130 scientists will meet at the 14th International Scientific Wadden Sea Symposium from the 9-11 May 2017 in Tønder, Denmark.

At the end of January 2017, the municipalities of Varde, Esbjerg, Fanø and Tønder welcomed Co Verdaas, Chairman of the Wadden Sea Board, Rüdiger Strempel, CWSS Executive Secretary and CWSS Communications Officer Annika Bostelmann to the Danish Wadden Sea.

On 12 and 13 December 2016 a conference on “Perspectives of transboundary cooperation in World Heritage” took place at the Representation of the State of Hesse in Berlin.

The population of harbour seals in the Wadden Sea area remained largely stable in 2016. Experts assume that a slight decrease in numbers may be a signal that the overall population in the area has reached its carrying capacity.

The “PROWAD LINK” project partners representing nine organizations in the Wadden Sea sat together in Hamburg on 11 November to discuss the next steps towards submitting a full application.

In cooperation with the Task Group Climate of the Wadden Sea Board, the EU Interreg NSR project “Building with Nature” held a two-day workshop on best practices beyond the region in climate change adaptation.

The Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS) used the opportunity of COP23 and organized a side event titled “Collaboration in Climate Change Adaption and Mitigation” on 7 November 2017 at the conference grounds.

During the 2017 aerial surveys for harbour seal counts, the number of newborn harbour seal pups in the Wadden Sea registered was the highest since the first surveys in 1975.

In just three years, the number of natural World Heritage sites threatened by climate change has doubled, growing from 35 to 62.

Geomorphology and climate, habitats and communities, species, human activities, and pollution of the Wadden Sea are the main areas of analysis in the Quality Status Report 2017 (QSR).