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Like many other habitats on our planet the Wadden Sea is consistently threatened by many enviromental problems. Of course, pollution is the main reason. There are still countries in Europe which use the North Sea as a garbage dump. Obviously this doesn't improve the water quality. Besides, all the dirty water of the rivers flowing into the North Sea runs into it. So the North Sea also has to manage with the harmful substances taken up by the rivers on their way to the North Sea. Other important problems are the coastal protection, agriculture and tourism. Coastal protection is necessary for various reasons, but do we really have to build a dike on a salt marsh just because it is cheaper than to build it on farmland? And why do farmers have to use more and more fertilizers? There is no need for it and the market for biologically produced food is booming! Tourism is a very controversial problem. On the one hand the inhabitants of the coast need it as their primary source of income and on the other hand it contributes to the destruction of the Wadden Sea.
As the Wadden Sea is a unique habitat with a great importance as a vital stopping-place in the migration of birds and as a nursery for North Sea fishes, the state government of Lower Saxony established a national park here in 1986. |
