TY - JOUR

T1 - An operational framework for integrated mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services (MAES)

AU - Burkhard, Benjamin

AU - Santos-Martin, Fernando

AU - Nedkov, Stoyan

AU - Maes, Joachim

N1 - Funding information: The development of the framework is partly based on work in the project ESMERALDA, receiving funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 642007. We furthermore acknowledge the EU MAES Working Group, providing important inputs, discussions and support. We thank Ms Angie Faust from Leibniz Universität Hannover for checking the language of the manuscript. The views expressed in the article are personal and do not necessarily reflect an official position of the European Commission. This paper enhances the operational guidance of the MAES common assessment framework by providing nine steps which ensure the delivery of an integrated ecosystem assessment at EU and national levels. The paper contributes to the objectives of the ESME RALDA project*2, a Support and Coordination Action (SCA) funded under the European Commission's Horizon 2020 funding scheme with the specific aim of supporting the implementation of Action 5 in EU Member States. The framework delivered in this paper can be used to specifically guide the integrated assessment of the state of ecosystems and their services in the EU which is foreseen in 2019 in the framework of the MAES initiative (Maes et al. 2018). In addition, ESMERALDA will deliver a framework for integrated ecosystem assessment which can be used in a broader policy context and which aims to integrate ecosystems and their services in design and implementation of policies.

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) are central to the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. Action 5 of the Strategy’s second target asks all EU member states to map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in their national territories. Such comprehensive mapping and assessment builds on several individual tasks and their systematic integration. Therefore, an integrated and operational framework is needed, supporting and coordinating these activities. The presented framework builds on existing work done by the European Commission’s MAES Working Group and provides a clear nine-step approach including the identification of relevant questions or themes to be addressed, identification and mapping of ecosystem types, ecosystem condition and ecosystem services, their integration and dissemination of results. This framework can be used to set-up related research and development initiatives and to guide involved scientists, decision-makers and practitioners through the different steps and related tasks of the process.

AB - Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) are central to the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. Action 5 of the Strategy’s second target asks all EU member states to map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in their national territories. Such comprehensive mapping and assessment builds on several individual tasks and their systematic integration. Therefore, an integrated and operational framework is needed, supporting and coordinating these activities. The presented framework builds on existing work done by the European Commission’s MAES Working Group and provides a clear nine-step approach including the identification of relevant questions or themes to be addressed, identification and mapping of ecosystem types, ecosystem condition and ecosystem services, their integration and dissemination of results. This framework can be used to set-up related research and development initiatives and to guide involved scientists, decision-makers and practitioners through the different steps and related tasks of the process.

KW - Ecosystem services

KW - EU policy

KW - Integrated assessment

KW - MAES

KW - Stakeholder

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065441805&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3897/oneeco.3.e22831

DO - 10.3897/oneeco.3.e22831

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85065441805

VL - 3

JO - One Ecosystem

JF - One Ecosystem

M1 - e22831

ER -