Introduction - Coastal Lagoons: Ecosystem Processes and Modeling for Sustainable Use and Development - page 2

role among the coastal zone ecosystems as they provide suitable breeding areas for
many species. Today many lagoons are deteriorating because of overuse of their
natural capital. Fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, urban, industrial, and agricultural
developments are typical uses that are not only uncontrolled but also competing.
The result is that the existing quality and future ability to sustain the productivity
of natural capital is being compromised. The environmental deterioration can be
characterized by dissolved oxygen deficits, aquatic toxicity, variation in organism
structure, disappearance of benthic animals, turbidity and odors, fish mortality,
sedimentation, and clogging of channels. These problems hinder future use of the
lagoons and surrounding environments and lead to loss of agriculture, fisheries, and
aquatic production as well as hinder tourism.
The loss and deterioration of coastal environments are being recognized. More
than 30% of the special protection areas designated under the European Union
directives for conservation are coastal and many NATO and EAPC countries have
developed a considerable body of protective legislation in recognition of the value
of coastal environments. Therefore, special emphasis must be given to the concept
of sustainable use management in decision making on the use and development of
the natural capital of coastal areas.

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE TOPIC

This topic suggests a basic framework for making informed decisions and taking
positive actions for the sustainable management of lagoon systems. The individual
chapters present the current status of available information on lagoon systems
and models that describe the processes and mechanisms of the interrelationships
and energy flow within a lagoons systems. The data and models are useful for
demonstrating the cause and effect relationship of changing input variables to
predict the alternative future outputs for a lagoon ecosystem. They form the basis
for decision-making. It is suggested that a decision support system should be
established and maintained on a continuing basis in order for sustainable man-
agement decisions to be effectively integrated into the socio-economic system
influencing the natural lagoon system.
It must be recognized that many decisions will be made temporally (over a
time scale) and spatially (across a wide geographic area and diverse societal
infrastructure units and levels) that affect each lagoon. It is critically important to
provide the best available knowledge and information in a coordinated way to
result in decisions that foster the sustainable management of these threatened
coastal systems. It is the task of decision makers to make choices that affect the
lagoon system using the best available information and tools. These decisions
inevitably center on finding the balance between the finite capacity of the lagoon
system and the many demands being placed upon it by the socio-economic system
that depends on it. Further, it is imperative to establish a process or plan by which
informed decisions can be made over time, and which provides consistency and
ensures coordination by the multitude of “users” of the lagoon system about the
future of the lagoon.