Memorandum of Understanding Banc d'Arguin - Wadden Sea

The intertidal ecosystem of Banc d’Arguin at the West African Atlantic coast shares the Wadden Sea’s significance for migratory birds and World Heritage status. It is the most important wintering area for Wadden Sea birds along the East Atlantic Flyway (EAF) in Africa. In the interest of the better protection of migratory birds along the EAF, the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation (TWSC) and Mauritania's Banc d´Arguin National Park (PNBA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 12th Trilateral Governmental Conference in Tønder, Denmark, in 2014.

Since the signing of the MoU, there have been bilateral visits of managers and scientists, a joint action plan and cooperation in bird monitoring. Moreover, PNBA joined the Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative, launched to strengthen waterbird conservation and monitoring along the East Atlantic Flyway.

The TWSC and PNBA strive towards coordinated or joint dissemination of information and participation at national and international level to inform about the joint responsibility on their shared migratory bird populations including habitats using the EAF in order to raise awareness on the necessity of and the cooperation in international migratory bird conservation.

Regular exchange visits and exchange of know-how between experts, site managers and other experts are also part of the collaboration, with the aim of harmonising common monitoring and management methods, creating a shared level of knowledge and understanding and of further research.

Joint migratory bird monitoring programmes and common scientific and management projects have been established to promote conservation and management of the natural resources of the Wadden Sea and Banc d’Arguin.

Signing the MoU at the Trilateral Wadden Sea Conference 2014. CWSS.