Journal
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
Volume 8, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.671753
Keywords
blue carbon; ecosystem services; vulnerability; seagrass; mangroves; small scale fisheries
Funding
- Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
- Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) under the SATREPS Program
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Ecosystem services provided by blue carbon ecosystems, such as seagrass and mangroves, play a crucial role in supporting small-scale fisheries and the livelihoods of coastal communities in Palawan Province, Philippines. This study assesses the spatial dynamics of ecosystem services provision and social vulnerabilities in ten communities, highlighting the importance of diversified livelihoods and organizational support in enhancing adaptive capacity and reducing vulnerability. Conservation interventions are needed to manage sensitivities and enhance adaptive capacity around the use of blue carbon ecosystems.
Ecosystem services (ES) are benefits nature provides to humans; these services change in space and time and are largely dependent on context. Coastal habitat that provides key ES are blue carbon ecosystems, namely seagrass and mangroves. One important ES they provide is the provisioning of seafood, which benefits coastal populations with livelihoods and food security. We employed a social-ecological approach that draws from the vulnerability literature for social, ecological, and economic criteria to map ES provision in ten communities on Busuanga Island, Palawan Province, Philippines. We assess the spatial dynamics of ES provision for small-scale fisheries in seagrass and mangroves, in relation to local beneficiaries. Using a mixed-methods approach with ecological assessments of seagrass beds, spatial analysis, landing surveys, household and key informant interviews, we overlaid biophysical variables on social data, mapping sensitivities and adaptive capacities to compare communities' social vulnerabilities. Spatial analysis revealed healthy blue carbon ecosystems in ten local communities (barangays) as measured by proportion of coastline covered, low patchiness and high continuity along the coastline, and the presence of adjacent habitat. We found seagrass ecosystems were more vulnerable than mangroves. Rural barangays had less exposure and lower sensitivity to blue carbon ecosystem loss than urban barangays. Blue carbon ecosystem fisheries are highly sensitive fisheries, due to their catch composition and low catch per unit effort, with mangrove fisheries having a slightly lower sensitivity than seagrass fisheries due to greater catch per unit effort. Diversified livelihoods and the presence of NGOs and People's Organizations (POs) increased adaptive capacity and reduced overall vulnerability. We aim to highlight a coastal human community's relationship with blue carbon ecosystems using context-specific vulnerability criteria. Our site-specific social vulnerability assessment may be adapted for use in other coastal communities within the coral triangle. This work suggests opportunities for conservation interventions to manage local communities' sensitivities and adaptive capacity around the use of blue carbon ecosystems.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available