On 28 August 2008 the "Trilateral Conference on Dune Management" took place in the "Wattemeerhaus" in Wilhelmshaven with more than 50 Dutch, Danish, German and English dune experts. Host was the National Park Administration Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in cooperation with the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat.

During the program several presentations were held, two by Dr. Jörg Petersen:

• Jörg Petersen: "An overview of dunes and dune slacks in the Wadden Sea region with special focus on ecology, nature conservation and distribution of dune slacks."

• Ab Grootjans (Uni Groningen, NL), Jörg Petersen & Evert Jan Lammerts (Staatsbosbeheer, Groningen, NL): "Hydrology of dune slack and its management: examples from Dutch and German Wadden Sea islands."
  

Background information and conference topics:

Once widespread in Central Europe, dunes have become extremely rare habitat types on the mainland, whereas they still represent important landscape elements at the coast. "The dune habitats are an integrated element of the Wadden Sea ecosystem which has been transboundarily protected in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark" explained Ms. Elsa Nickel of the Federal Environmental Ministry in her opening speech. "The nomination of the Wadden Sea as World Heritage Site underlines the international importance of the Wadden See dunes and appreciates the protection efforts which have been achieved over the last two decades."

Recent management issues to protect and restore dune habitats were a focus of the conference, which concerned, amongst others, how to deal with impacts from climate change, introduction of new plants and animals, eutrophication, tourism, as well as future coastal protection needs.


The speakers at the conference, from left: Pat Doody (UK), Evert Jan Lammerts (NL), Knud-Erik Nielsen (DK), Axel Hochkirch (D), Jörg Petersen (D), Ab Grootjans (NL), Bas Arens (NL) (Photo: Gerold Lüerßen).

Impressions and conference results:

"The dune islands with their beaches and tidal flats are unique in a global perspective - their protection has high priority in the trilateral cooperation" said Mr. Jens Enemark, head of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat. Dunes provide habitat for an enormous variety of plants and animals. Because a natural dune dynamic is indispensable for their existence, the ecological needs must be balanced with other interests.

Especially wet dune slacks are of outstanding importance because they are inhabited by a number of endangered species which have became rare during the last decades because of habitat loss, stabilization of dunes and lowering of ground water table. As a result, some Dutch Wadden Sea islands have stopped ground water extraction on the islands and get their drinking water from the mainland. Other islands, such as Schiermonnikoog, Vlieland, Norderney and Langeoog, have found other solutions to reduce the negative impacts on dunes.

The conference also illustrated progress in dune protection which has been achieved over the last years, also as an important element of the Natura 2000 network. Drinking water extraction and coastal protection measures on the islands should be carried out without threatening flora and fauna of dune slacks.

A natural dynamic of dune development is an ideal precondition to preserve the nature values of European dunes. Recommendations on how to increase dune dynamic had been prepared by a Dutch expert team and were also presented at the conference.

Mr. Peter Südbeck, Director of the National Park Administration Lower Saxon Wadden Sea, concluded "The implementation of the European nature conservation directives in the Wadden Sea requires a tuning between the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. The Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park has the largest proportion of dunes in the trilateral conservation area and will therefore continue supporting an intensive transboundary cooperation. The proposed protection measures are in line with the aims of national parks."

>> Information at National Park Administration Lower Saxon Wadden Sea
>> Information at Common Wadden Sea Secretariat
>> Conference Program as PDF
>> Presentation abstracts as PDF
>> Presentations as PDF