Field Report: ECSA Symposium: “The Wadden Sea: Changes and Challenges in a World Heritage Site”

The International ECSA Symposium on “The Wadden Sea: Changes and Challenges in a World Heritage Site” held May 3-6, 2010 brought together members of international scientific community to discuss issues surrounding the sedimentary coasts of the world with a special emphasis on the European Wadden Sea, now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mofizur Rahman (Bangladesh), Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

Recently I attended the International ECSA Symposium on “The Wadden Sea: Changes and Challenges in a World Heritage Site” held May 3-6, 2010 at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research: Wadden Sea Station, Sylt, List, Germany.

It was a wonderful experience to meet members of international scientific community and discuss issues surrounding the sedimentary coasts of the world with a special emphasis on the European Wadden Sea which has now been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Scientific sessions were presented on a diverse range of topics including geological development, climate change, sea level rise, ocean acidification, biodiversity and the future of the heritage site. A philosophical debate on conservation of marine biodiversity from a species specific approach to holistic ecosystem based approach also took place. Results of several research projects placed the Wadden Sea coastal system in a global context. Comparisons with the past and other coasts of the world were used to dicuss general strategies for coastal adaptations in the 21st century and beyond. In additions to the sessions and poster presentations, there were plenty of informal discussions with coffee and wonderful food in newly built AWI Wadden Sea Station, as well as tidal mud flood, mussel bed, hiking and biking excursions in List. Bangladesh, my native country also has a sedimentary coast which is partly occupied by mangrove forest. At the conference I was able to present a poster of my Bachelor Thesis, “Nature of Solute load in mangrove ecosystem: A study in Bangladesh”. It was really enjoyable to comparison of two different regional ecosystems from a global change perspective.