December 2015: The Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention has welcomed a request from the Governments of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands to recognize the Wadden Sea as a transboundary Ramsar site.

The three governments made the request in a letter dated 1 December 2015.

The Wadden Sea is one of the world’s largest contiguous areas of intertidal sand and mud flats, covering parts of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The transboundary site comprises 15 national sites already recognized under the Ramsar Convention as wetlands of international importance, critical for fisheries and birdlife.

A Ramsar Secretariat press release indicates that the Wadden Sea is now the world’s largest of 17 transboundary Ramsar sites.

The three countries have cooperated on management of the Wadden Sea since 1982, coordinated by the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat. In a joint declaration issued on 5 February 2014, ministers from the three countries reaffirmed their intention to protect and manage the area as a single ecological entity. [Ramsar Secretariat Press Release] [Joint Letter, 1 December 2015] [Ministerial Declaration, 5 February 2014]