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.

This study shows the link between land use, landscape changes, and ecosystem services. Two pilot areas were investigated for how land use changes from 1824 to 2013 affect the provision of ecosystem services. It was found that low-intensity managed traditional land use is disappearing due to the intensification of agricultural production on the one hand, and the retreat of agriculture from unfavorable areas on the other hand. However, such traditional land use contributes to more diverse and more numerous ecosystem services and helps preserve the cultural landscape. Therefore, intensification and overgrowth should be restricted, and less intensive agriculture should be encouraged. The approach presented can be used as a support tool for decision-making in managing and governing landscapes.

Cultural and natural elements contribute to the development of rural areas. Identifying and evaluating development aspects and the interconnection of cultural values and local stakeholders are key to managing cultural values. This article defines cultural values with development potential by studying the relevant research literature and legislation, carrying out field studies in the Idrija countryside, and using an online questionnaire to evaluate development aspects.

Although participatory research can be an improvement over conventional research, there is a lack of self-critique and self-reflection by scholars. The aim of this paper was to develop a method of participatory research in human geography based on a case study of the local community. We evaluated the positive and negative aspects of carrying out participatory research in community development from the local community and academic points of view. The participatory method was used in a rural local community in Slovenia, where cultural values were identified as an alternative developmental source. The method was presented in detail in three steps: 1) knowledge acquisition, 2) knowledge synthesis, 3) knowledge implementation and evaluation. The results yielded important social impacts, some economic and cultural impacts, and no significant ecological impacts. The paper discusses the impacts of conducting such research on the local community. It recognizes that, if the community is actively engaged in research, outcomes are likely to be matched to its needs and expectations. We discussed scholars’ bias towards economic aspects of community development and the fact that ignoring local knowledge may result in the failure of developmental initiatives. There is a need for more accurate and unbiased critical assessment of long-term impacts of carrying out participatory research. We believe we avoided two common traps of participatory research: regarding the positivist critique, this method offers sufficient scientific vigour and could be reproduced in similar communities; regarding the post-structural critique, personally committing stakeholders towards implementation and legitimising all social groups to overcome intrinsic power relations within the community. We concluded that participatory methods are important for obtaining local knowledge that complements traditional academic research.

Cultivated terraces distinctively mark the landscape and are a result of human adaptation to steep areas. Terraces were studied with regard to their morphometric qualities, ownership structure, and land use at eight pilot sites in various landscape types in Slovenia. Twenty-six detailed interviews were carried out with local residents and experts. In current agricultural practice, terraces mostly represent obstacles, and for owners they create a loss rather than profit; however, they represented an advantage in the past, when they were cultivated manually. Land use is intensifying on economically profitable terraces. Among those examined, the Jeruzalem terraces stand out because these are the youngest ones (created in socialist Yugoslavia around 1965). Because of their aesthetic value, they are the best known among the public. Profitability in particular will be an important driving force for the future maintenance of terraces.