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Marine Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Coastal Resilience: A Review of Ecosystem-Based Conservation Approaches
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This review pulls together 30 studies showing that healthy oceans—coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds—do a lot of unseen work for us, like supporting the fish we eat, protecting coastlines from storms, and storing carbon that helps slow climate change. The catch is that these benefits are shrinking due to threats like overfishing, plastic pollution, and warming, acidifying waters, which means the food and protection we rely on from the sea are at risk unless we invest in real conservation and smarter fishing practices. In short, protecting ocean life isn't just an environmental issue—it's directly tied to food security,
This literature review aimed to synthesize recent scientific evidence on the contribution of marine biodiversity to provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural ecosystem services, while identifying major threats and conservation implications for sustainable development. The review applied a systematic literature review design guided by the PRISMA 2020 framework. Publications were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Wiley Online Library, and Google Scholar using predefined keywords and inclusion-exclusion criteria. A total of 30 eligible studies were analyzed through qualitative thematic synthesis. The findings show that coral reefs, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, open-ocean ecosystems, estuaries, and multi-ecosystem seascapes contribute substantially to fisheries productivity, blue carbon sequestration, coastal protection, nutrient cycling, habitat provision, tourism, cultural identity, education, and marine conservation. However, climate change, ocean acidification, overfishing, plastic pollution, coastal development, and invasive species reduce biodiversity and weaken ecosystem-service delivery. The review emphasizes that marine biodiversity conservation should be treated as a development strategy through effective marine protected areas, ecosystem restoration, science-based fisheries management, pollution control, and participatory ecosystem-based governance. These integrated measures are necessary to strengthen ecosystem resilience, support equitable blue economy development, and advance Sustainable Development Goal 14. Keywords: marine biodiversity; ecosystem services; marine conservation; blue carbon; sustainable development. Abstrak. Tinjauan literatur ini bertujuan untuk mensintesis bukti ilmiah terkini mengenai kontribusi biodiversitas laut terhadap jasa penyediaan, pengaturan, pendukung, dan kultural, sekaligus mengidentifikasi ancaman utama serta implikasi konservasi bagi pembangunan berkelanjutan. Kajian ini menggunakan desain tinjauan literatur sistematis yang dipandu oleh kerangka PRISMA 2020. Publikasi ditelusuri melalui Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Wiley Online Library, dan Google Scholar menggunakan kata kunci serta kriteria inklusi-eksklusi yang telah ditetapkan. Sebanyak 30 studi yang memenuhi kriteria dianalisis dengan sintesis tematik kualitatif. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahwa terumbu karang, hutan mangrove, padang lamun, ekosistem laut terbuka, estuaria, dan bentang laut multi-ekosistem berkontribusi besar terhadap produktivitas perikanan, sekuestrasi karbon biru, perlindungan pantai, siklus nutrien, penyediaan habitat, pariwisata, identitas budaya, pendidikan, dan konservasi laut. Namun, perubahan iklim, pengasaman samudra, overfishing, pencemaran plastik, pembangunan pesisir, dan spesies invasif menurunkan biodiversitas serta melemahkan penyediaan jasa ekosistem. Kajian ini menegaskan bahwa konservasi biodiversitas laut perlu diposisikan sebagai strategi pembangunan melalui kawasan konservasi laut yang efektif, restorasi ekosistem, pengelolaan perikanan berbasis sains, pengendalian pencemaran, dan tata kelola berbasis ekosistem yang partisipatif. Langkah terpadu tersebut diperlukan untuk memperkuat resiliensi ekosistem, mendukung ekonomi biru yang berkeadilan, dan mempercepat pencapaian Tujuan Pembangunan Berkelanjutan 14. Kata kunci: biodiversitas laut; jasa ekosistem; konservasi laut; karbon biru; pembangunan berkelanjutan
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