TIDE considered tidally influenced North Sea Region estuaries with large sediment transportation, which were used as shipping channels to large harbours. The ecosystem services of intertidal and shallow estuarine habitats were threatened and needed to be considered to ensure economic benefits and the maintenance of ecologically important areas. At the same time, decision-makers at these estuaries were faced with an increasingly challenging legal and global economic framework.

TIDE led the path towards a more sustainable and effective use of large scale investments made into mitigation and compensation measures in North Sea Region estuaries by applying for the first time a unified ecosystem approach to guide the process of integrated participatory management planning.

Thus TIDE not only improved the effectiveness of European, national and regional policy and provided instruments for regional development, but made an essential contribution towards a more sustainable and effective use of investment into North Sea estuaries - since their planning would be based on a unified assessment concept and integrated management planning procedures.

Aim
The TIDE approach linked ecosystem services with economic values by coupling the physical needs for economical development with quantified ecosystem resilience needs. TIDE also derived and implemented new solution-oriented initiatives. Thus TIDE not only improved the effectiveness of European, national and regional policy and provided instruments for regional development, but made an essential contribution towards a more sustainable and effective use of investment into North Sea estuaries.

Background
TIDE focused on macro tidal estuaries used as shipping channels leading to large harbours further inland.

Increasing in the future is tidal action and sediment transportation that is very high and will steadily increase as the ecosystem services of intertidal and shallow estuarine habitats are threatened. At the same time decision-makers at these estuaries are faced with an increasingly challenging legal and global economic framework.

Clear objectives and tools were needed to ensure the proper implementation of the EU directives, such as the BHD and WFD. By quantifying resilience as a concept within the TIDE project, it was possible for the first time to synchronise the initiatives of estuaries which featured the same problems.

• Create same level of understanding among regional and international partners
• Set up of regional estuary working groups (REWG)
• SWOT analysis in each estuary as basis for future activities - areas for improvement identified
• Specific roadmap for an Integrated Estuarine Management Plan for each demo area (SRIEMP), activity plan for project period and beyond
• Convince policy makers: Harmonized starting point for future estuary management
• Refined SRIEMP produced for each estuary
• Stronger involvement of stakeholders and general public in all estuaries
• Improve knowledge on morphological and ecological interrelation - diminish return of dredged material into estuary
• TIDE Measure Box available to other estuary managers, experts and decision-makers
• Basis laid for estuary specific tasks and comparative analyses
• Further development of tools, measures, governance structures - TORs for joint guidelines.