The need for international co-operation in the management of coastal environments     

Sir Martin Holdgate   《Marine pollution bulletin》1994,29(6-12):601-608

The coastal zones are areas of high biological productivity and intense human pressure. Environmental challenges arise from pollution and from urban and industrial development. Administrative, social and legal challenges centre upon the need for sound management of coastal zone resources, as an important component of national strategies for sustainability. A number of specific actions have been set out in Agenda 21, the principal product of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. But these need to be carried forward within cross-sectoral, integrated coastal area management procedures. International action is also needed because marine ecosystems rarely coincide with national boundaries, and are affected by international economic, social and legal decisions.

International scientific co-operation on marine issues is already well established, and many regional action plans and Conventions have been adopted. Technological co-operation is less advanced. Such efforts need to be intensified, and continuously adapted. Sound plans for the future must be based on good science, critical economic evaluation of resources, sensitive evaluation of social and cultural factors and of the needs of local communities, evaluation of the risks of climate change, sea-level rise and other changes, and monitoring as a basis for continuing adaptation.  相似文献   

Modelling groundwater levels in an urban coastal aquifer using artificial neural networks   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

B. Krishna  Y. R. Satyaji Rao  T. Vijaya 《水文研究》2008,22(8):1180-1188

The prediction of groundwater levels in a basin is of immense importance for the management of groundwater resources, especially in coastal regions where the water table fluctuations are to be limited to avoid seawater intrusion. In this paper, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) methodology is presented to predict groundwater levels in individual wells with one month lead. Groundwater levels were also predicted in neighboring wells using model parameters from the best network of a well. This methodology is applied to an urban coastal aquifer in Andhra Pradesh state, India. The results suggest that the feed forward neural network with Levenberg Marquardt (LM) algorithm is a good choice for predicting groundwater levels in individual wells. Bayesian Regularization (BR) model parameters of Balaji Nagar well are also used successfully to predict groundwater levels in the study area. It was observed that the ANN‐based algorithms were a better choice for the prediction of groundwater levels with limited hydrological parameters. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Honduras: Caribbean Coast     

Harborne AR  Afzal DC  Andrews MJ 《Marine pollution bulletin》2001,42(12):1221-1235

The coast of Honduras, Central America, represents the southern end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, although its marine resources are less extensive and studied than nearby Belize and Mexico. However, the coastal zone contains mainland reef formations, mangroves, wetlands, seagrass beds and extensive fringing reefs around its offshore islands, and has a key role in the economy of the country. Like most tropical areas, this complex of benthic habitats experiences limited annual variation in climatic and oceanographic conditions but seasonal and occasional conditions, particularly coral bleaching and hurricanes, are important influences. The effects of stochastic factors on the country's coral reefs were clearly demonstrated during 1998 when Honduras experienced a major hurricane and bleaching event. Any natural or anthropogenic impacts on reef health will inevitably affect other countries in Latin America, and vice versa, since the marine resources are linked via currents and the functioning of the system transcends political boundaries. Much further work on, for example, movement of larvae and transfer of pollutants is required to delineate the full extent of these links.

Anthropogenic impacts, largely driven by the increasing population and proportion of people living in coastal areas, are numerous and include key factors such as agricultural run-off, over-fishing, urban and industrial pollution (particularly sewage) and infrastructure development. Many of these threats act synergistically and, for example, poor watershed management via shifting cultivation, increases sedimentation and pesticide run-off onto coral reefs, which increases stress to corals already affected by decreasing water quality and coral bleaching. Threats from agriculture and fishing are particularly significant because of the size of both industries. The desire to generate urgently required revenue within Honduras has also led to increased tourism which provides an over-arching stress to marine resources since most tourists spend time in the coastal zone. Hence the last decade has seen a dramatic increase in coastal development, a greater requirement for sewage treatment and more demand for freshwater, particularly in the Bay Islands.

