This work stems from the activities carried out under the European
Science Foundation's Environmental Toxicology Programme and its daughter
programme, Environmental Damage and its Assessment. The work served also
as a pilot study for the ESF Scientific programme on Environment,
Science and Society (ESS), thus demonstrating the interdependence of the
natural and social sciences with respect to environmental issues.
The book is unique in the sense that it records the results of a four
year collaboration between environmental toxicologists, economists and
institutionalists. Its objective was to achieve better characterized or
even novel insights into the theory and practice of water resource
management, quality assurance and chemical safety regulation.