One of the new national parks created in Denmark in the last few years is Nationalpark Vadehavet. Stretching along Jutland’s west coast from Ho Bugt (west of Esbjerg) to the German border, and incorporating the popular holiday islands of Rømø and Fanø, its marshlands provide food and rest for millions of migratory birds. In 2014, the park was admitted to the Unesco World Heritage list.
The Wadden Sea extends 450km, from west Jutland south and west to the Dutch island of Texel. Large parts of the Dutch and German Wadden Sea have been national parks for years; with the Danish area now also protected, this is one of the largest national parks in Europe. It is one of the most important areas for fish, birds and seals. Ten to 12 million waterbirds pass through the area on their way to/from their breeding grounds in northern Scandinavia, Siberia or Greenland. The birds forage in the sea’s tidal flats, which are exposed twice every 24 hours.
