Saltmarshes on the island of Neuwerk ( Janke)

NationaleNaturlandschaften

Welcome to our National Park

Hamburg Wadden Sea

National Park

(Helm)

  1 | Foreword

  2 | The Wadden Sea – where the sea floor and horizon meet

  4 | Neuwerk – tracing the history of the island

  6 | Scharhörn – island on the move

  8 | Nigehörn – new frontiers for nature conservatio

10 | The mudflats – a second glance at the habitat

12 | Mudflat hiking – safety first!

14 | Tidal creeks – a window into coastal waters

16 | Salt marshes –colourful mosaic between the land and the sea

18 | Reviving the vegetation of the salt marshes in the East Foreland

20 | The common seal – mascot of the Wadden Sea

22 | Whales in the Wadden Sea

23 | Found a seal or a whale?

24 | The Wadden Sea – stopover for migrating birds and nursery ground for seabirds

26 | National parks – experiencing and protecting our national natural heritage sites

28 | Promoting sustainability in the biosphere reserve

34 | Wadden Sea World Heritage Site

36 | The National Park Authority & our partners in nature conservation

38 | Nationalpark-Haus visitor centre

40 | National park rules – so that man and nature can both get along

42 | A national park with a heart – ecotourism on the island of Neuwerk

44 | Contacts

45 | Folding maps

45 | Imprint

n

Imprint:

Publisher: FreieundHansestadtHamburg BehördefürStadtentwicklungundUmwelt NeuenfelderStraße19;D-21109Hamburg(fromJuly2013) www.hamburg.de/bsu

Text: NationalPark/BiosphereReserveAuthority: Dr.KlausJanke,PeterKörber,GabrieleMeusel VereinJordsand:ImmeSchreyEditingdeadline: Oktober2012Englishtranslation: HannahSmith(November2012)ResponsibleforthecontentunderGermanpresslaw: Dr.ElisabethKlocke

Design: GrafikbüroMatthiasBehnke,HamburgPaper: EnviroTop,100%recycledpaper

Donationsaccount: BundesbankHamburg,SWIFT-BIC:MARKDEF1200;IBANcodeDE66200000000020001560,Accountholder:KasseHamburg,Reference:“SpendenfürNaturschutzRef.4050600000004”.Donationsaretax-deductible!

“Freddy”,mascotoftheNationalParkHamburgWaddenSea

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I M P R E S S U M     |   45 

Welcome to Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park!

All of this is Hamburg too: sand banks, mudflats and sea as far as the eye can see, as well as seals and enormous flocks of migrating birds.

The people of Hamburg are proud of its largest and most significant nature reserve, even if it is situated 100 km down the river Elbe from the city centre, in the coastal waters of the North Sea.

Since June 2011, the national park has also laid claim to Hamburg’s most honoured award: in that year, UNESCO inscribed the park in world heritage list as part of the Wadden Sea Site. This is the recognition we deserve for our commitment to protecting this unique, world-class landscape, but it also brings with it the considerable responsibility of preserving it for our children and grandchildren.

This pocket-sized booklet is intended to provide a first orientation for all visitors, such that they can make the most of their experi-ence of the wildlife in the national park. You will find plenty of information here about the Wadden Sea region, its history and its inhabitants, along with practical tips for your visit. I cannot recommend it more: just make your way to the Elbe estuary, and hike across the sea floor to the island of Neuwerk while the tide is out. I have done just that, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jutta Blankau, Senator for Urban Development and Environment of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg

F O R E W O R D | 1

F O R M A T I O N O F T H E W A D D E N S E A | 3

The Wadden Sea – where the sea floor and horizon meetThe Wadden Sea extends over a total length of 450 km, from Blavand on the coast of the North Sea in Denmark to the city of Den Helder in the Netherlands – a unique natural landscape found nowhere else in the world.

Twice every day at low tide, the sea floor is left exposed up to a distance of 20 km from the shoreline; at high tide, the

amphibious landscape is swallowed up again by the North Sea, or the “Blanker Hans”, as the locals call it. Around six hours later, it is revealed once more.

In the context of the history of the Earth, the Wadden Sea is relatively young. Approximately 9000 years ago, the sea level of the North Sea was around 100 m lower than it is today. The coast-line stretched all the way from Denmark across the Dogger Bank to England.

When the ice caps began to melt, sea levels rose and water increasingly forced its way into and covered parts of the mainland. Land emerged from beneath the diminishing ice masses of Scan-dinavia, while in turn the entire basin of the North Sea sank to greater depths due to a tilting movement in the Earth’s crust, a phenomenon that continues to this day. Tidal forces and the Elbe, Weser and Rhine rivers shifted large amounts of sediment to the area and in many places formed a barrier of deposit parallel to the coast. In the course of these extensive changes taking place, the former terrain of marshes and bogs eroded away and were cov-ered by the newly arrived sand. The mounds of deposited sediment

(Foto CWSS/Brockmann Consult)

2 | F O R M A T I O N O F T H E W A D D E N S E A

Breaking waves (Janke)

continued to build up, such that some even developed into islands and thus sheltered the areas between them and the coastland from the wind and further erosion. In these areas of significantly weakened currents, it was possible for even more sediment to settle along the flat-lying coastline. Thus the slow progress of the coastal region sinking was almost completely balanced by the build-up of new sediment. The rivers continued to deliv-er and deposit new material, while the relatively strong force of the tides caused this material to be distributed over a wide area.

This is an ongoing process. Even now, islands that are not fixed in place shift in position, while the locations of sand banks and rifts in the Wadden Sea also change according to the laws of their own dynamics.

Mankind has only exerted an influence on the Wadden Sea for around 1000 years. The construction of dikes pre-vents the sea from claiming back large sections of this “sunken landscape”.

Neuwerk – tracing the history of the island

Intense manual labour was required for the dike around Neuwerk to be built in the 16thcentury. (National Park archive)

Contemporary impression of Neuwerk. (Steel engraving by P. Ahrens, based on a drawing by J. H. Sander – private collection)

H I S T O R Y | 5

Neuwerk is part of Hamburg! The fact that one of the oldest d istricts of the metropolis is located 100 km away from the city, in the estuary of the Elbe, can be explained by the Hanseatic City’s 800-year-old tradition of shipping and sea trade.

