Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Article Coastal Ecosystem Services, Social Equity, and Blue Growth: A Case Study from South-Eastern Bangladesh Mohammad Mahmudul Islam 1,2,* , Shuvo Pal 1, Mohammad Mosarof Hossain 1, Mohammad Mojibul Hoque Mozumder 3 and Petra Schneider 4 1 Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh;
[email protected] (S.P.);
[email protected] (M.M.H.) 2 Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada 3 Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), Doctoral Programme in Interdisciplinary Environmental Science (DENVI), Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; mohammad.mozumder@helsinki.fi 4 Department for Water, Environment, Civil Engineering and Safety, University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, D-39114 Magdeburg, Germany;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 7 August 2020; Accepted: 15 October 2020; Published: 19 October 2020 Abstract: By employing empirical and secondary data (qualitative and quantitative), this study demonstrates how social equity (with its three dimensions) can meaningfully address the conservation of the coastal social–ecological system (SES), without losing diverse ecosystem services (ES) in south-east coastal Bangladesh. Based on this proposition, this study assesses the available ES and identifies the drivers responsible for ES changes, arguing for the application of social equity for resource conservation. The findings show that communities along Bangladesh’s south-eastern coast use several ES for food, medicine, income, livelihoods, and cultural heritage. However, this valuable ecosystem is currently experiencing numerous threats and stressors of anthropogenic and natural origin.