E-News June: New Natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Eight new World Heritage Sites were added to the United Nations World Heritage List at the heritage committee's meeting in Seville on June 26. Two of these were natural sites: Italy's Dolomite mountains and the Wadden Sea Ecosystem, tidal flats in the North Sea basin between Germany and the Netherlands.

The Dolomites (Italy) comprise a mountain range in the northern Italian Alps, numbering 18 peaks which rise to above 3,000 metres and cover 141,903 ha. The area includes seven protected areas (four of which are EUROPARC members): the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park, the Natural Parks of Paneveggio Pale di San Martino, Adamello Brenta, Dolomiti Friulane, Dolomiti d'Ampezzo, Dolomiti di Sesto and Fanes Senes Braies. It features some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes, with vertical walls, sheer cliffs and a high density of narrow, deep and long valleys. The nine areas present a diversity of spectacular landscapes of international significance for geomorphology, for example steeples, pinnacles, rock walls, glacial landforms and karst systems. The site is characterized by dynamic processes including frequent landslides, floods and avalanches and also features one of the best examples of Mesozoic carbonate platform systems with fossil records.

The Wadden Sea encompasses the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area and the two German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein (both EUROPARC members). It is a large temperate, relatively flat coastal, wetland environment, formed by the intricate interactions of physical and biological factors that have given rise to a multitude of transitional habitats. These include tidal channels, sandy shoals, sea-grass meadows, mussel beds, sandbars, mudflats, salt marshes, estuaries, beaches and dunes. The site covers over 66% of the Wadden Sea and is home to numerous plant and animal species, including the harbour seal and porpoise and the grey. It is also a breeding and wintering area for up to 12 million birds per annum. The site is one of the last remaining natural, large-scale, intertidal ecosystems where natural processes continue to function largely undisturbed.

Adapted from original article

Wadden Sea World Heritage

The Dutch-German Wadden Sea is now on the same footing as other world famous natural wonders like the Grand Canyon in the USA and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The Wadden Sea was added to the list of Wolrd Heritage Sites on 26 June 2009 by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at its meeting in Seville.

Jens Enemark of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat expressed his gratitude to the Committee for its decision. "We are proud to be part of the global community of World Heritage sites, but at the same time we are aware of the responsibility that is placed upon us to protect and manage its outstanding universal values in a sustainable way, now and for generations to come" he said.

The Wadden Sea World Heritage Site encompasses the Dutch and German parts of the Wadden Sea. It covers an area of almost 10,000 square kilometres along a coastal strip about 400 kilometres long. The fact that the area has now become a World Heritage Site is largely due to the support of local inhabitants, many organisations and government authorities.

Jens Enemark concluded his speech at the Committee meeting by saying "Walking across the Wadden Sea tidal flats, where just a few hours before it was covered by meters of water, surrounded by an endless sky that meets the sea on a distant horizon, is an unforgettable experience…It is a truly magical place - come and enjoy with us a life-changing experience of nature".

Article adapted from original in the 2nd Wadden Sea Forum Newsletter