Study on the Impact of Blue Carbon Ecosystem Protection on the Livelihoods of Coastal Communities in Hainan Province

         Blue carbon ecosystems (mangroves, seagrass beds, and salt marshes) are one of the most effective carbon sinks on Earth and are critical to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Hainan Province in China accounts for 82% of the country's mangrove area and 64% of the country's seagrass bed area. Hainan's blue carbon plays an important role in local and national carbon sink enhancement efforts. From the perspective of economics, Hainan's blue carbon system plays a major supporting role in the local economy. Existing research on the protection of China's blue carbon ecosystems focuses on carbon sink accounting and economic valuation, and rarely involves microeconomic impact analysis of blue carbon protection actions. In particular, there are few studies specifically conducted on the impact on residents' livelihoods and well-being in Hainan.

        In this context, we are attempting to conduct research in Hainan Province to answer the following questions: What impact does the protection and restoration of Hainan's blue carbon ecosystem have on the livelihoods of its coastal communities? We refined this question into three points: First, what are the livelihood sources and livelihood structures of Hainan's coastal and non-coastal communities; what changes have occurred around 2020? Second, has Hainan's special action on the protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems had an impact on the livelihoods of coastal communities? Third, through what channels does Hainan's special action on the protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems affect the livelihoods of coastal communities?

        According to preliminary research, Hainan Province's special action for the protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems has a two-way impact on the livelihoods of coastal communities. On the one hand, blue carbon protection can maintain and promote the local fishery economy and tourism; on the other hand, due to restrictive regulations on the relevant use of marine resources at the policy level, the protection and restoration of mangroves may have a negative impact on fisheries. Maintaining a balance between fishermen's livelihoods and blue carbon protection may be one of the difficulties in blue carbon conservation. Treating the special action for the protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems as a quasi-natural experiment, we are going to conduct policy evaluation in our study. We will conduct a community questionnaire survey and introduce the propensity matching difference-in-difference (PSM-DID) model to reveal the net effect of Hainan's blue carbon ecosystem protection on the livelihoods of coastal communities.