Wadcouple

Wadden Sea knowledge co-creation for the effective use of scientific insights for policy and learning for sustainability

The triple ecological crisis – consisting of climate change, rapid biodiversity loss and increasing pollution – is putting increasing pressure on the Wadden Sea ecosystem. Due to its unique landscape, rising sea levels can alter the structure and composition of sediments, the balance between saltwater and freshwater, and their spatial distribution and dynamics. In addition, various human activities have further impacted the Wadden Sea in recent decades, including tourism, shipping and port operations, fishing, energy production and coastal protection measures. Many of these issues are currently the focus of increased public and political attention in the Wadden Sea communities. Politicians and regional decision-makers need scientifically sound knowledge to serve as a basis for decisions on the protection and sustainable use of the Wadden Sea region.

The WADcouple project (2025–2028) is the synthesis and transfer initiative of the trilateral Wadden Sea Research Programme. WADcouple aims to improve cross-cutting communication and knowledge transfer within the funding programme. This includes coordinating and supporting exchange between the five research projects (ParCA, SALTGARDEN, TRICMA2, Sedway, WADWAD) and relevant stakeholders – for example through networking, dialogue and consultation processes, communication and public relations work, and measures to promote knowledge transfer. The NIhK contributes important impetus to the dialogue process through its scientific expertise on the Wadden Sea and the coastal region. Physical processes form the background for all ecosystem-related issues in the coastal region. Accordingly, a long-term, integrative understanding of the system, including geological processes, forms an important starting point for identifying and developing sustainable options for action in the coastal region. 

The project is coordinated by the University of Oldenburg (ICBM) in cooperation with the University of Groningen and the NIhK. The German project partners are funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) and the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).

External cooperation partners are represented by the main applicants of the WadSED (NL) and CoastAdapt research projects. They support the integration and synthesis process and make important contributions to identifying other relevant stakeholders from industry and the five funded projects.

Dr. Martina Karle is responsible for WADcouple at NIhK.