Bajo Coastal Resilience Through Human Ecology, Mangrove Stewardship, And Blue Carbon Livelihoods
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jnsrr/V2E6/2026-03Keywords:
Bajo coastal communities, human ecology, climate adaptation, mangrove stewardship, blue carbon, livelihood resilience, social-ecological systemsAbstract
This critical literature review reframes Bajo coastal communities as human-ecological actors in climate adaptation, mangrove stewardship, and emerging blue carbon livelihood governance. Methods: The article synthesizes the provided Scopus-derived literature corpus and the accompanying manuscript, using a thematic critical review rather than a systematic protocol. Evidence was organized around five clusters: Bajo/Sama-Bajau marginality and adaptation, coastal social-ecological systems, small-scale fisheries resilience, mangrove stewardship, and blue carbon governance. Results: The review shows that Bajo resilience is not merely household coping but a relational capability shaped by marine knowledge, mobility, livelihood portfolios, institutional recognition, and access to mangrove benefits. Recent blue carbon literature strengthens the need to move beyond carbon accounting toward community safeguards, benefit sharing, tenure clarity, and plural valuation. Mangrove stewardship emerges as the bridge between ecological restoration, climate adaptation, and livelihood security. Conclusion: For Bajo communities, blue carbon can support resilience only when it is embedded in rights-based human ecology, participatory governance, and locally meaningful livelihood strategies. The article proposes an integrated framework for future empirical research and policy design.
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