The Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation (TWSC), with the Wadden Sea Plan (2010) at its backbone, operates to conduct a shared policy and management strategy for the protection and sustainable management of the area, with the imperative of safeguarding its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).

As migratory birds are returning from their southern wintering grounds to their breeding sites in the Wadden Sea, in view of the experience in 2022, researchers and site managers are concerned about new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in colonially breeding birds.

The scale of the outbreak of the bird flu, more specifically the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), in the North Sea region in the breeding season of 2022 was unprecedented.

The meeting was organised by KID project partners and the Sustainable Shipping and Ports at the Wadden Sea Project.

Each January, counts of migratory waterbirds take place in all key wetland sites along the East Atlantic Flyway. The year 2023 represents the 4th time that these efforts are intensified to cover major wetland sites in almost all countries belonging to this flyway, therefore being called ‘total counts’.

In 2022, empowering the youth to take action in conservation has been a key focus of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, with activities not only in the Wadden Sea, but also on the global scale.

After the conclusion of the Trilateral Youth Conference in September 2022, young adults from Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands continued with their exchange to increase youth’s influence on the conservation of the Wadden Sea.