From Blåvands Huk to Den Helder in the Netherlands, tides and waves from the North Sea have created a 500 km long, shallow area protected by barrier islands. This landscape, the Wadden Sea, is one of the world's largest contiguous tidal areas. The natural biodiversity and dynamics of the intertidal area and natural coastal formation contributed to UNESCO in 2014 designating the Wadden Sea as a World Heritage Site. The Wadden Sea is Denmark's largest national park. The interplay between nature, tourism and the local inhabitants in the Wadden Sea area forms one of the central themes of the Danish Centre for Wadden Sea Research.

At the Danish Centre for Wadden Sea Research, we will contribute knowledge that can support sustainable management of natural resources in this globally important wetland area. The Centre will participate in local and regional initiatives as well as contributing to international research and monitoring activities that will support future knowledge needs. In this way, we will contribute to society's desire to safeguard the region's biological diversity.

The Danish Centre for Wadden Sea research will:

• Improve our understanding of the historical, present and future development of biological diversity in the region and the factors that affect it.
• Create connections between researchers, citizens, organisations, companies and government agencies, through our work to clarify the processes that shape the Wadden Sea, which are important for the dispersal and prevalence of the area's characteristic organisms.
• Develop and evaluate the effectiveness of protective measures and previous management initiatives to ensure the present and future biological diversity of the region.
• Develop our ability as researchers to provide consultancy on knowledge-based management of nature and the natural resources of the Wadden Sea now and in the future.
• Understand how to minimise conflicts between use and protection of the Wadden Sea.
• Communicate results of our research and monitoring, as well as experiences through lectures, popular and scientific articles aimed at users, managers and the international research environment.