Book Review

by Paul Ganderton

Hinrichsen D 1998. Coastal Waters of the world - Trends, Threats and Strategies. Island Press. pp xxiii + 275. ISBN 1 55963 383 2.

Coastal waters are vital yet are often ignored. The rise of coastal populations leads to extreme pressure on, and degradation of, coastal resources; often the same resources that are critical for ocean ecosystem survival. Generally there has been little response, if any, by governments towards producing a viable (sustainable) resource policy. For the author these are the real problems facing us today (rather than sea-level rise which he suggests is a less immediate, real risk). The outcomes of his research (3 years and 100,000km across oceans) are put into this book. Rather than act as a text on coasts it is more a sourcebook of problems in each ocean area. His first three chapters provide a context for the study. Firstly, there is an examination of the rise of coastal populations (a theme that reoccurs throughout the text as population density maps). This leads to an examination of coastal fisheries (mostly in danger) and a study of sustainable development. This leaves 14 chapters to examine all coastal areas region-by-region. Although there is no rigid framework for the study each chapter contains a similar set of materials - geography, pollution, population, resources and management with different emphases to allow for the specific region's problems. The concluding chapter looks forward to an ideal scheme.

There is a tremendous amount of information in a small space. With each region unique, no two chapters are the same which allows an individual focus to be given. The conclusions at the end of each chapter illustrate the specific difficulties in that area. It is an excellent textbook. It's comprehensive coverage (in all senses) of human/coast interaction provokes thought and demands action. As an all-in-one guide to coastal environmental problems it's very hard to beat.