Introduction

Abstract

There is a tendency towards an increasing burden to marine coastal systems as a direct result of growing human activities, which had already started at the end of the last century, but became especially manifest during the past three to four decades. Increasing amounts of various types of wastes and pollutants including nutrients enter the coastal waters via rivers, direct discharges from land drainage systems, diffuse land runoff, dumping and via the atmosphere. These wastes and pollutants are derived from industry, urbanization, traffic, agriculture and mariculture together with other forms of intensified use of land and sea.