| ‘In the face of growing concern over eutrophication problems in freshwater systems, phosphorus levels in European and North American rivers have been reduced…. However, despite these improvements, little progress has been made on the much more politically divisive issues of nitrogen inputs from agricultural activity and car emissions, overfishing, and coastal habitat loss. Until these much more difficult issues are confronted, the biogeochemical cycles of the coastal zone will remain under threat.’ This citation by Jickells (1998) clearly stresses the priority topics that have to be tackled in order to promote conditions that are required for the sustainable development of our coastal living environment.
The first three issues cited by Jickells (1998) are presented here with case studies selected from the ELOISE projects. Each of the case studies will be addressed under the following topics:
|
