration (The Trilateral Waddenseacollaboration). The committee may enter into coordinate agreements, partnerships and may agree sponsorships, which can help to a positive developement in th national park.

The committee must draw up a plan for the running and further developement of the national park.

The local inhabitants must be a part of this process. The developement of the national park will proceed over several years and it is based on voluntary agreements and local back up.

Wadden Sea National Park logotype
Each national park has it`s own logotype to be used in marketing and public informations.

The logotype for Wadden Sea National Park will be made public on the inauguration day and will thereafter be available on www.danmarksnationalparker.dk , where you can also find directions for use.

The logotype for each national park will be used by The National Park Committee on their official papers and signs as well as on websites for The Danish National Parks. Local tradesmen may obtain permission from the committee to use the logotype to market goods and output, if these products meet the purpose, aims and quality requirements of the national park.

The national park logotype has been designed by the Danish designer Ole Søndergaard, who is known for his designs of logotypes and pictograms for a. o public institutions, The Armed Forces, local councils and private firms.
More information may be obtained from: www.osgrafik.dk