Mapping and assessing ecosystem services in the EU - Lessons learned from the ESMERALDA approach of integration

By

Burkhard, Benjamin
Maes, Joachim
Potschin-Young, Marion
Santos-Martín, Fernando
Geneletti, Davide
Stoev, Pavel
Kopperoinen, Leena
Adamescu, Cristian
Adem Esmail, Blal
Arany, Ildikó
Arnell, Andy
Balzan, Mario V
Barton, David
Van Beukering, Pieter
Bicking, Sabine
Borges, Paulo A. Vieira, 1965-
Borisova, Bilyana
Braat, Leon (Leonardus Cornelis)
Brander, Luke
Bratanova-Doncheva, Svetla
Broekx, Steven
Brown, Claire, 1974-
Cazacu, Constantin
Crossman, Neville
Czúcz, Bálint
Daněk, Jan
Groot, Rudolf De
Depellegrin, Daniel
Dimopoulos, Panayotis
Elvinger, Nora
Erhard, Markus
Fagerholm, Nora
Frélichová, Jana
Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne
Grudova, Margarita
Haines-Young, Roy
Inghe, Ola
Kallay, Tamas
Kirin, Tamara
Klug, Hermann
Kokkoris, Ioannis
Konovska, Iskra
Kruse, Marion
Kuzmova, Iliyana
Lange, Manfred
Liekens, Inge
Lotan, Alon
Lowicki, Damian
Luque, Sandra
Marta-Pedroso, Cristina
Mizgajski, Andrzej
Mononen, Laura
Mulder, Sara
Muller, Félix, 1818-1896
Nedkov, Stoyan
Nikolova, Mariana
Östergård, Hannah
Penev, Lyubomir
Pereira, Paulo
Pitkänen, Kati
Plieninger, Tobias
Rabe, Sven-Erik
Reichel, Steffen
Roche, Philip
Rusch, Graciela
Ruskule, Anda
Sapundzhieva, Anna
Sepp, Kalev
Sieber, Ina
Šmid Hribar, Mateja
Stašová, Simona
Steinhoff-Knopp, Bastian
Stępniewska, Małgorzata
Teller, Anne
Vackar, David
Van Weelden, Martine
Veidemane, Kristina
Vejre, Henrik
Vihervaara, Petteri
Viinikka, Arto
Villoslada, Miguel
Weibel, Bettina
Zulian, Grazia

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2018-9-5

Original Publication

One ecosystem : ecology and sustainability data journal

Volume

3

Pages

1--20

Subjects

assessment , ecosystem services , EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 , mapping , project

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/oneeco.3.e29153

 

Abstract

The European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action ESMERALDA aimed at developing guidance and a flexible methodology for Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) to support the EU member states in the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy’s Target 2 Action 5. ESMERALDA’s key tasks included network creation, stakeholder engagement, enhancing ecosystem services mapping and assessment methods across various spatial scales and value domains, work in case studies and support of EU member states in MAES implementation. Thus ESMERALDA aimed at integrating various project outcomes around four major strands: i) Networking, ii) Policy, iii) Research and iv) Application. The objective was to provide guidance for integrated ecosystem service mapping and assessment that can be used for sustainable decision-making in policy, business, society, practice and science at EU, national and regional levels. This article presents the overall ESMERALDA approach of integrating the above-mentioned project components and outcomes and provides an overview of how the enhanced methods were applied and how they can be used to support MAES implementation in the EU member states. Experiences with implementing such a large pan-European Coordination and Support Action in the context of EU policy are discussed and recommendations for future actions are given.