Until around 900 years ago, Neuwerk was no more than a sand dune island of sparse vegetation. As plants increasingly did take root on the island, provisionally known as “O”, a green land mass crisscrossed with tidal creeks was established, providing farmers (so called “Geestbauern”) with a welcome summer pasture ground for their livestock and also acting as a base for fishermen. According to some sources, the island was also occasionally used by pirates and smugglers. However, it was not possible to live there permanently, as the island was regularly flooded in winter.

In 1299, the ambitious city of Hamburg received permission from the dukes of Saxony-Lauenburg to build a tower on the island in order to protect the important trading route to the city. Thus, between 1300 and 1310, the fortified defence tower was erected: the Norman- tower house style “Nige Wark” (meaning “new building” or “new structure”) gave Neuwerk the name it is known by today. Building it at that time was no mean feat. It took a great deal of effort to transport the huge blocks and countless bricks to the island. From then on, Hamburg maintained the bastion on its outpost with a crew of eleven men

4 | H I S T O R Y

A glance back to the Middle Ages: this is probably how things looked on “O”, the trading outpost in the Elbe estuary. (National Park archive)

secured in arrangement with the neighbouring principalities. In 1644, the tower was equipped with an open coal fire to render the route into the Elbe safer for ships. Since 1814, it has been an electric beacon that ensures this safe passage.

In 1556, the task of building a dike around the slightly higher ground in the centre of the island was begun; this area remains pr otected to this day and is known as the “Binnengroden” (“Groden” stands for flat marshland that has been reclaimed from the sea). After parts of the dike were catastrophically destroyed in the hundred year flood in the winter of 1717/18, a further dike was built around the tower itself, so that this could be used as an emergency shelter in case of heavy storm floods. The island took its current shape after particularly heavy flooding in 1825. The dikes were once again reinforced and the entire perimeter of the island was also secured with a stone wall. In 1925, the smaller “summer dike” was constructed, and the creeks running through the parts of the island outside the dike were blocked with tide gates. However, attempts initiated in 1929 to reclaim land on the east side of the islandwere not successful: work on the brush-wood fences placed in the sea was discon-tinued after the Second World War.

Despite various developments over the past years and centuries, Neuwerk has always stayed true to its original charac-ter. Long may it stay that way!

Scharhörn – island on the moveAs early as 1300, sailors were aware of Scharhörn as a dangerous reef in the sea. For ships coming into the Hanseatic League’s metropolis, it posed a serious risk and for this reason was clearly marked on the fi rst sea maps of the area.

Until the 20th century, Scharhörn was still only known as a graveyard for ships and as the setting for many tales and legends of the sea. As the nature conservation movement took shape in Germany in around 1900, Scharhörn was discovered to be an important resting and breeding area for rare species of tern. In 1929, Hamburg’s waterway management authorities began to implement planting schemes and to lay down brushwood barriers to retain the sand there.

Scharhörn was declared a nature reserve in 1939. Ever since then, a bird monitoring hut has

been stationed here, raised on stilts to keep it protected

from storm fl oods. Scharhörn is an

island on the move: it shifts approximately 12 m in a south-easterly direction every

Sea rocket grows along the driftline in summer. (Janke)

been stationed here, raised on stilts to keep it protected

from storm fl oods. Scharhörn is an

island on the

year. While on one side of the island, sand is constantly carried away by breaking waves and tidal currents, on the other side, new sand is brought in and deposited by the wind, so that new dunes are created there. In recent years, salt marshes have also started to expand, as is also the case on Nigehörn (see next page).

Th e vegetation on Scharhörn’s sandy terrain diff ers signifi cantly from the fl ora found on Neuwerk. Th e robust plants that grow on dunes are frequently covered by sand. Th ey must then grow

through the sand to the surface again, thus continuously extending their system of roots and contributing to making the dunes more permanent.

Grassleaf orache, sea rocket and prickly saltwort grow near the strandline. Higher up, on the sand dunes, the most common plants are beachgrass and sea lyme grass, as well as the rarer sea holly and the bright red petals of the sea pea.

A sandwich tern arriving at its nest. (Helm)

View Birds-eye-view across Scharhörn, facing south-east. Th e building on stilts in the foreground houses the bird warden and a wind measuring system that is impor-tant for storm fl ood warnings in Hamburg’s port. (Janke)

Seagulls roosting on Scharhörn’s beach. (Helm)

S C H A R H Ö R N | 7

Sea peas stand out amongst the undergrowth of the sand dunes. (Janke)

Dense patches of beachgrass catch sand blown in by the wind and thus “ feed” the island with fi ne sedimentary particles. (Janke)

6 | S C H A R H Ö R N

Bird monitoring hut until 1953 1953-1983 1983-1997 since 1997

1997

2006

1983

1973

1952

1935

Nigehörn – new frontiers for nature conservation

Even sea holly, a rare sight on the North Sea coast, grows on Nigehörn. (Janke)

Cormorant colony on Nigehörn. (Janke)

N i G E H Ö R N | 9

Hamburg’s newest island, Nigehörn, came into being in the autumn of 1989. In just five weeks, a suction excavator pumped 1.2 mil-lion cubic metres of sand from a creek in the mudflats through a network of pipes onto the sandbank south-west of the island of Scharhörn. The hydraulic filling operation on this site of higher ground and weaker currents was undertaken in order to provide

seabirds in the Elbe estuary with significant roosting and breeding areas for the long term.

Following the initial deposit of sand, fences made of dried brushwood as well as specially

planted dune grasses continued to collect sand blown in by the wind, thus furthering the formation of sand dunes. In the meantime, both breeding and resting birds have taken to the island well.

8 | N I G E H Ö R N

Nigehörn, the new island in the mudflats. (Jeß)

In some areas at the edge of Nigehörn, vegetation is spreading even further into the mudflats. (Janke)

Particularly noteworthy is the colony of cormorants that nest on the ground. Furthermore, on the east side of the island, subject only to relatively weak currents, not only have pioneer plant species grown over a large area, but a new salt marsh has already developed, too. Each year, it grows higher through the sand and sediment that settle there, and expands its coverage as well. Due to this expansion of the salt marshes, the islands of Scharhörn and Nigehörn are gradually growing together. By now the area between them is so large that a new system of natural tidal creeks has started to form there.

Since the initial delivery of sand, Nigehörn has been left to develop on its own. In order for this natural process to go ahead undisturbed, access to the island is strictly prohibited.

