The WADcouple project is the synthesis and transfer project of the current (2024-2028) trilateral Wadden Sea research. The project started in June 2025 and aims to leverage the scientific findings of trilateral Wadden Sea research for policy and enrich them with a socio-ecological perspective.

To this end, the WADcouple project organises a transdisciplinary knowledge integration process on three different layers. On the first layer, the integration and synthesis of the newly acquired knowledge from the five projects of the trilateral Wadden Sea research (ParCA, SALTGARDEN, TRICMA2, Sedway, WADWAD) will be organised. At the second layer, the active integration of societal actors not yet represented in the individual projects will be sought. At the third layer, the integration of knowledge from the five projects will be deepened and utilised for the evaluation of different use scenarios in the Wadden Sea region through the development of a socio-ecological perspective.

Link to the procect homepage.

This project uses a holistic transdisciplinary research approach to develop recommendations for action to minimise the impact of multiple stressors on biodiversity, functionality and the food web along the German North Sea coast. Together with key actors from the administration and ecosystem users to be identified during the project, the project is developing various building blocks for the implementation of the ecosystem concept. The aim of the UOL project is to understand the implementation of ecosystem-based management in the Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Parks, to enable a transdisciplinary assessment and to develop a decision-making toolkit to support implementation. To this end, the implementation of the transdisciplinary research agenda developed in iSeal1 will be continued. The inter- and transdisciplinary approach of the research agenda enables an efficient knowledge transfer and an integrative dialogue between the scientific and societal partners of the iSeal2 project.

The aim of the WADWAD project is to develop an innovative, climate-resilient and ecosystem-based action plan for the Wadden Sea's land-sea transition zones. This trilateral action plan will be designed on the basis of knowledge from various scientific disciplines, the expertise of decision-makers from politics, administration and management and the opinions of local coastal residents. The focus here is on creating knowledge about the regional effects of the complex interrelationships between sediment dynamics, climate change and ecosystem loss. This will make it possible to develop ecosystem-based adaptation scenarios that offer concrete, local solutions to the challenges of sea level rise and climate change.

Link to the project homepage.