Ecosystem services (ES) are benefits nature provides to humans. In coastal areas, seagrass meadows and mangroves provide key ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration and climate mitigation. The carbon sequestered in coastal and marine vegetated ecosystems is known as blue carbon, and the ecosystems are usually referred to as blue carbon ecosystems. Blue carbon ecosystems are being lost at a high rate in Southeast Asia. This is problematic because local communities living on the coast heavily rely on seagrasses and mangroves for provisioning services such as livelihoods and food security.

A team of scientists from Japan and the Philippines, including Dr. T. E. Angela Quiros, Dr. Kenji Sudo and Professor Masahiro Nakaoka of the Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere at Hokkaido University's Akkeshi Marine Station, examined the social vulnerability of fishing communities that rely on blue carbon ecosystems. The Hokkaido University team collaborated with Busuanga-based NGO C3 Philippines and members of the local government, as well as the Busuanga community for the field collections. Their findings, presented at the sixth International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC6) and published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, suggest conservation strategies to manage social vulnerabilities of coastal communities who rely on blue carbon ecosystems.