Is ecological knowledge relevant to environmental policy and if so, to what extent and in what way? After a series of oxygen depletion events in coastal waters in the 1980s, North Sea states acted to reduce inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to the North Sea. The book analyzes the role of scientists and scientific information, as well as civil servants, in the formulation and implementation of these decisions.

This book provides examples of pollutants, such as accidental oil spills and non-degradable plastic debris, which affect marine organisms of all taxa. Terrestrial runoff washes large amounts of dissolved organic materials from agriculture and industry, toxic heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and persistent organic pollutants which end up into rivers, coastal habitats, and open waters. While this book is not intended to encyclopaedically list all kinds of pollution, it rather exemplifies the problems by concentrating on a number of serious and prominent recent developments. The chapters in this book also discuss measures to decrease and remove aquatic pollution to mitigate the stress on aquatic organisms. Aquatic ecosystems provide a wide range of ecological and economical services. In addition to providing a large share of the staple diet for a fast growing human population, oceans absorb most of the anthropogenically emitted carbon dioxide and mitigate climate change. As well as rising temperatures and ocean acidification, pollution poses increasing problems for aquatic ecosystems and organisms reducing its functioning and services which are exposed to a plethora of stress factors.

Eutrophication in the transitional marine coastal waters has increased dramatically in many parts of the world, and this evolution has shifted attention to the anthropogenic factor. The problem has become the theme of many conferences and workshops, as well as being given priority in international organizations. This volume has been brought about by the desire to assess both our scientific understanding as well as the means and technologies available to combat the problem of marine coastal eutrophication. It discusses the results of research and surveillance programmes carried out in the last decades, confronting these results with experience gained elsewhere, and reviewing current proposals of what can be done about the problem. This volume will be invaluable to environmental scientists and marine ecologists, as well as to those who wish to resolve the many large-scale environmental problems, specifically marine eutrophication and marine pollution in general.

Marine eutrophication has been recognized as a global problem with adverse effects on ecosystem’s health and the economies of coastal states. Most conventions regarding marine environmental protection of Regional Seas have given priority to eutrophication and relevant management practices. This book presents a global perspective of eutrophication in most of the Regional Seas, including the legal framework, assessment and management practices. Information on ecosystem’s impact as well as an outline of the methods used for assessing eutrophication is also provided. This volume will be useful to research students, marine scientists and policy makers working in marine environmental management. Key Features: Contributes to the understanding of the eutrophication processes and problems Presents an extensive account of the data analysis methods used for the quantitative assessment of eutrophication Looks the eutrophication status of the main regional seas Provides information on eutrophication politics and measures to mitigate eutrophication