The only people permitted to visit the island are the bird warden on Scharhörn and an employee of the National Park Authority, who collect data on the birds and the development of the landscape at regular intervals.

The mudflats – a secondglance at the habitatEven if it seems unlikely at first glance, the mudflats (ger. “Watt”) are in fact not just mud. Areas affected by strong currents, and therefore subject to a constant shifting of the sediment, are categorised as coarse-grained sand flats (ger. “Sandwatt”). In areas well protected from currents, much finer fragments settle, such as particles of clay. This particularly soft and nutrient-rich sediment is the mudflat proper (ger. “Schlickwatt”).

Between these two forms of the mudflat there is a large overlap area, known as the mixed sediment flats (ger. “Mischwatt”). Although the entire terrain of the mudflats may seem a rather hostile habitat, it numbers amongst the most productive habitats in the world. Even a casual first glance at the ground suggests that there is something going on beneath the surface. The countless creatures living on the mudflats leave behind particular trails and clues, indicating what it is that is hiding in the layers of sediment. The most common animals here are worms, snails, mussels and crustaceans, and each have adapted their lifestyles to this environ-ment in their own way.

Along with creatures that move around on their own, such as crabs, snails and fish, there are many others in the mudflats that stay in one place for almost their entire lives, in burrows that they dig themselves. Some also line these burrows: while underwater,

they use their fine tentacles to collect organic particles and algae from the mudflat surface. Algae provide the base level of nutrition for all forms of life in this ecosystem.

Other creatures living in the mudflats specialise in “fishing” for food in the water itself, rather than on the seafloor. For instance, several species of mollusc live buried in the mud or sand at vary-ing depths, and stretch out two tubes to the surface. Thus, they can suck down water, filter it through their intricately constructed gills, and eventually release it again through another opening. Food particles and plankton are retained and digested – this is known as filter feeding.

Sandworms, meanwhile, simply swallow mud and sand whole, “digest” the nutritious particles and microorganisms therein, and excrete the indigestible leftovers. Evidence of their digestion process can be seen all over the surface of the mudflats as spaghetti-like coils.

Only a few species live on the regularly exposed surface of the mudflats. Creatures such as shore crabs, common blue mussels and tiny mud snails are protected by hard shells so that they do not dry out when the tide is low.

Green crab (Janke)

The burrow of a sandworm begins with a funnel-shaped hole at one end and leads to a coiled cast at the other end. (Walentowitz)

Sand gaper washed ashore (Janke)

Lugworm (Janke)

M U D F L A T S | 11

Periwinkles crawling around on the surface of the mudflats. (Janke)

10 | M U D F L A T S

Mudflat hiking – safety first!Twice every day at low tide, the sea floor of the Wadden Sea is left exposed. It is then possible to hike to Neuwerk and Scharhörn along the marked routes, or to walk across the “Kleiner Vogel-sand”. However, please make sure you plan your expedition care-fully, so that this unique experience of the natural world does not become a life-endangering risk.

Be sure to find out locally what the latest news is regarding the daily tides, the weather forecast and timing estimates, for example at the Nationalpark-Haus visitor centre. In order not to risk still being on the mudflats as the tide comes in, you should always aim to have reached your destination by the time low tide is expected on that day.

Please note the following rules and advice: Avoid entering the mudflats alone. Stay on the marked routes – this is for your own safety.

Off-route hiking is only possible in Zone II and on the “Kleiner Vogelsand” in Zone I. This is so that the wildlife is disturbed as little as possible.

Only set off hiking when weather and visibility are good. Darkness, fog and storms can be fatal on the mudflats. If the weather sudden-ly changes for the worst, please leave the mudflats immediately!

If you do find your route between Neuwerk and Cuxhaven cut off by a tidal creek that you cannot cross, try to reach one of the rescue cages along the route (see map at the end of this booklet).

It is essential that you report to the bird warden on Scharhörn if you are planning to hike to the island (tel. +49 (0)18 05-22 86 61).

It is not possible to visit Nigehörn under any circumstances!

Recommended equipment for mudflat hiking: waterproof clothing (in summer too!), solid shoes for crossing mussel banks, binoculars, compass, sun cream and sunglasses, head protection (including eye protection if possible), snack (sea air can make you hungry!).

If you are an inexperienced mudflat hiker, we recommend that you join a guided tour in order to make the most of your adventure. You can find out more about these tours from the National Park Authority, Verein Jordsand, or the company responsible for the ferry to Neuwerk (Cassen Eils, tel. +49 (0)471-3 22 11).

M U D F L A T H I K I N G | 13

Rescue cage on the hiking route from the mainland to Neuwerk. (Albrecht-Rose)

(Janke)

12 | M U D F L A T H I K I N G

Plumose anemone (Janke)

Starfish (Janke)

Plaice (Janke)

Shrimp-fishing near the island of Neuwerk (Janke)

Brown shrimps galore (Janke)

T I D A L C R E E K S | 15

Sea moss (Janke)(Janke)

14 | T I D A L C R E E K S

Tidal creeks – a window into coastal waters

The deep channels through which the sea streams in and out with the tide offer quite a different picture from that observed on the open surface of the mudflats. These parts of the terrain, also known as tidal creeks or sloughs, are home to several species that have not developed special adaptations to cope with being left exposed on a regular basis when the tide goes out. Here, hermit crabs, starfish, sea urchins, sea anemones, polyps and numerous types of fish contribute to the biodiversity found in the Wadden Sea. For many species of fish in the North Sea, the creeks running through the mudflats act as an indispensable “nurs-ery ground”: here they are protected from many predators and there is enough food available to ensure their speedy growth.

Particularly characteristic of the tidal creeks are flatfish, which tend to bury themselves just under the sea floor. Perfectly camouflaged, they lie in wait for small crabs and fish swimming by.

However, the most famous inhabitants of the creeks are the North Sea brown shrimps: for many, they are a sought-after delicacy. These are often caught using a specially constructed, light-weight fishing device attached to small boats called cutters.

Salt marsh in bloom on Neuwerk’s foreland. (Janke)

From left to right: Sea aster; glasswort in the mudflats; centaury (Janke)

Sea pinks (Janke)

S A L T M A R S H E S | 17

Salt marshes – a colourful mosaic between the land and the sea

Your outing across the open surface of the mudflats ends not at the dike itself, but before that, amidst sweetly smelling and brightly blooming vegetation: this is the salt marsh.

