Réseau de Suivi Lagunaire du Languedoc-Roussillon. Bilan des résultats 2007

At the end of the ninety’s, eutrophication and lack of knowledge were identified as issues to enhance the management of coastal lagoons on the Mediterranean coast of France. In 2000, in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon, scientists (Ifremer) and institutional managers (Regional Council of Languedoc-Roussillon and Water Agency Rhône-Méditerranée & Corse, Cepralmar) joined their forces in building a network to address this need. The core of this network consists of an operational tool for the diagnosis of eutrophication based on a battery of indicators within several ecological compartments of coastal lagoons (water column, phytoplankton, macrophytes, sediments). This tool routinely is operated at a regular time according to ecological compartments. The innovative aspect of this network was its management support component. The aim of the network is not only to supply with informations about the eutrophication state of the lagoons, but also to provide to local management structures support to their operational management and development. This support takes a variety of forms: studies on specific site on various issues, model application to test management scenario, dissemination of results to various audiences.