Although coastal zone management is relatively recent in Honduras, it is gaining momentum from both large-scale initiatives, such as the Ministry of Tourism's ‘Bay Islands Environmental Management Project', and national and international NGO projects. For example, a series of marine protected areas and legislative regulations have been established, but management capacity, enforcement and monitoring are limited by funding, expertise and training. Existing and future initiatives, supported by increased political will and environmental awareness of stakeholders, are vital for the long-term economic development of the country.  相似文献   

Coastal aquifer response to extreme storm events in Emilia‐Romagna,Italy          下载免费PDF全文

Beatrice M.S. Giambastiani  Nicolò Colombani  Nicolas Greggio  Marco Antonellini  Micòl Mastrocicco 《水文研究》2017,31(8):1613-1621

With global warming and sea level rise, many coastal systems will experience increased levels of inundation and storm flooding, especially along sandy lowland coastal areas, such as the Northern Adriatic coast (Italy). Understanding how extreme events may directly affect groundwater hydrology in shallow unconfined coastal aquifers is important to assess coastal vulnerability and quantify freshwater resources. This study investigates shallow coastal aquifer response to storm events. The transitory and permanent effects of storm waves are evaluated through the real time monitoring of groundwater and soil parameters, in order to characterize both the saturated and unsaturated portions of the coastal aquifer of Ravenna and Ferrara (southern Po Delta, Italy). Results highlight a general increase in hydraulic head and soil moisture, along with a decrease in groundwater salinity and pore water salinity due to rainfall infiltration during the 2 days storm event. The only exceptions are represented by the observation wells in proximity to the coastline (within 100 m), which recorded a temporary increase in soil and water salinity caused by the exceptional high waves, which persist on top of the dune crest during the storm event. This generates a saline plume that infiltrates through the vadose zone down to the saturated portion of the aquifer causing a temporary disappearance of the freshwater lens generally present, although limited in size, below the coastal dunes. Despite the high hydraulic conductivity, the aquifer system does not quickly recover the pre‐storm equilibrium and the storm effects are evident in groundwater and soil parameters after 10 days past the storm overwash recess.  相似文献   

Willingness to pay among households to prevent coastal resources from polluting by oil spills: A pilot survey     

Xin Liu  Kai W. Wirtz  Dietmar Kraft 《Marine pollution bulletin》2009,58(10):1514-1521

In many coastal regions oil spills can be considered to be one of the most important risks for the coastal environment. Efficient contingency management in responding to oil spills is critically important. Strategic priorities in contingency management highly depend upon the importance attributed to different economic and ecological resources such as beaches or birds. Due to the lack of a market for natural resources in the real world, these resources cannot be directly measured in monetary terms. This increases the risk that natural resources and their services are neglected in contingency decision making. This paper evaluates these natural resources in a hypothetical market by using the methodology of stated choice experiments. Results from a pilot survey show that according to the perspective of individuals, an oil spill combat process should focus on the protection of coastal waters, beaches and eider ducks.  相似文献   

Forest fire effects on groundwater in a coastal aquifer (Ravenna,Italy)          下载免费PDF全文

Beatrice M. S. Giambastiani  Nicolas Greggio  Giovanni Nobili  Enrico Dinelli  Marco Antonellini 《水文研究》2018,32(15):2377-2389

We examined the fire‐induced changes in groundwater recharge rate. This aspect is particularly important in the case of large forested areas growing over a coastal aquifer affected by saltwater intrusion. In the Ravenna coastal area (Italy), pine forests grow on coastal dune belts, overlying a sandy unconfined aquifer, which is strongly affected by marine ingression. Three groundwater profiles across the forest and perpendicular to the coastline were monitored for groundwater level, physical, and chemical parameters. The aims were to define groundwater quality, recharge rate, freshwater volume, and highlight change, which occurred after a forest fire with reference to pre‐fire conditions. Analytical solutions based on Darcy Law and the Dupuit Equation were applied to calculate unconfined flow and compare recharge rates among the profiles. The estimated recharge rates increased in the partially and completely burnt areas (219 and 511 mm year^?1, respectively) compared with the pristine pine forest area (73 mm year^?1). Although pre‐fire conditions were similar in all monitored profiles, a post‐fire decrease in salinity was observed across the burnt forest, along with an increase in infiltration and freshwater lens thickness. This was attributed to decrease canopy interception and evapotranspiration caused by vegetation absence after the fire. This research provided an example of positive forest fire feedback on the quantity and quality of fresh groundwater resources in a lowland coastal aquifer affected by saltwater intrusion, with limited availability of freshwater resources. The fire provided an opportunity to evaluate a new forest management approach and consider the restoration and promotion of native dune herbaceous vegetation.  相似文献   