The salt marsh habitat, present all along the edges of the mudflats, is home to by far the broadest range of animals and plants in the Wadden Sea area. Furthermore, many of the species occurring here are in fact only found in this relatively restricted environ-ment. The plants that can survive on this terrain, which is regularly flooded with salt water, have developed special strategies that allow them to cope here. For most flowering plants, salt water is lethal, but this is not the case for plants of the salt marshes.

16 | S A L T M A R S H E S

The closer they occur to the mudflats, the smaller their leaves are: indeed, the “real pioneers”, found right at the point where the mud-flats meet the salt marsh, have no leaves at all. The vegetation of a salt marsh can usually be categorised into the following sections:

The “pioneer zone” represents the transition between the mud-flats and the vegetation on land. The signature plant here is glass-wort, also known as samphire. In some places, there are also thick patches of cord grass.

The pioneer zone crosses over directly into the lower salt marsh. This section is dominated by sea purlane. In sum-mer, sea lavender and sea aster come into bloom with eye-catching, colour-ful flowers. If this sensitive, herb-like vegetation is used for grazing, a cover-ing of saltmarsh grass grows over the area.

The upper salt marsh is characterised by small shrubs, such as the pleasantly scented wormwood. Here, grazing prompts the growth of blackgrass and red fescue.

Many others of these herb-like plants benefit when the terrain is used for grazing. For instance, the North Foreland on Neuwerk is regularly used as a pasture ground, and sea pinks grow all over it in spring.

Thorny restharrows bloom in the sandy area around the Ostbake in summer. (Janke)

… and now that salt water can f low in and out again freely, it is not just the banks of the creeks that look like this. (Janke)

S A L T M A R S H E S | 19

The aromatic and silvery sea wormwood grows at the edges of the tidal creeks. (Janke)

Reviving the vegetation of the salt marshes in Neuwerk’s East ForelandThe salt marshes in Neuwerk’s East Foreland offer great potential for the wildlife of the island. However, after the summer dike was built in 1925, they were cut off from regular access to salt water. Consequently, the salt marsh plants there suffered badly, and the increasing percentage of freshwater in the soil caused their num-bers to decline considerably.

In order to halt this trend and allow the salt marshes to reform naturally, intensive cultivation of this part of the island was phased out with the opening of the National Park, and was stopped com-pletely in 2003.

In previous decades, the growth of plants in the foreland was restricted by intensive grazing … (Helm)

18 | S A L T M A R S H E S

2004 signalled a new dawn for the parts of the foreland that had previously been cut off from the sea. Following improve-ments to the island’s drainage system, the building of a new dam to separate the East and North Forelands, and reinforce-ment of the main dike, the eastern tidal gate can now remain open permanently, such that the sea can now enter the natural network of creeks once again.

Now that the foreland is regularly flooded at high tide, the salt washed in provides the essential conditions for the natural return of the salt marsh habitat. Frequent visitors to Neuwerk will be able to observe the vegetation in the East Foreland changing around the creeks and beyond: plants such as glasswort, sea wormwood, sea lavender and sea aster are claiming back their old territory.

The common seal –heraldic animals of the Wadden Sea

In 1988, when the awful news hit that the Wadden Sea’s common seals were suddenly dying in large numbers, it became clear that something needed to be done to protect the entire area. Then, just as the seal population had built back up after this viral epidemic, disaster struck again in 2002 when the virus broke out once more and killed approximately half of the remaining animals. Thus, the plight of the common seal serves as a clear demonstration of how quickly and dramatically changes within an ecosystem can occur when its capacity for self-preservation is not properly safeguarded.

These inquisitive seals can be observed all over the Wadden Sea from spring until late autumn, when they return to the open sea. At low tide, they head for the raised slopes of sandbanks, where they can rest after hunting for fish, shrimps and crabs.

Seal bank (Janke)

S E A L S | 21

JAN FEB

MAR

APR MAY

JUN JUL AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV DEC

Moulting period

Breeding period

Suckling period

Birthing period

Gestation period

Tourist season

(Res

ting

phas

e)

(Development phase)

Calendar of the common seal in the Wadden Sea

Com

mon

seal

s spend th

e winter months in the open waters of the North Sea

(Behnke, based on van Haaften and Walentowitz)

Common seal – also known as harbour seal (Janke)

20 | S E A L S

Between the end of May and the middle of July, each female finds a suitably calm and secluded spot and gives birth to a single pup at low tide. As soon as the tide comes in, the pups follow the mothers into the water and are suckled for another 4 or 5 weeks. During this period, mothers may leave their pubs on sandbanks or protec-ted parts of the coast for several days at a time before they return.

Whales in the Wadden Sea !There are even whales in the Wadden Sea! The most common indigenous species is the harbour porpoise – a small toothed whale, which is 1.5 m long and 40–80 kg heavy; however, it is seriously endangered, its numbers having been in decline for many years. Thousands are accidentally caught and die in fishing nets each year.

Unlike seals, harbour porpoises do not come onto the shore. How-ever, they do swim close to the coast, and may be seen just under the surface of the water. Every 15 seconds or so, they stretch their heads and dorsal fins out of the water for a quick a breath of air.

In addition to harbour porpoises, it is sometimes possible to see common bottlenose dolphins and white-beaked dolphins in the North Sea.

Since the end of the 1990s, sperm whales have also been found stranded in the Wadden Sea – including in

areas very close to Neuwerk. These giants of over 15 m, which live between the Norwegian Sea and the Azores, are most likely dis-turbed by intensive shipping and the noise from oil platforms at the northern entrance to the North Sea, and their confusion leads them to stray into the far too shallow waters of the Wadden Sea.

Found a seal or a whale?

Young seal (Körber)

S T R A N D E D A N I M A L S | 23

A secret inhabitant on our coasts: the harbour porpoise (Graner)

Tail fin of a sperm whale (Janke)

22 | W H A L E S

During your excursions excursions into the mudflats, you may well come across washed-up bodies of seals or whales. In the summer months in particular, new-born common seals are often found.

For your own safety, please observe the following rules:

Whether or not the animal is alive: please do not touch it. Make a note of the location of the animal and any further

relevant information. Report your sighting to the Nationalpark-Station

(tel. +49 (0)47 21-6 92 71) or the Nationalpark-Haus visitor centre (tel. +49 (0)47 21-39 53 49).

