Netherlands' Wadden Sea On UNESCO World Heritage List for Its Natural Beauty

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, July 13, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNESCO just announced
that it has placed the Wadden Sea in the Netherlands on the World Heritage List.
This puts the Wadden Sea on the same footing as other world famous natural
wonders on the World Heritage List such as the Grand Canyon in the USA and the
Great Barrier Reef in Australia. UNESCO underlines with the allotment of this
prestigious predicate that the Wadden Sea has such natural value to the world
that it deserves this protection and must be cherished and kept safe for future
generations. The Wadden Sea World Heritage Site encompasses the Dutch and German
parts of the Wadden Sea. It covers an area of almost 10,000 square kilometers
along a coastal strip of about 400 kilometers.

In order to be included in the World Heritage List, an area must be of
outstanding universal value and be intact, and its protection must be
guaranteed. UNESCO uses several different criteria to assess whether an area
merits World Heritage Site status. It deemed the Wadden Sea to be globally
unique in at least three of those criteria.

One of the reasons the area has been placed on this list is because it's unique
in its variety. The Wadden Sea has many different kinds of habitat and therefore
offers a home to more than 10,000 plant and animal species. Furthermore the
Wadden Sea is unique in the whole world in demonstrating how nature, plants and
animals adapt themselves to constantly changing conditions in an area where
fresh water (from land) and salt water (from the sea) meet. Low and high tide
alternate every six hours in the Wadden Sea, bringing about stunning changes to
the landscape almost every minute of the day.

The Wadden Foundation -- the collaboration of the five tourist offices on the
Dutch islands in the Wadden Sea -- is pleased with the allotment. Chairman Jaap
van der Ploeg reacts: "The coronation of this unique tidal landscape is totally
justified. We sincerely hope that more people will come and discover the new
World Heritage Site with their own eyes. A visit to one of our five pearls in
the Dutch Wadden Sea -- the islands Schiermonnikoog, Texel, Ameland, Vlieland
and Terschelling -- will remain a fantastic way for people to discover the World
Heritage Site."

More information can be found at:

http://www.dutch-frisian-islands.com/waddensea-world-heritage/

http://www.worldheritage-waddensea.org

Note to Editors: images available upon request.

-0-
CONTACT: Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions
Barbara Veldkamp, Manager Media Relations
917-720-1279
bveldkamp@holland.com

Wadden Foundation
Matthijs van Walsum, Marketing manager
+31 (0) 6-1551 9230
mvanwalsum@wadden.nl