Wadden Sea is now a world heritage site

The world heritage committee of Unesco has awarded world heritage status to the Dutch-German Wadden Sea on Friday.

The UN agency also added the Italian Dolomites to the list and extended an existing heritage site, the Tubbataha Reefs in the Philippines, at its meeting in Spain on Friday.

The Wadden Sea stretches along the North Sea coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark and is an important breeding ground for many migratory birds. The ecosystem of the temperate coastal wetlands consists of tidal channels, sand bars, sea grass meadows, sandbars, mudflats, salt marshes, estuaries, beaches and dunes.

The German-Dutch initiative to nominate the area as a Unesco heritage site was not joined by the Danes, so the status was awarded only to two-thirds of the Wadden Sea. The Dutch islands are also excluded.

The Dutch Wadden Association is thrilled with the news. "The Unesco status is a worldwide recognition of the importance of the mud flats for our planet. This is a great ratification of our work, 44 years after we saved then from being drained and reclaimed," Hidde van Kersen of the association told ANP press agency. "The status can contribute to a more sustainable development of the area. However, the arrival of gas exploration, a coal-fired power station and a trash incinerator are still a real threat."

A new website about the area was launched immediately after the news from Seville.