Summary: | This book (the first in the collection) deals with a selection of estuaries which are characteristic of a whole continent: Australia. The country is so large that it spreads from the tropics (10th parallel) to the temperate zone in Tasmania. Estuaries themselves differ by an order of magnitude in terms of size; yet, they all have common properties and processes. In Australia, as anywhere else in the world, the coastal zone and its estuaries, large or small, are amongst the most endangered areas. Pollution, eutrophication, urbanisation, land reclamation, dams, irrigation, over-fishing and exploitation continuously threaten the future of some estuaries, which bear the full pressure of these developments. However, unaffected systems still exist in Australia and, if not strictly pristine, enjoy an exceptional ecological quality. In between these two categories, unfortunately some high-quality environments are currently being degraded because of loose management. The major challenge that humans face today is protecting estuaries, which benefit from a good ecological status, by managing their use. Preventing other systems to further degrade and restoring them require immediate action so that future generations can also enjoy the fantastic visual, cultural and edible products that they provide. Such an approach assumes that all users of the environment share views and are able to communicate wisely on the basis of robust science. Current changes in climate (e.g. temperature rise, sea-level rise, increased risks of floods and droughts and ocean acidification) may increase the risk of abrupt and non-linear changes in many estuarine ecosystems, which would affect their composition, function, biodiversity and productivity. In order to provide a solid scientific background to future debates, this book does not just attempt compiling case studies but puts into light best practice both in scientific research and coastal management.
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