Stay well away from seal cubs! These “abandoned” pups are rarely actually alone! The mother has usually gone in search of food on the open sea, leaving her new-born on the sandbank or island only temporarily – though this may mean several days. The “crying” you may hear from cubs serves to ensure that the moth-ers find their young again when they return. Cubs calling for their mothers should not be disturbed or touched under any circum-stances. When the mother comes back, she will collect her pup and raise it until it can survive independently. However, if touched by a human, the mother will smell this on her cub and no longer provide for it. This “seals” the abandoned cub’s fate for the worse.

The Wadden Sea – a crucial hub for the East Atlantic flyway

Oystercatcher nest (left), brent geese taking off (right; both photographs: Janke)

Pale-bellie

d Brant Goose

Dark-bellied Brant G

oose

Flyway

Breeding grounds

Resting and wintering grounds

Greenland

Wadden Sea

Iceland

Spitzbergen

Ireland

Taymyr Peninsula

Franz Josefland

Flock of resting seabirds near Scharhörn (Helm)

B I R D M I G R A T I O N | 25

The Wadden Sea – a stop over for migrating birds and a nursery ground for seabirds

The banquet table that is the Wadden Sea is heaving with delica-cies. Each square metre of the mudflats contains approximately 300 grams of animal biomass. No wonder the Wadden Sea has become such an important habitat for bird life. Millions use the area every year as a site for breeding, moulting, wintering or “refuelling” on their long migration routes to the north or south. The Wadden Sea is of particularly crucial significance for the survival of many species of European waterfowl, as well as for terns and gulls. Three examples of its importance are given below:

From mid-June to September, around 200,000 shelducks come to the Elbe estuary to shed and regrow their worn-down feathers (a process known as moulting). This corresponds to at least three quarters of the entire European shelduck population!

The Wadden Sea is the ancestral breeding ground of the endangered sandwich tern, as well as a quarter of the remaining population of little terns, which are threatened with extinction.

Brent geese, migrating south from the Taymyr peninsula in northern Siberia, are fully dependent on the Wadden Sea as a crucial resting and feeding area: they consume the necessary fat reserves here before continuing their journey.

Sandwich terns (Helm) Shelducks (Janke)

24 | B I R D M I G R A T I O N

Visitors to the Wadden Sea will find that the bird life here offers a particularly exciting experience in autumn and spring. Although it is necessary to keep a good distance from colonies of breeding birds in order to ensure their protection, migrating birds can easily be observed in huge flocks on and above the mudflats. Especially thrill-ing performances are created by red knots when they gather to form enormous clouds in the air: when they all change direction at once, the colour of the entire flock changes in an instant from brown to red and white.

Experiencing nature – an alternative approach (Körber)

N A T I O N A L P A R K S | 27

National parks – experiencing and protecting our national natural heritage sitesLet nature be nature

National parks allow the natural diversity of species and their habitats to develop undisturbed. They protect large areas of particularly beautiful natural landscapes so that they can be conserved as natural heritage sites for current and future generations. National parks also contribute significantly to the preservation of endangered animal and plant species in the wild.

Learning to understand nature

There is only one large-scale coastal area in central Europe that has been protected from most forms of human intervention: the Wad-den Sea. In light of global climate change as provoked by man, and the consequent disruptions to the dynamics of natural processes,

nature conservation in this region has become increasingly important.

National parks can provide use-ful contributions in the field of ecological research, as long as the methods do not interfere with natural processes. This active research offers insight into the ways in which natural processes function and interact within an ecosystem. In the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park, the environmental observa-tion programme is particularly significant.

Collecting samples for the environmental monitoring programme (National Park Archive)

26 | N A T I O N A L P A R K S NationaleNaturlandschaften

Each year, for instance, numbers of all breeding and visiting birds are collected, the common seal population is counted from the air, and changes in vegetation and animal life in the mudflats are documented using a detailed grid referencing system.

Promoting environmental awareness and experiences with nature

National parks ensure that we realise that mankind in its very existence is part of nature. The large scale of these parks presents natural phenomena in a way that can be experienced directly and thus better under-stood. It is particularly excit-ing to observe how nature can

develop undisturbed in national parks. Natural environments that have not been interfered with offer visitors an unforgettable experi-ence: the idea is that “you can only really understand the meaning of something when you see it with your own eyes”.

Visitors to the Hamburg Wadden Sea are very welcome. There are several ways to get to know the various “building blocks” that make up the Wadden Sea for yourself, without damaging the surround-ing environment.

One especially interesting route that you can follow over the island is the National Park Discovery Trail with its numerous interesting stops along the way that you can admire, explore, and reflect upon.

Promoting sustainable use of natural resources

National parks are often located in areas of economic deprivation. The fact that they draw attention from visitors interested in nature offers the local population opportunities to share in working towards the aims of the national park programme. For instance, these opportunities include the establishment of sustainable eco-nomic activity within the context of the park and the development of a sustainable form of tourism that itself shares the aims of the national park and thus ensures a long-term source of income.

In 1992, the Hamburg Wadden Sea was approved by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve within the “Man and the Biosphere” programme (MAB), and included in the global network of biosphere reserves.

Case studies for sustainability

The idea of setting up a global network of sites of sustainably functioning human economic activity within natural environments was formed in 1970. Biosphere reserves are model areas in which the co-existence of man and nature is promoted and evaluated to provide case studies. They protect culturally valuable landscapes from destructive interference and preserve and promote suitable habitats for both humans and wildlife. They aim to establish a well-balanced relationship between natural processes and human activity, and thus provide exemplary material for the analysis of the interplay between natural and social developments. Today there are over 530 of these model regions worldwide that have been approved by UNESCO – 15 of which are in Germany. They all welcome visitors. (www.unesco.de)

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y | 29

Carbon-free energy production: solar panels on a roof on Neuwerk. (Janke)

Small-scale structured diversity in Neuwerk’s historical cultural landscape. (Janke)

Yellow rattle benefits from extensive agricultural activity. (Janke)

2 8 | S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

Top marks

Biosphere reserves must undergo a rigorous approval process in order to be recognised by the German national committee and UNESCO itself. They represent landscapes and complex ecosystems in biogeographical regions of special interest in Germany, and have the following objectives:

1. To preserve habitats, ecosystems, species and genetic diversity;

2. To promote human economic activity that is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable;

3. To promote monitoring projects, environmental education, research and environmental observation in the fields of conserva-tion and sustainable development.

