The world heritage site Wadden Sea is the largest intertidal soft sediment wetland in the world. It is an essential stop-over site for long distant migratory birds on their journeys between Africa and the Arctic. Furthermore, this wetland is an important breeding and wintering site for birds. It is estimated that yearly 10 – 12 million birds visit this wetland. Counting birds in the Wadden Sea by volunteers has a long tradition, starting with estimating breeding bird numbers at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1980, a system of coordinated migratory bird count for the whole Wadden Sea was initiated, involving over the years c. 3000 amateur and professional counters for covering a coastline of 500 km length. This long-term programme with massive involvement of volunteers is the largest citizen science program in the Wadden Sea and compares to other successful long-term programmes like WeBS by the BTO in Great Britain. It has enabled the calculation of long-term trends in bird numbers, which are extremely important for the conservation of the area. The results are fed into science, as well as the conservation and management of the area.
The intensive experience as volunteer bird counter or as volunteer warden, partly organised in programmes like alternative civilian service or voluntary year of environmental service results in a long-term engagement for the conservation of the Wadden Sea. In Lower Saxony, which coastline comprises 1/3 of the Wadden Sea, a self organised network, Watt°N, was established, which keeps former volunteers the opportunity to stay in close contact with the area. The network is of mutual benefit for members and the management of the Wadden Sea National Park. Network members continue to contribute to conservation activities and in many cases to bird counts.
To inform the public and further interested citizens on the importance of the Wadden Sea for migratory birds, each October a large bird festivity, the migratory bird days, spanning 10 days with more than 250 events is organised by the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park Authority. Volunteer bird counters contribute to these events, bringing their enthusiasm for birds and nature to visitors and grab people’s attention for the conservation of the area.
In all, volunteers have a big impact on the conservation of the Wadden Sea, have a big contribution to bird monitoring. Important is a good feedback and acknowledgement by the management agencies and giving the opportunity for intensive nature experience in a conservation context.
Topics: Natural Resource and Conservation Stakeholders: Managing Expectations and Engageme
