Contents: Foreword/P.S. Goel. Preamble/V. Ittekkot. Preface/Rubiyanto Misman and Edy Yuwono. Editor's note/Rattan K. Datta. Introduction/Arun P. Kulshreshtha. I. General Topics on Physical Oceanography: 1. An introduction to physical oceanography/Peter E. Damm. 2. Tsunami and Coastal Disaster Risk Management in Indonesia/Eberhard Krain, Dewi Yanurita and Anne-Katrin Link. 3. Weather forecasting: atmospheric modelling/Rattan K. Datta. 4. Global climate and regional environmental change affecting coastal ecosystems: I. Biogeochemistry During Anthropocene/Tim. C. Jennerjahn. 5. Global climate and regional environmental change affecting coastal ecosystems: II. Ecology and Resources of Mangrove Forests/Inga Nordhaus. 6. Application of Geographical Information System (GIS) and mathematical modelling in coastal area and hazard management/R.S. Kankara. 7. Coastal ecosystem, rehabilitation, hazards, vulnerability and management in India/A.L. Ramanathan, S.K. Varshney and S. Chidhambaram. 8. Assessing the economic value of coastal ecosystem for coastal management/M. Suparmoko. 9. The role of mangrove ecosystem as natural barrier to environmental hazards/Rudhi Pribadi. II. Impact Studies Related to Tsunami, Tropical Cyclones and Toxic Contamination: 10. Some aspects of coastal zone management in Sri Lanka including impact of Tsunami: a review/M.S. Rupasinghe and M.S.J. Perera. 11. Mapping of aquaculture pond damaged after Tsunami along east coast: assessment of damage levels/Z.A. Muchlisin. 12. The impact of Cyclone "2A" on the Tidal Link Drain and adjacent areas based on historical data/Syed Moazzam Ali. 13. Effects of hurricane Dennis on Jardines de la Reina/Fabian Pina Amargos, Andres Jimenez Castillo, Felix Martin Blanco, Abdel Zayas Fernandez and Wilbert Acosta de la Red. 14. Petroleum hydrocarbons and organochlorine contaminants in sediment and fish samples of the Western Coast of Alexandria, Egypt/Tarek Othman Said. 15. The 2001 Fish Kill in Kuwait and the outcomes following the phenomena/Abdullah Al-Zaidan. 16. The distribution of heavy metal Pb. Cr and Cd in water, sediment, and mud crab, Scylla serrata of Donan River, Segara Anakan Central Java, Indonesia/Annisa Rahmawati Jumhan, Asrul Sahri Siregar, Edy Yuwono and Purnama Sukardi. III. General Coastal Management Issues Including Use of GIS and Remote Sensing Technologies: 17. Coastal ecosystems status in Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Pressures/Luis O. Duarte. 18. Kenya Coastal Ecosystems: sustainable resource and hazards management/J.N. Kamau and J.M. Kazungu. 19. The role of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in hazard prediction and management of the Coastal Mangroves of Kenya/Ogalleh Sarah Ayeri. 20. Environmental impacts of Tourism development in fragile coastal ecosystems: operational planning for environmental rehabilitation in Cuba/Lourdes Ruiz Gutierrez. 21. Human security vs. Mangrove Destruction: case studies from East Coast of India/Rita Chauhan, Gurmeet Singh and A.L. Ramanathan. IV. Coastal Ecosystem: Country Reports and Case Studies: 22. The status biodiversity in the State of Kuwait/Mahmoud Al Khabbaz. 23. Status of Coastal Ecosystem in Mauritius/M. Nallee. 24. Status of Coastal Ecosystem in Myanmar/Thuzar Win. 25. Syrian Coast and environmental challenges/Ahmad Kara-Ali. 26. Effects of coastal hazards on Lagoonal Ecosystems in the Centre of Vietnam and Measures for Mitigation/Nguyen Huu Cu.

"Coastal zones contain many of the Earth's most complex and diverse ecological systems, productive in both the biological and economic senses. Coastal region includes inshore waters, inter-tidal areas and extensive tracts of contiguous land.

Coastal zones are not only economically valuable for fisheries, commerce, navigation and recreation, but also include some of the most ecologically important environments. Regrettably, these economic, social, and environmental benefits are at a risk as the coastal zones are affected by both gradual and recurrent processes such as accretion and erosion and by extreme natural events such as floods, hurricanes, typhoons, Tsunamis, earthquakes and severe storms. This is further aggravated due to increased economic activity within the coastal zones resulting in costly damages to property, society, economy and environment. This combination of natural and human forces and the uncertainties involved in their origins and impacts presents major challenges to coastal managers.

In order to address some of the above issues, the NAM S and T Centre organized an international workshop-cum-training course on 'Coastal Ecosystem: Hazards Management and Rehabilitation' at Purwokerto, Indonesia during 8 - 17 August 2006 and brought our his publication which includes a collection of 26 selected research/review papers on various aspects of Coastal Ecosystems. The publication has been presented in four parts, namely, General Topics on Physical Oceanography; Impact Studies Related to Tsunami, Tropical Cyclones and Toxic Contamination; General Coastal Management Issues, Including Use of GIS and Remote Sensing Technologies; and Country Reports and Case Studies on Coastal Ecosystem.

The material presented in this volume will serve as a valuable reference material for the professionals working in the area of Coastal Ecosystems and Coastal Hazards Management and will help the developing countries in working out scientific solutions for management of hazards affecting the Coastal Ecosystems." (jacket)