The Code of Honor for Wadden Lovers is a set of tips to help protect and preserve the nature of Wadden Sea World Heritage Sites. In short: see birds and seals? Look, enjoy and respect nature by keeping your distance. Starting point of the Code of Honor is the responsibility and insight of the Wadden lover. For more than 20 years there has been a Code of Honor for the Wadden area. Because you adhere to this code, there is not only room for you; our animals can enjoy it too.
Keep at least 30 meters away from birds and seals. Come closer? If so, it can lead to stress in these animals, predation of their young or food shortages.
Are you boating? Then do not disembark until birds - which forage on the waterline - have disappeared. That way the animals can scavenge their food in peace and have plenty of energy.
Take care of nature and avoid closed nature areas, which is indicated on sea maps and in the area itself. Sensitive nature is located here.
Keep your garbage and throw it in the trash. This way you contribute to a clean and healthy Wadden Sea World Heritage Site.
Keep the dark really dark. Darkness is one of the primal qualities of the Wadden Sea region, as is silence and space. Enjoy it and count the stars.
Dogs are welcome. They just have to stay on a leash. That way birds and seals don't have to worry.
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The Wadden area is the largest nature reserve in the Netherlands and is home to a wilderness that is unparalleled: the Wadden Sea. Always in motion, no minute is the same and no day is the same.
Worldwide, the nature of the Wadden Sea is so special and important that in 2009 it received UNESCO World Heritage status. This recognition puts the Wadden Sea on par with such famous natural areas as Yellowstone National Park in the United States and Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The Wadden Sea obtained this status because - according to the United Nations - it meets three Exceptional Universal Values. These values revolve around the landscape that is constantly being reshaped and where (co-)life adapts to changing conditions. This makes the Wadden Sea of great importance for many animal and plant species.
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