Biosphere reserves differ from national parks in that they specifical-ly support human economic activity in certain sections of the model areas! In the Hamburg Wadden Sea, this is the case only in the “Innengroden” and in the North Foreland, which make up the so-called “buffer zone”. However, approximately 90 % of the Hamburg Wadden Sea remains within the “core zone” and is thus protected according to the principle of “letting nature be nature”.

Promoting sustainable management

In order to balance the preser-vation of Neuwerk’s cultural landscape with the interests of the people who live here, farm-ing in the “Innengroden” inside the perimeter of the dike, and in the island’s North Fore-land, is carried out in a man-ner that does not conflict with nature conservation priorities. The preservation of grassland is particularly essential for the protection of breeding m eadow birds and the migra-ting birds that use Neuwerk as an important resting area (see pp. 24–25). Every spring, thou-sands of sea geese pause their journey to stop over on Neuwerk and build up the fat reserves necessary for their long migration back to their breeding sites in Siberia.

The aim of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere pro-gramme is that all participants should benefit. Over the last few decades, the farms on the island have been able to expand into accommodation for tourists interested in nature: thus, thanks to the efforts to preserve the cultural and natural landscape of the area, the families here now gain business through hotel guests.

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y | 31 3 0 | B I O S P H E R E R E S E R V E S

Redshanks benefit from sustainable farm-ing practices. (Janke)

Cultivated pastures also offer seabirds a place to rest and feed. (Eisermann)

A special adventure: family-friendly sleeping arrangements in one of Neuwerk’s straw barns. (National Park Archive)

Preserving historical heritage

Neuwerk is home to Hamburg’s oldest relic of the Hanseatic period: the huge defence tower, which later became a lighthouse. Built over 700 years ago, it is the oldest public building on the German coastline, and certainly the oldest building in Hamburg. The view-ing platform, at a height of 30 m, guarantees a stunning panorama of the entire Hamburg Wadden Sea, along with its natural and cultural landmarks. Also of cultural and historical significance are the wooden “Ostbake” and “Nordbake” (former sea navigation markers). The Graveyard of the Nameless, established in 1319, is another site on the island with an interesting history: unidentified bodies that were washed up on the island in the past lie buried here. Even the disastrous storm floods of Christmas 1721 have left their mark: the pond at the northern corner of the “Innen-groden” was formed when the dike broke in that year. The new line of the dike now runs in a nose-like curve around it.

The double meaning of “Watt”

The island of Neuwerk is quite literally a place in the sun. An energy survey conducted in 2007 revealed that switching to renew-able energy generation sources would prepare the islanders for the future by helping the environment and saving money at the same time. Projects coordinated by the Neuwerkers themselves and the authorities in Hamburg are already in progress. Financial support from the city of Hamburg has made it possible to install solar panels for electricity generation and for direct heating. Meas-ures to save energy have also been implemented, such as insulating build-ings and recovering heat from cooling systems.

Passenger travel to and from Neuwerk is both environmentally friendly and traditional. The only energy necessary for this form of transport is consumed by horses on the island or on nearby p astures on the mainland.

R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y | 33 3 2 | C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E

This is the most comfortable way to travel across the mudflats – and no CO2 emissions or noise pollution either. (Körber)

Atmospheric sunrise by the “Ostbake”. (Meusel)

There are records of Neuwerk’s “Nordbake” from as early as the 16th century. It once stood in the foreland of the island. (Janke)

No one gets sent bills from the sun: solar panels on a roof on Neuwerk. (Meusel)

U N E S C O W O R L D H E R I T A G E S I T E | 35 3 4 | U N E S C O W O R L D H E R I T A G E S I T E

Globally unique

When you first set eyes on the enormous expanse of the mudflats, it can be hard to take it all in: in both size and characteristics, the Wadden Sea is the only place of its kind in the whole world, and is also largely preserved in its original form. This is why UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisa-tion, inscribed the transboundary German and Dutch sections of the Wadden Sea in the world heritage list in 2009.

This special honour puts the Wadden Sea on a par with natural wonders such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Grand Canyon in the USA, and Serengati National Park in Tanzania, as well as treasured cultural monuments such as the Inca temple of Machu Picchu in Peru, the megaliths at Stonehenge in the UK, and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The Hamburg Wadden Sea has been approved as part of the site since 2011, and thus forms part of a world-class natural heritage site.

The “outstanding universal value” of the Wadden Sea, as recognised by UNESCO, is based on its significance as an area of great biodi-versity, and on the ecological and geological processes that continue largely undisturbed by human activity.

Recognition brings responsibility

Of course, receiving the world’s highest-ranking award for a heri-tage site of international impor-tance brings with it an immense social responsibility: these world-class natural treasures must be preserved for future generations, and the Wadden Sea’s own par-ticular ecological dynamics must be protected, along with its status as a crucial stopover for migrating birds on the East Atlantic flyway.

In the cross-border area of the Wadden Sea, these challenges are met in a manner that demonstrates exemplary practice

on an international scale, coordinated by the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation between Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The Cooperation’s central administration is the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat in Wilhelmshaven (www.Waddensea-Secretariat.org / www.Wattenmeer-Weltnaturerbe.de).

The inclusion of the Hamburg Wadden Sea within the list of UNESCO’s heritage sites does not mean the end of “Project Wad-den Sea World Heritage Site”. The plan is for the Danish part of the Wadden Sea to be included as well. The world heritage com-mittee in Denmark is therefore working intensively on the appli-cation and further inscription together with the partners. Their achievement of world heritage status will help us to complete our transboundary responsibilities in the region. We want our grand-children and our great-grandchildren to be able to enjoy the wild and dynamic nature of the Wadden Sea as well.

World heritage site at our coast: “Primeaval beech forests” covering major parts of the Jasmund National Park. (Janke)

World heritage site on the other side of the world: the volcanic landscape of Tongario National Park in New Zealand. (Janke)

V E R E I N J O R D S A N D | 37

The National Park Authority – your local contact on the island

If the aims of our national park are to be implemented effectively, it is essential to maintain a permanent and comprehensive presence in the local area. To this ends, the National Park Authority runs the “Nationalpark-Station” at the foot of the lighthouse, which welcomes all visitors. This local presence serves to sustain good communication

with Neuwerk’s inhabit-ants and to ensure that the rules in place in the park are upheld, and is also the basis around which the environmental monitoring programmes are structured. Furthermore, the national park team provides the fol-lowing wide range of services:

Information and educational events, Subject-specific guided tours, Information material, Maintenance of information points

(i.e. display boards and the discovery trail), Supervision and implementation of nature conservation measures Advice on “eco-tourism” activities.

