342
T. Legovic and M. Ahel
Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS), the International Long-Term
Ecological Research (I-LTER), and Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone
(LOICZ). Along these lines, the Institute is interested to participate in the MERAN
network, offer its expertise, learn from the others and joins forces in researching the
causes and consequences of global change in the Mediterranean region.
2 Vision
The combined effects of global climate change and human alterations of the
environment will be especially pronounced in the coastal, shelf and estuarine zones
were population density is increasing most rapidly. It is here that the conflicts
between economic development, sustaining living resources, protecting and
restoring ecosystem health, mitigating natural disasters, and protecting public health
and safety will become most pronounced over the next several decades. As in many
coastal environments throughout the world, the watersheds of the Adriatic Sea are
regions of rapid population growth and changing land-use patterns that have led to
increases in nutrient loading and changes in freshwater flow patterns to coastal
waters.
The Adriatic region is characterized by intensive land-based and sea-based
activities, including urban growth and development, agriculture, commercial and
recreational fisheries, tourism, and multinational commerce. Changes in these
activities are widely believed to have elicited significant degradation of water
quality, manifested as mucilage events, oxygen depletion of bottom water, harmful
algal blooms, outbreaks of gelatinous zooplankton, invasions of non-indigenous
species, loss of habitat and instability of fisheries. Individually these phenomena
may not be cause of major concern. But taken as a whole, they may be indicative of
a pattern of environmental stress that threatens the health of coastal ecosystems of
the Adriatic as well as Mediterranean at large.
It is already apparent that changes in the coastal ecosystems are making coastal
zones more susceptible to environmental hazards (e.g. flooding, droughts, harmful
algal blooms, mucilage events, hypoxia). These hazards, which may occur on local
to regional scales, must be observed in te context of larger scale changes in
circulation, climate, and land-use practices in order to resolve natural perturbations
from man-induced changes. In addition, a predictive understanding of the causes
and consequences of environmental variability and of the man- or climate-induced
changes has to be achieved in order to develop effective and scientifically sound
rationale for different adaptation strategies.
Historically, efforts to understand, manage and protect the ecosystems and living
resources of the Adriatic Sea have been conducted mainly on a case-by-case basis by
individual nations and institutions for specific purposes with insufficient
coordination and collaboration. Today we see that the causes and consequences of
environmental change can only be understood and mitigated through a coordinated
T. Legovic and M. Ahel
Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS), the International Long-Term
Ecological Research (I-LTER), and Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone
(LOICZ). Along these lines, the Institute is interested to participate in the MERAN
network, offer its expertise, learn from the others and joins forces in researching the
causes and consequences of global change in the Mediterranean region.
2 Vision
The combined effects of global climate change and human alterations of the
environment will be especially pronounced in the coastal, shelf and estuarine zones
were population density is increasing most rapidly. It is here that the conflicts
between economic development, sustaining living resources, protecting and
restoring ecosystem health, mitigating natural disasters, and protecting public health
and safety will become most pronounced over the next several decades. As in many
coastal environments throughout the world, the watersheds of the Adriatic Sea are
regions of rapid population growth and changing land-use patterns that have led to
increases in nutrient loading and changes in freshwater flow patterns to coastal
waters.
The Adriatic region is characterized by intensive land-based and sea-based
activities, including urban growth and development, agriculture, commercial and
recreational fisheries, tourism, and multinational commerce. Changes in these
activities are widely believed to have elicited significant degradation of water
quality, manifested as mucilage events, oxygen depletion of bottom water, harmful
algal blooms, outbreaks of gelatinous zooplankton, invasions of non-indigenous
species, loss of habitat and instability of fisheries. Individually these phenomena
may not be cause of major concern. But taken as a whole, they may be indicative of
a pattern of environmental stress that threatens the health of coastal ecosystems of
the Adriatic as well as Mediterranean at large.
It is already apparent that changes in the coastal ecosystems are making coastal
zones more susceptible to environmental hazards (e.g. flooding, droughts, harmful
algal blooms, mucilage events, hypoxia). These hazards, which may occur on local
to regional scales, must be observed in te context of larger scale changes in
circulation, climate, and land-use practices in order to resolve natural perturbations
from man-induced changes. In addition, a predictive understanding of the causes
and consequences of environmental variability and of the man- or climate-induced
changes has to be achieved in order to develop effective and scientifically sound
rationale for different adaptation strategies.
Historically, efforts to understand, manage and protect the ecosystems and living
resources of the Adriatic Sea have been conducted mainly on a case-by-case basis by
individual nations and institutions for specific purposes with insufficient
coordination and collaboration. Today we see that the causes and consequences of
environmental change can only be understood and mitigated through a coordinated