How do mangrove ecosystem services and adaptive capacity influence the economic
resilience of agribusiness actors in urban coastal areas, and to what extent does
adaptive capacity strengthen the utilization of mangrove ecosystem services in the
face of environmental and economic pressures?
Replies:
Based on the study results, the most dominant mangrove ecosystem service factors strengthening the economic resilience of coastal and urban agribusiness are regulating services and protection services. Regulating services-such as water quality maintenance, pond fertility enhancement, and ecosystem stability-play the strongest role because they directly support productivity and income continuity in coastal agribusiness systems. Protection services are also crucial, as mangroves reduce economic vulnerability by protecting coastal areas from erosion, flooding, and climate-related disturbances, thereby safeguarding business assets and accelerating recovery after shocks. These findings indicate that ecological regulation and physical protection functions of mangroves form the primary foundation for sustainable economic resilience in coastal and urban agribusiness settings
From the inner model result, why are the connections from C1 to C3 and C2 to C3
considered significant when the values are only 0.21 and 0.17? What scale did you
use to determine the relationship as not significant, moderate and highly significant?.
How do you classify the value?.
In the inner model, the relationships from C1 (mangrove ecosystem services) to C3 (economic resilience) and from C2 (adaptive capacity) to C3 are considered significant not because of the magnitude of the coefficients alone (0.21 and 0.17), but because of their statistical significance. In SEM-PLS, the primary criterion for significance is the bootstrapping results, specifically the t-value and p-value, not the absolute size of the path coefficient. In this study, both paths have p-values below 0.05, indicating that the effects are statistically different from zero and unlikely to occur by chance, even though their magnitudes are relatively small.
Regarding scale and classification, this study follows PLS-SEM conventions rather than classical effect-size thresholds used in correlation analysis. The classification is as follows:
Not significant relationship: p-value > 0.05 (regardless of coefficient size), indicating no statistical evidence of an effect.
Significant relationship: p-value ≤- 0.05, indicating a statistically supported effect.
Strength of the relationship (effect size) is interpreted substantively: path coefficients around 0.10-0.19 are considered weak, 0.20-0.29 moderate, and ≥-0.30 strong, following common guidelines in exploratory SEM-PLS and socio-ecological research.
Based on this classification, the C1 →- C3 coefficient (0.21) is interpreted as a moderate but statistically significant effect, while C2 →- C3 (0.17) represents a weak yet statistically significant effect. Such values are acceptable and meaningful in complex socio-ecological systems, where outcomes like economic resilience are influenced by many interacting factors, and individual path effects are rarely large. Thus, the results indicate real but partial contributions of ecosystem services and adaptive capacity to economic resilience, consistent with the exploratory nature of the model.
Most previous studies focus primarily on the ecological or biological aspects of mangroves. Why is it important to integrate ecosystem services, adaptive capacity, and economic resilience into a single analytical framework?
Replies:
Integrating ecosystem services, adaptive capacity, and economic resilience into a single analytical framework is important because the benefits of mangrove ecosystems are not produced by ecological processes alone, but through their interaction with social and economic systems. Focusing only on biological or ecological aspects explains how mangroves function, but it does not show how or why these functions translate into stable livelihoods, income security, and business resilience for coastal communities.
Mangrove ecosystem services provide the ecological foundation (e.g., protection, regulation, and resource support), but without sufficient adaptive capacity-such as knowledge, innovation, institutional support, and livelihood diversification-communities may be unable to convert these ecological benefits into sustained economic outcomes. Economic resilience, therefore, emerges as a co-produced result of nature and society, not as a direct outcome of ecosystem health alone.
By integrating these three dimensions, the framework captures the full socio-ecological mechanism through which mangroves support agribusiness sustainability. It allows researchers and policymakers to identify not only whether mangroves matter, but under what social conditions they matter most, and why ecological conservation must be accompanied by community empowerment. This integrated approach is essential for designing policies that move beyond conservation or valuation alone toward equitable, adaptive, and economically resilient coastal development.
How do mangrove ecosystem services and the adaptive capacity of agribusiness
actors interact to strengthen economic resilience in coastal urban areas, particularly
in the face of climate change and environmental degradation?
Replies:
Jasa ekosistem mangrove dan kapasitas adaptif aktor agribisnis saling berinteraksi dalam memperkuat ketahanan ekonomi wilayah perkotaan pesisir di tengah tekanan perubahan iklim dan degradasi lingkungan. Mangrove menyediakan fungsi perlindungan alami terhadap abrasi, banjir rob, dan kejadian iklim ekstrem, sekaligus mendukung stabilitas ekosistem pesisir yang menjadi dasar keberlanjutan aktivitas ekonomi. Selain itu, mangrove berperan sebagai sumber penyediaan jasa ekonomi melalui dukungan terhadap produktivitas perikanan dan peluang diversifikasi usaha agribisnis berbasis sumber daya lokal.
Kapasitas adaptif aktor agribisnis menentukan sejauh mana manfaat jasa ekosistem mangrove dapat dimanfaatkan secara optimal dan berkelanjutan. Aktor dengan kemampuan adaptasi yang baik, didukung oleh pengetahuan, kelembagaan, dan kebijakan yang adaptif, mampu mengurangi risiko usaha sekaligus mendorong praktik agribisnis yang ramah lingkungan. Interaksi timbal balik antara ekosistem mangrove yang terjaga dan aktor agribisnis yang adaptif membentuk ketahanan sosial-ekologis, di mana keberlanjutan lingkungan dan ketahanan ekonomi saling memperkuat. Dengan demikian, pengelolaan mangrove yang terintegrasi dengan penguatan kapasitas adaptif agribisnis menjadi strategi kunci dalam membangun ketahanan ekonomi pesisir perkotaan yang adaptif terhadap perubahan iklim.
Mangrove ecosystem services and the adaptive capacity of agribusiness actors interact to strengthen the economic resilience of coastal urban areas under increasing pressures from climate change and environmental degradation. Mangroves provide critical regulating services by reducing coastal erosion, flooding, and climate-related risks, while also supporting provisioning services that sustain fisheries and enable the diversification of coastal agribusiness livelihoods. These ecosystem functions form a natural foundation for maintaining economic stability in vulnerable coastal urban settings.
The adaptive capacity of agribusiness actors determines how effectively these ecosystem services are utilized and sustained. Actors with higher adaptive capacity-supported by knowledge, institutional arrangements, and adaptive governance-are better able to manage environmental risks and adopt sustainable practices that reduce pressure on mangrove ecosystems. This reciprocal interaction creates a positive feedback loop between ecosystem integrity and adaptive economic activities, resulting in enhanced socio-ecological resilience. Consequently, integrating mangrove conservation with the strengthening of agribusiness adaptive capacity is a key strategy for building climate-resilient coastal urban economies.
