Events, meetings and conferences related to IAS
Trilateral Conference on Neobiota in the Wadden Sea - Challenges for
Nature Conservation
On 26 August 2010, the 5th Trilateral Wadden Sea Day was held in Wilhelmshaven,
Germany
On 26 August 2010, the 5th Trilateral Wadden Sea Day was held in
Wilhelmshaven. Over 110 participants attended the conference on “Neobiota in the
Wadden Sea - Challenges for Nature Conservation”. The Conference was jointly
organized by the National Park Administration Lower Saxon Wadden Sea and the
Common Wadden Sea Secretariat. The great response on the registration clearly
showed the relevance of this issue.
Experts from the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark gave information on the
colonization and distribution of alien species in the Wadden Sea and introduced
tools for assessing the risks of ballast water exchange. They also pointed out
impacts on different management strategies or risks of mussel transports, and
presented new concepts for monitoring changes in biodiversity, including
proposals for enhancing public awareness on the issue introduction of alien
species. Furthermore, the experts made proposals for prevention, management and
control of invasive alien species.
During the concluding discussion, priority issues were named. These were, for
example, preparing an inventory of on-going projects and activities, setting
mechanisms to control introduction of alien species, using the existing
framework of national, international and EU regulations for managing alien
species, and enhancing the cooperation between the countries by developing a
trilateral management plan for the Wadden Sea.
The scientific conference on neobiota in the Wadden Sea was a first step towards
implementing the agreement of the Sylt Ministerial Conference (March 2010) to
develop a common strategy for dealing with alien species introductions in the
Wadden Sea, also taking account of the request of the UNESCO World Heritage
Committee and the ballast water convention.
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