Data Zone
Country/territory: Denmark
IBA criteria met: A4i, A4iii, B1i, B2, B3, C2, C3, C4, C6 (2000)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 115,850 hectares (1,158.50 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2019 | not assessed | very high | not assessed |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2000 baseline)
The Wadden Sea is characterized by intertidal mud and sandflats between the mainland and the barrier islands. The flats are traversed by deeper water channels. There are coastal marshes grazed by sheep and cattle and reclaimed coastal marshland behind the dykes with permanent grass and some arable land.
Key biodiversity
An extremely important staging area: at least 20 waterbird species congregate in internationally important numbers in winter or on passage, totalling hundreds of thousands of birds. Circus aeruginosus, C. pygargus, Recurvirostra avosetta, Philomachus pugnax, Sterna hirundo, S. paradisaea and S. albifrons, listed on Annex I of the EC Birds Directive, breed at the site, some in large numbers.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Vadehavet (Wadden Sea) (Denmark). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/vadehavet-(wadden-sea)-iba-denmark on 22/12/2024.