Addressing the links between science and the real world with a sound scientific baseline, Coastal Water Bodies targets researchers of various disciplines whose interest lies in the integrated sustainable management of coastal water bodies. The main topic of this book is not the ecology according to its accepted meaning, but rather the ‘places and people’ concerned – the coastal zones of the Mediterranean that are rich in ecological value and the local people who survive thanks to these environmental resources.

Integration is the joint consideration of different aspects of water uses and values, and new ways of understanding and managing conflicts around water use are needed if people are to benefit from integration. Sustainability of the ecological and socioeconomic environments requires a climate in which conflicts, if they need to exist, are properly managed in a non-destructive manner.

The case studies examined throughout the book differ from one another in both the environmental as well as the social aspects. The results of the research show that in each case the potential solution to conflicts about water use requires a threefold comparison between: 1) the various environmental values present in the site, 2) the competing social interests, 3) the emerging environmental and social values from point 1) and 2). Whichever solution is applied can be subjective, but is not necessarily arbitrary and solutions may differ from case to case.