Economic Assessment of goods and services of seagrass beds

Seagrass are marine flowering plants present along almost all the shallow coasts of our planet. Since they are plants, they get primary energy from the sun and grows very fast either vertically or horizontally. Seagrass has been considered as foundation species, i.e. a species that provide habitat and enhances ecosystem biodiversity. Large species such as turtles, ducks, geese, and marine mammals like dugongs use the seagrass ecosystem as habitat. The associated organisms, use the seagrass in their whole life cycles, or part of their life cycle as feeding and refuge ground. Seagrass goods and services to the coastal community include food, medicine, fertilizer, coastal protection, fisheries, habitats for animals, carbon sequestration, tourism, etc. Seagrass resource usage by humans shall vary between regional and local levels. Despite being among the most productive ecosystems on the planet, seagrasses receive little attention when compared to other coastal ecosystems. Quantification of goods and services of a seagrass ecosystem to human well-being shall reveal and justify conservation, protection, and sustainable utilization of seagrass ecosystem benefits.