Coastal wetlands: A geographical analysis and some projects for management
Abstract At the interface of sea and land, coastal wetlands represent specific environments of great ecological value. They may be defined as open bioenergetic systems of high quality due to the intense exchanges which take place there, i.e. sedimentary, gaseous, hydrological and biological exchanges. Human communities have more or less managed coastal wetlands, according to strategies and projects varying in time and space, aimed mostly at controlling the water flows. Managements are made obvious through spatial structures: the marshland geosystem, which may be classified according to the degree of anthropization in a given area. For some years now, coastal wetlands have been giving rise to new opportunities and schemes, but which lead to serious management problems. Several examples, mainly in France, illustrate different management scenarios, in which there is the necessity, and the possibility, to reconcile economic and ecological interests.