Together with other German and Dutch Wadden Sea areas it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 26 June 2009 because of its relatively undisturbed intertidal ecosystem and its unique biodiversity.

The water areas contain the offshore part of the park as well as huge tidal currents like the Lister Tief, the Heverstrom, the Purrenstrom, the Wesselburener Loch or the Piep.

Common plants are seaside centaury (Centaurium littorale), red eyebright (Odontites rubra), see plantain (Plantago maritima) and distant sedge (Carex distans).

[24] The population of the northwest-European common shelduck, which numbers 180,000 birds, spends the time of moulting between July and September in the Wadden Sea, mainly around the protected island of Trischen.

[15] The sand gaper was probably introduced by the Vikings from America; the American piddock arrived at the end of the 19th century, while the appearance of the Atlantic jackknife clam in the Wadden Sea is known since 1976.

Only some small fishes are completely domestic in the mudflat, e.g. eelpout (Zoarces viviparus), sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus) and sea scorpion (Myoxocephalus scorpius).

In 1963 the Wadden Sea Conservation Station demanded a "Großschutzgebiet Halligmeer" (protection of the area around the small undyked islands off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein).

[28] It was not until 1985 that the Wadden Sea was declared a national park due to political tensions within the local population which are caused by a strong traditional desire for freedom by Frisian people.

The distinction as a National Park led to protesters throwing eggs at the responsible minister and a shrimp boat demonstration in the Kieler Förde.

The National Park Wadden Sea being governed by the "far away city" Kiel felt like heteronomy by politicians who have no relation to local agriculture, fisheries and had never experienced the danger of storm surges.

The synthesis report which was commissioned by the Environment Secretary Berndt Heydemann was discussed in over 200 local assemblies and 15 meetings of national park boards of trustees.

Especially, North Frisian people led by the head of district administrator Olaf Bastian (CDU) were dedicated enemies of an expanding national park.

In Büsum 1000 people, including many local shepherds working at the dykes and shrimp fishermen, protested because they felt limited in their freedom and negatively affected in their income.

[34] To control non-official criticism and promote cooperation between locals and the National Park Administration the law created countless platforms for task forces and projects.

The administrative districts North Frisia and Dithmarschen and the local communities are members of the boards of trustees which are instruments to pool statements and influence on the national park.

The National Park Administration tries to solve conflicts and work more efficient by making agreements with user groups to manage the details of the Park´s utilization.

They negotiate treaties with fishermen, the guides for mudflat tours, the operators of excursion boats, but as well with communities like Sankt Peter-Ording, Westerhever or the Hamburger Hallig.

In the SÖM Watt report, data about the regional economy, the demographic developments, opinions and wishes of the local population are gathered and analysed.

[43] One can assume that unofficial numbers are much higher because the official statistics don’t include private renting with less than 10 beds to sleep in, long-time camping, and staying overnight in houses / flats of relatives or friends.

To determine a total number of tourists the researchers combine official counting with other representative surveys with topics related to tourism in the North Sea region.

[51] As a part of the INTERREG IV B-project PROWAD another survey was made asking people to which degree the status of a national park influenced their decision during vacation planning to travel to the North Sea region.

Other tourist attractions which also provide information about the national park and the World Heritage status are the "Seehundstation Friedrichskoog" and the "Erlebniszentrum Naturgewalten List" (Sylt).

[52] The head of the "Vergaberat" is Anja Szczesinski (World Wide Fund for Nature), the chief executive is Matthias Kundy (National Park Administration).

On the other hand Atlantic cod, European plaice and common sole are hardly fished at all due to strict catch quota and other protection measures.

A special decree on moving through the Wadden Sea by the Federal Government of Germany applies to the maritime area of the national park shipping channels.

The decree allows for example temporal closure of conservation zones for the protection of breeding birds and grey seals or bans on driving during low tide.

Changing weather conditions, strong storms and limited range of sight are pretty common for the region, so naval accidents are ongoing hazards for the flora and fauna of the national park.

But more common than naval accidents are oil-polluted birds due to captains illegally dumping oil into the sea close to the national park.

The biggest threat the national park ever experienced happened on 29 October 1998 when the cargo ship MV Pallas, on fire and abandoned, ran aground near the island Amrum.

1.1 Million Cubic meters are extracted every year for example for beach replenishment at the west coast of Sylt, for renewing the Hallig islands or to restore dikes.