Project website: https://www.parca-waddensea.net/
PaRCA
Pathways for Realising Climate Adaptation in the Wadden Sea
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Project summary
The Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is under acute threat from sea-level rise. Without effective sediment management, large parts of this unique ecosystem are at risk of disappearing. Yet efforts to adapt—such as sand nourishment or managed realignment—face complex governance challenges, including ecological uncertainties, administrative hurdles, and social tensions around the use and distribution of sediments.
The PaRCA project brings together partners from natural sciences, engineering, law, and the social sciences to co-develop strategies for adaptive, cross-border sediment management in the German-Dutch-Danish Wadden Sea. The project is implemented through a co-creation process, involving scientific partners and stakeholders from public authorities, NGOs, and local communities across the region.
PaRCA–Governance investigates how sediment management is shaped by formal (e.g., laws, policies) and informal (e.g., norms, conventions) institutions. Within PaRCA-Governance, our team at GCF analyzes how institutions influence societal conflict and acceptance in sediment-related decision-making.
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Our work follows three main steps:
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A governance overview that maps the institutional landscape and identifies barriers to the implementation of sustainable sediment strategies.
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Comparative case studies in Germany and the Netherlands that analyze how institutional factors contribute to social conflict or cooperation—e.g., in sand nourishment or managed realignment projects.
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Policy recommendations for more legitimate, adaptive governance arrangements, developed collaboratively through co-design and co-evaluation with partners.
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