Ecosystem objectives to support the UK vision for the marine environment     

Rogers SI  Tasker ML  Earll R  Gubbay S 《Marine pollution bulletin》2007,54(2):128-144

European Maritime States already have commitments to protect species and habitats and maintain quality standards in coastal and offshore waters. These are a direct response to environmental legislation in Europe and commitments made to biodiversity conservation in OSPAR and at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. An integrated approach to management requires that these are consistent with the requirements for sustainable development, and include wider social considerations and active stakeholder participation. This review describes a hierarchical framework that incorporates the marine objectives and delivery statements of ecological, social and economic sectors. The framework leads from the UK's guiding principles for sustainable development, through visionary statements and strategic goals for high level delivery, to operational objectives and statements of action which deliver management. Parts of this hierarchy can already be populated for the UK, especially those at the higher levels. At the operational level, however, there is less clarity. The review shows that, despite some gaps, existing commitments for ecological components of the ecosystem are transparent and generally conform to this framework, due largely to high profile government funding of environmental protection and science and a single national vision for the marine environment. Specific objectives for six components of the ecosystem were developed; benthic habitats, seabirds and mammals, phytoplankton and zooplankton, fish, and physical/chemical quality of the water and atmosphere. The objectives included some that avoided limits and others that aimed to achieve targets, and for management to be effective it will be important to have a common understanding of how these can together be interpreted and made operational. In a review of 13 social and economic sectors, few provided a clear breakdown of objectives leading from a high level vision or a sustainable development principle. Six sectors did not have high level government targets for production or other measures of sectoral performance. Such commercial operations generally determine their own operational delivery targets based on market forces. Recent proposals in Europe to create an integrated framework for social, economic and environmental activities will need to carefully balance the development of a strong and competitive marine economy with existing international obligations to environmental protection.  相似文献   

Mangrove Conservation and Coastal Management in Southeast Asia: What Impact on Fishery Resources?   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Eric Baran  John Hambrey 《Marine pollution bulletin》1999,37(8-12):431-440

This paper focuses on relationships between mangroves and coastal fish resources. A review of the literature highlights the lack of quantified relationships. We show that mangroves can be considered as a particular case of an estuarine environment, and then address the broader issue of the relationships between tropical estuaries and fishery resources. An estuarine fish community is composed of three main assemblages, respectively from continental, strictly estuarine or marine origin. The major characteristics of these assemblages are defined. On this basis we detail the different and sometimes opposite impacts of major rehabilitation actions on each assemblage. The biological approach is then widened by a critical overview of current approaches in economic valuation of mangrove-related fish resources. This provides a rational and scientific foundation for economic analysis of resources and for coastal management decisions, and allows us to define priorities for further scientific and policy research in these areas.  相似文献   

Adaptation of water resources systems to changing society and environment: a statement by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences     

Serena Ceola  Alberto Montanari  Tobias Krueger  Fiona Dyer  Heidi Kreibich  Ida Westerberg 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(16):2803-2817

ABSTRACT

We explore how to address the challenges of adaptation of water resources systems under changing conditions by supporting flexible, resilient and low-regret solutions, coupled with on-going monitoring and evaluation. This will require improved understanding of the linkages between biophysical and social aspects in order to better anticipate the possible future co-evolution of water systems and society. We also present a call to enhance the dialogue and foster the actions of governments, the international scientific community, research funding agencies and additional stakeholders in order to develop effective solutions to support water resources systems adaptation. Finally, we call the scientific community to a renewed and unified effort to deliver an innovative message to stakeholders. Water science is essential to resolve the water crisis, but the effectiveness of solutions depends, inter alia, on the capability of scientists to deliver a new, coherent and technical vision for the future development of water systems.