36 |

Ranger at work. (Janke)

Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park

A discovery tour with Verein Jordsand. (Köster)

Our partners in nature conservation – Verein Jordsand

The work of the National Park Authority on both nature conservation and visitor experience is carried out in close cooperation with active volunteers from the organisation Verein Jordsand (Jordsand Society for the Protection of Seabirds and Nature). Founded in 1907, Verein Jordsand has a long tradition as the oldest nature conservation organi-sation in Hamburg, and now maintains a total of 21 bird and nature reserves across Germany.

Verein Jordsand has been active in the field of bird and nature conser-vation since as early as 1939, when it officially took the “bird sanctu-ary” of Scharhörn under its proverbial wing. Today, the society works closely with the National Park Authority to look after visitors across the entire area of the Hamburg Wadden Sea. Anyone who wants to take part in exciting guided tours and events on bird life and the mudflats is warmly invited to get in touch with members of our team in the Nationalpark-Haus visitor centre.

Alongside public outreach events and environmental education, the “Jordsanders” are also responsible for systematic bird monitoring programmes. Breeding birds as well as resting seabirds and waders are surveyed and documented regularly, and all birds spotted on a daily basis are also recorded.

Come and meet us and find out about the wildlife here and our work in the national park. There is plenty to discover and experience here!

Welcome to the Nationalpark-Haus Neuwerk visitor centre!

In this colourful and exciting exhibition, visitors can discover many interesting and unusual facts about the fascinating world of the Wadden Sea. You can try everything out for yourself – it can all be touched and experimented with! We hope you have a great time here.

You will learn interesting and impressive things about the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park, and about the his-tory, c ulture and landscape of Neuwerk and the bird reserves of Scharhörn and Nigehörn.

On the upper level, we have an exhibition room with temporary displays on a range of subjects. Artists interested in exhibiting their work are welcome to get in touch. It is also possible for groups to book our naturally lit events room for seminars, lectures or laboratory work.

Younger visitors can look forward to games on the topic of the Wadden Sea habitat and an exciting quiz. Our scavenger hunt through the national park is fun for all ages.

V I S I T O R C E N T R E | 3938 | V I S I T O R C E N T R E

The opening hours of the visitor centre are dependent on the daily tides and the arrival times of the ferry (MS Flipper) and the horse-drawn carriages. We look forward to your visit! (Körber)

Experience a speeded-up version of the changing of the tides with our tide tank, and see the creatures of the mudflats up close. (Janke)

Exciting times: finding small animals and plants on the mudflats and examining their spectacular forms under the micro-scope! (Verein Jordsand)

Do you know what an oystercatcher sounds like? You can have fun matching the most common bird species to their calls using our bird diorama. (Janke)

The Nationalpark-Haus visitor centre is also the meeting point for most of the events and guided tours we have on offer, which can be found in our flyer “Events on Neuwerk”. The Verein Jordsand team and the National Park Authority will be happy to accompany you to the mudflats, the salt marshes, the seal bank or the bird reserve of Scharhörn, or on a bird-watching tour of the island.

Please keep to the path: hiking trail through the salt marshes in the East Foreland. (Janke)

R U L E S | 41

National park rules – so that man and nature can both get along

40 | R U L E S

Whether you reach the national park by ferry, carriage or on foot: Please respect the rules that serve to protect the nature here. Please help to ensure that future generations will also be able to experience and enjoy their unique habitat in its original form. Further infor-mation is available from the Nationalpark-Haus visitor centre and the Nationalpark-Station.

Zones of the national parkTh e Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park is divided into the large and strictly protected Zone I and the two smaller areas of Zone II (sustainable farming and nature tours permitted here). Th e maps at the end of this booklet will illustrate the division of the zones more clearly.

General rulesIn order to protect wildlife in the national park, the following activities are prohibited in all areas:

Disturbing, catching or killing animals in the wild, Destroying their homes, nests or eggs, Picking plants, Letting dogs off their leads (little exceptions such as main dike

on the island of Neuwerk), Polluting the area with sewage water, Camping anywhere other than on the designated camping sites

(near the farms).

Additional rules for Zone I

In Zone I, the following regulations also apply: Hiking is only permitted on the routes marked with clumps of

brushwood, and paths through the forelands marked with red wooden posts– this is for your own safety too.

Riding on the wadden fl ats is only permitted on routes marked with brushwood.

Scharhörn can only be visited after contacting the bird warden on the island and arranging a tour (tel. +49 (0)47 21-2 85 84).

Nigehörn cannot be visited at any time. Leaving boats on the exposed surface of the mudfl ats at low tide

is prohibited, as the birds need to be able to feed here undis-turbed so that they can provide for their young or build up fat reserves for migration.

Swimming and fi shing are not allowed. Special rules apply on the “Kleiner Vogelsand”: Hiking and

riding are both permitted here.

If you are in your own boat: Regulations apply as defi ned by the federal minister of transport in the “Verordnung über das Befahren der Bundeswasserstraßen in Nationalparken im B ereich der Nordsee” (Directive on transportation on national waterways in national parks in the North Sea area).

Where the sea floor and horizon meet – across the mudflats to Scharhörn. (Janke)

Atmospheric evening on the mudflats of Neuwerk. (Janke)

T O U R I S M I N T H E N A T I O N A L P A R K | 43

The perfect way to begin your holiday on Neuwerk: over the mudflats in a horse-drawn carriage. (Körber)

A national park with a heartEcotourism on the island of Neuwerk

42 | T O U R I S M I N T H E N A T I O N A L P A R K

Endless expanses form the signature landscape of the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park – and right in the middle of it all is Neuwerk. The traffic-free island is known to many as an insider tip. Peace and quiet are guaranteed here, and if you are looking to experience the nature of the Wadden Sea in its purest form, this is the place for you.

You will find useful information for planning your visit on the website of the National Park Authority (see overleaf). A complete directory of all services for tourists, such as hotels, B&Bs and restaurants, is available in our leaflet “National park with a heart”.

