AN UNCERTAINTY-BASED DECISION MODEL FOR MANAGING COASTAL GROUNDWATER RESOURCES

As highlighted by the Barcelona convention [1], an important objective of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) is to ensure the sustainable use of natural resources, particularly with regard to water use. Groundwater is an important, and in some cases the only source of freshwater in coastal areas and communities living in these areas highly depend on groundwater abstraction for drinking water, irrigation and industrial use [2]. However, in many coastal areas around the world, overexploitation of groundwater has resulted in lowering of the water table which in turn has induced seawater intrusion (SWI). SWI is the most prominent type of groundwater pollution in coastal aquifers through the world and many examples of SWI have been reported in the literature [2, 3]. So the sustainable use of groundwater in coastal areas requires particular attention to the pollution risks associated with SWI.