It is the objective of this report to discuss the uses made of mangrove ecosystems and to try to resolve the conflicts arising from these uses. In doing so, we begin by stating the assumptions that: i) the conservation of mangroves will be inevitably bound to human attitudes and behaviour because we have a long historic and biological dependence on the coastal fringe; ii) the properties of the mangrove systems which enhance their value for marine fisheries production, coastal protection, forest production and biological conservation will often be different, although not always exclusively so; and iii) management practices mindful of the need to maintain these properties are needed and these may differ depending on the objectives.