Re-evaluating Seagrass Ecosystem Services: Integrating Community Gleaning and Cultural Values into Economic Valuation in Selayar Island, Indonesia

Dominant marine conservation and blue economy paradigms systematically prioritize biophysical metrics, such as biodiversity or carbon sequestration, frequently rendering the cultural and subsistence values of coastal communities invisible. This study contests these biophysically-centered frameworks by applying a holistic valuation approach to seagrass meadows at the Selayar Archipelago, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Utilizing the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) framework as an instrument for recognition of cultural values, we applied participatory methodologies to evaluate the relational values embedded in traditional gleaning—the small-scale, intertidal harvesting of marine invertebrates (a'sulo/ngatti-ngatti). The findings reveal a socio-economic and cultural reality that contradicts formal market assessment: 52.2% of harvested biomass bypasses formal cash economies, serving as a crucial non-monetary safety net. Moreover, results from a participatory Token Allocation Game suggest that local inhabitants prioritize non-extractive cultural services (social cohesion and healing, 52%) over direct economic extraction (48%). While we apply the Replacement Cost method to illustrate the ecosystem's crucial role as an active ``Natural School'' for intergenerational knowledge transfer, we argue these monetary estimates serve as tactical, illustrative proxies rather than functional substitutes. Rather than merely presenting alternative economic metrics, this study asserts that these relational values are not simply undervalued, they cannot be fully captured through the dominant metric driving global blue economy and carbon agendas. As Indonesia rapidly advances its blue economy, we contend that relying exclusively on carbon-centric legibility risks enclosing the marine commons, disenfranchising local populations and overlooking intangible, critical values coastal ecosystems provide. Coastal governance and national policies must urgently evolve to incorporate these structurally invisible socio-cultural dimensions.