Decision 46 COM 7B.51

Wadden Sea (Denmark, Germany, Netherlands) (N 1314ter)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7B.Add.3,
2. Recalling Decision 45 COM 7B.23 adopted at its extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023),
3. Notes with concern the potential cumulative impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property from numerous activities and infrastructure developments planned or established within and in the wider setting of the property, including extractive activities (oil, salt and gas), ports and shipping, and energy facilities, which could be exacerbated by climate change, especially through accelerating sea level rise;
4. Appreciates the efforts of States Parties to address these challenges by strengthening joint strategic management of the property and enhancing its protection and resilience to climate change;
5. Requests the States Parties to jointly adapt and update management measures for the property in the light of the latest scientific data on climate change and to submit the updated thematic report on climate change in the Wadden Sea to the World Heritage Centre as soon as it becomes available;
6. Recalls its established position that extractive activities are incompatible with World Heritage status, and considers that the numerous ongoing and planned extractive activities in the vicinity of the property and its wider landscape, including oil, gas, and salt extraction and associated sea floor subsidence which, in combination with sea level rise, could have a negative impact on the OUV of the property;
7. Also requests the States Parties to:
   1. Operationalise the measures included in Paragraph 112 of the Operational Guidelines, which highlights that an effective management approach extends beyond the property to include its wider setting, as its management is related to its role in supporting the OUV of the property,
   2. Align the national legal frameworks related to planning procedures and decision-making with Paragraph 118bis of the Operational Guidelines and ensure that impact assessment processes are systematically carried out for proposed projects that may impact on the OUV of the property, in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, to fully consider the potential impacts on the property’s OUV,
   3. Not to authorise projects that may contribute to seabed subsidence in the property;
8. Further requests the States Parties to ensure that any extractive projects in the wider setting of the property, including the pending GEMS project application for a gas field exploitation, undergoes an appropriate impact assessment procedure and that the project is not approved if it may cause negative impacts on the OUV of the property;
9. Welcomes the decision by the State Party of the Netherlands not to approve the proposed gas extraction project at Ternaard based on the assessment by the supervisory authority that the risk of subsidence in the Wadden Sea was too high in light of new sea-level rise projections, and urges the State Party of the Netherlands to take an unequivocal decision not to approve the project, also in accordance with the legislation adopted in March 2024, not to issue any new gas extraction permits within and under the property;
10. Also welcomes the reported draft rejection of the pending application by Wintershall Dea for oil extraction below the property from an exclave encircled by the property, and requests furthermore the State Party of Germany not to grant final approval to this application, in accordance with the draft rejection and the State Party’s commitment under the Wilhelmshaven Declaration to work towards the closure of exclaves within the property, and therefore not to grant any new extractive activities within these exclaves;
11. Further welcomes the ongoing evaluation by the State Party of the Netherlands of the ‘hand-on-tap’ monitoring method in order to consider updated sea-level rise scenarios and reiterates its request that, in accordance with the precautionary principle, no further extractive projects be approved, and that consideration is given to limiting or halting existing salt extraction activities, as required, to effectively maintain and protect the OUV;
12. Acknowledges the importance and necessity to accelerate renewable energy production, nevertheless, notes with serious concern the increasing number of onshore and offshore energy facilities (e.g., wind) within the wider setting of the property, and requests moreover the States Parties to:
    1. Adopt a joint strategic and systematic approach to the planning and implementation of projects to connect offshore infrastructures with the mainland, with the aim of avoiding negative impacts on the OUV of the property,
    2. Ensure that the planning and implementation of onshore energy facilities (e.g., wind) avoid negative impacts on migratory bird pathways and habitats;
13. Requests furthermore the State Party of the Netherlands to ensure the timely submission of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the PAWOZ-Eemshaven programme, as soon as it is available, to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN;
14. Further appreciates the updated information on the requested joint SEA to assess the cumulative impacts of extraction and infrastructure developments within and around the property, and requests moreover the States Parties to:
    1. Ensure that the focus of the SEA is on the potential impacts on the attributes which convey the OUV of the property, as well as other heritage/conservation values, in accordance with the principles of the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context,
    2. Submit the scoping report of the SEA to the World Heritage Centre for review;
15. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1  February 2025, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.