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This chapter deals with the problems of use conflicts and damages and 

 relates these to probable trends in estuarine ecology as the basis 

 for guidelines within which technical management can function 

 effectively to achieve its primary objective. 



SECTION 1. THE NATURE OF USE CONFLICTS 



The uses of estuarine zone grew and changed in consonance with 

 population growth and industrial development. Not until recent 

 years was a concerted attempt made to understand and resolve the 

 conflicts that arose in the competition to use and exploit these 

 land and water resources. During the past three hundred years of 

 growth and industrial expansion with its emphasis on economic growth 

 and direct monetary gain, large parts of the estuarine zone were pre- 

 empted or usurped to serve the individual needs of commercial enter- 

 prises. The net result has been less a conflict in existing uses than 

 an exclusion of some uses. 



Nearly all estuarine uses involve both land and water, either 

 directly or indirectly. For example, the construction of a manu- 

 facturing plant on the shore of an estuirine system may not involve 

 any direct use of the water (even for waste disposal), yet it limits 

 access by its occupation of the shoreline and so may interfere with 

 other uses. Conversely, the disposal of liquid waste into the water 

 may make the shoreline unusable for recreation as well as making the 

 water itself unsafe. 



