A group of 200 experts from the tourism industry and conservationists will meet in the German city of Leer to talk about the future of European Union funding for the Wadden region.
Omrop Fryslân reports that the European Union has provided funding for the Wadden Agenda over the past three years. The funding for the current phase of the project formally ends in 2018, but it looks likely that the project will be extended next year, albeit with less funding from the European Union.
The main goals of the project are to raise awareness of the UNESCO world heritage region, improve knowledge transfer among the countries in the area (The Netherlands, Germany and Denmark) and create more sustainable experiences. A meeting about the future of the Wadden Agenda will be held in the German city of Leer on Monday, and hundreds of Dutch and German experts and politicians will be in attendance.
Low-carbon economy
The programme is party of the territorial co-operation between the Netherlands and Germany, which is focused on challenges faced by the border region of the two countries. The wider project is aiming to strengthen the regions’ competitiveness by focusing on a low-carbon economy, and improving socio-cultural and territorial cohesion by facilitating cooperation.
The Wadden Sea coastline, which includes Friesland and Groningen, is part of Natura 2000, a network of protected areas in the European Union. The region was also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Region in 2009. A motion from GroenLinks to cease approving drilling permits for natural resources in the Wadden Sea was approved over the summer.
Funding for the region also comes from the Wadden Fund, which finances dozens of projects all along the northern Dutch coastline. In June, the fund announced that it would provide 3.3 million euros for nine projects, and in March, the group made known that they would contribute 9.6 million euros to the creation of a World Heritage Center Wadden Sea in 2020.
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