The changing landscapes of transitional economies: The Estonian coastal zone

Abstract

In the coastal zone there is a transition from maritime to continental ecosystems which ensures a variety of ecotopes, high biological diversity and the potential to supply multiple services (ecological, economic and social). In addition to the natural environmental gradient, there is a remarkable footprint of human activities over thousands of years, which makes the coastal zone one of the most densely populated and economically exploited regions in the world. According to some scenarios, within 50 years more than 75% of the world's human population will live in coastal zones (Small and Nicholls 2003). © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.