The Cultural Sea

The Wadden Sea region is a typical example of what is often called a 'maritime cultural landscape', a landscape that is shaped by the forces of nature and culture and also a landscape in which the livelihood of the population is built on the use of resources from the land as well as from the sea. The author looks at the complex relation between nature and society in the Wadden Sea region in the past as well as in the present. For the sustainable management of this region, an integrated approach combining developments in nature and society is necessary. The artificial border between nature and culture introduced by some ecologists and authorities (the most notorious example being the inscription of the Wadden Sea as a World Heritage Site) is a source of conflict and complicates an integral management of the Wadden Sea region. The author is convinced that the Wadden Sea should be seen as a cultural landscape.

[Abstract] The Wadden Sea region is a typical example of what is often called a 'maritime cultural landscape', a landscape that is shaped by the forces of nature and culture and also a landscape in which the livelihood of the population is built on the use of resources from the land as well as from the sea. In this presentation we will look at the complex relation between nature and society in the past as well as in the present. For sustainable management of the Wadden Sea regions, an integrated approach, combining developments in nature and in society, is necessary. The artificial border between nature and culture that are introduced by some ecologists and by many authorities (the most notorious example being the inscription of the Wadden Sea as a natural site on the World Heritage List) is a source of conflicts and complicates an integral management of the Wadden Sea region. Ladies and gentlemen, Firstly, I want to thank the organisation for the invitation to present this lecture. In this presentation, I want to stress the importance of seeing the Wadden Sea region as a cultural landscape. Therefore I start with some introductory remarks on the concepts of nature and landscape and on the relation between them. In the second part I look at the history of the Wadden Sea region, focusing on the land-water interface. I finish with a few remarks on the Wadden Sea as World Heritage.

Waddenland Outstanding

The Wadden region is a cultural landscape of exceptional cultural historical value. The present article describes in qualitative terms how the cultural landscape of the Wadden Sea region came about through the complex interaction of people and nature. Human impact on this region has occurred in stages, with changes in the way of life, technology, the organisation of labour and the use of natural and fossil fuels playing a key role. With each stage, the impact of people on the natural environment increased exponentially, bringing with it each time a combination of intended and unintended outcomes. Although technological or organisational innovations meant that people were sometimes successful at overcoming these effects, at other times they were not.

The Wadden region is a cultural landscape of exceptional cultural historical value. The present article describes in qualitative terms how the cultural landscape of the Wadden Sea region came about through the complex interaction of people and nature. Human impact on this region has occurred in stages, with changes in the way of life, technology, the organisation of labour and the use of natural and fossil fuels playing a key role. With each stage, the impact of people on the natural environment increased exponentially, bringing with it each time a combination of intended and unintended outcomes. Although technological or organisational innovations meant that people were sometimes successful at overcoming these effects, at other times they were not.

Waddenland Outstanding, 2018

Landscape Ecology