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.