Further information on the national park and the biosphere reserve are available from:

(Foto Janke)

44 | C O N T A C T S

Freie und Hansestadt HamburgBehörde für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt Nationalpark-/Biosphärenreservat-Verwaltung Hamburgisches Wattenmeer Neuenfelder Straße 19, 21109 Hamburg (from July 2013) Tel. +49 (0)40-428 40 33 92, -21 69, -24 91Fax +49 (0)40-428 40-35 52 Internet: http://www.wattenmeer-nationalpark.de

Nationalpark-Verwaltung Hamburgisches Wattenmeer Nationalpark-Station, Turmwurt, 27499 Insel Neuwerk Tel. +49 (0)47 21-6 92 71, Fax +49 (0)47 21-2 88 60e-mail: np-station@nationalpark-wattenmeer.de

Verein Jordsand zum Schutz der Seevögel und der Natur e. V.Geschäftsstelle: ‘Haus der Natur’, 22926 Ahrensburg Tel. +49(0)41 02-3 26 56, Fax +49(0)41 02-3 19 83e-mail: info@jordsand.de Internet: http://www.jordsand.de

Nationalpark-Haus Neuwerk, 27499 Insel Neuwerk Tel. +49(0)47 21 39 53 49, Fax +49 (0)47 21 39 58 66 e-mail: np-haus@wattenmeer-hamburg.de

School hostel

Nationalpark-Station

Lighthouse

National park visitor centre

Gardens

Construction yard

Turmwurt

Ferry port

Grassland

Pastures

Woodland

Water bodies / ditches

Buildings

Ring dike

Lower salt marsh

Foreland

Mudfl ats

Zone I path

Mudfl at hiking path to Sahlenburg and Duhnen

Taps for foot-washing

National park visitor centre / public toilets

Yacht harbour

Local authority port

Lighthouse wharf

Amber exhibition („Haus Bernstein“)

school hostel „Meereswoge“

Salzgitter holiday camp

Island school

Graveyard of the nameless

Mittelweg (main road)

Bathhouse

Sports fi eld

Radar tower

Helipad

Sewage works

Ostbake (former sea navi-gation marker)East tide gate

North tide gate

Gallery

Neuwerk

Colony of breeding seabirds

Seal resting area

Hiking and riding permitted

Rescue cage

Waterway through mudfl ats (boats permitted)

Mudfl at hiking routeNeuwerk - mainland approx. 10kmNeuwerk - Scharhörn approx. 8 km

N

EW

S

0 1 2 3 4 5 km

Scharhörnri� (Reef of Scharhörn)

Paddlertrittstein

NIGEHÖRN

SCHARHÖRN

NEUWERK

Mittelgrund

Ferry route

Vogelsand

Kleiner

Bakenloch

Robbenloch

Nordertill

River Elbe

Zone I

Zone II

ZoneII

Sahlenburg

Lower SaxonyWadden Sea National Park

Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park

Lower SaxonyWadden Sea National Park

Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park

Neuwerker L

och

Muschel lo

ch

Elbe-Weser-Wattfahrwass

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(Helm)

  1 | Foreword

  2 | The Wadden Sea – where the sea floor and horizon meet

  4 | Neuwerk – tracing the history of the island

  6 | Scharhörn – island on the move

  8 | Nigehörn – new frontiers for nature conservation

10 | The mudflats – a second glance at the habitat

12 | Mudflat hiking – safety first!

14 | Tidal creeks – a window into coastal waters

16 | Salt marshes –colourful mosaic between the land and the sea

18 | Reviving the vegetation of the salt marshes in the East Foreland

20 | The common seal – mascot of the Wadden Sea

22 | Whales in the Wadden Sea

23 | Found a seal or a whale?

24 | The Wadden Sea – stopover for migrating birds and nursery ground for seabirds

26 | National parks – experiencing and protecting our national natural heritage sites

28 | Promoting sustainability in the biosphere reserve

34 | Wadden Sea World Heritage Site

36 | The National Park Authority & our partners in nature conservation

38 | Nationalpark-Haus visitor centre

40 | National park rules – so that man and nature can both get along

42 | A national park with a heart – ecotourism on the island of Neuwerk

44 | Contacts

45 | Folding maps

45 | Imprint

Imprint:

Publisher: FreieundHansestadtHamburg BehördefürStadtentwicklungundUmwelt NeuenfelderStraße19;D-21109Hamburg(fromJuly2013) www.hamburg.de/bsu

Text: NationalPark/BiosphereReserveAuthority: Dr.KlausJanke,PeterKörber,GabrieleMeusel VereinJordsand:ImmeSchreyEditingdeadline: Oktober2012Englishtranslation: HannahSmith(November2012)ResponsibleforthecontentunderGermanpresslaw: Dr.ElisabethKlocke

Design: GrafikbüroMatthiasBehnke,HamburgPaper: EnviroTop,100%recycledpaper

Donationsaccount: BundesbankHamburg,SWIFT-BIC:MARKDEF1200;IBANcodeDE66200000000020001560,Accountholder:KasseHamburg,Reference:“SpendenfürNaturschutzRef.4050600000004”.Donationsaretax-deductible!

Distribution and copyright disclaimer:ThisbooklethasbeenproducedaspartofthepublicrelationsprogrammeoftheHamburgSenate.Useofthismaterialbypoliticalparties,electioncandidatesandcampaignhelpersaspromotionalmaterialduringanelectioncampaignisstrictlyprohibited.Thisappliestocitycouncil,parliamentary,Europeanandlocalelections.

Itisanoffencetodistributethisbookletatcampaigneventsandatinformationstands,andtoinsert,printorotherwiseattachparty-politicalinformationintothebooklet.Itisequallyillegaltopassonthecontentsofthebooklettothirdpartiesforthepurposeofelectioncampaigning.

Evenwhennoimmediateconnectiontoanupcomingelectionisevident,thisleafletmaynotbeusedinanywaythatcouldbeunderstoodasthestategovern-mentshowingpartisanshiptowardsparticularpoliticalgroups.

Theconditionsdescribedapplyregardlessofwhen,howandinwhichquantitythebookletisusedbytherecipient.

“Freddy”,mascotoftheNationalParkHamburgWaddenSea

I M P R I N T     |   45 

Saltmarshes on the island of Neuwerk ( Janke)

NationaleNaturlandschaften

Welcome to our National Park

Hamburg Wadden Sea

National Park