Mainstreaming ecosystem services into policy and decision making is dependent on the availability of spatially explicit information on the state and trends of ecosystems and their services. In particular, the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 addresses the need to account for ecosystem services through biophysical mapping and valuation. This paper reviews current mapping methods, identifies current knowledge gaps and provides the elements for a methodological framework for mapping and assessing at European scale. Current mapping methodologies go beyond purely land cover based assessments and include the use of the primary data of ecosystem services, the use functional traits to map ecosystem services and the development of models and ecological production functions. Additional research is needed to cover marine ecosystems and to include the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change in spatially explicit assessments. The ecosystem services cascade which connects ecosystems to human wellbeing is argued to provide a suitable methodological framework for mapping ecosystem services in order to support EU policies in a more effective way. We demonstrate the use of this framework for mapping using the water purification service as case.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

Maes, Joachim... et. al.-- 10 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables, supplementary material https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.10.023In the EU, the mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services, abbreviated to MAES, is seen as a key action for the advancement of biodiversity objectives, and also to inform the development and implementation of related policies on water, climate, agriculture, forest, marine and regional planning. In this study, we present the development of an analytical framework which ensures that consistent approaches are used throughout the EU. It is framed by a broad set of key policy questions and structured around a conceptual framework that links human societies and their well-being with the environment. Next, this framework is tested through four thematic pilot studies, including stakeholders and experts working at different scales and governance levels, which contributed indicators to assess the state of ecosystem services. Indicators were scored according to different criteria and assorted per ecosystem type and ecosystem services using the common international classification of ecosystem services (CICES) as typology. We concluded that there is potential to develop a first EU wide ecosystem assessment on the basis of existing data if they are combined in a creative way. However, substantial data gaps remain to be filled before a fully integrated and complete ecosystem assessment can be carried outBalint Czúcz was supported by the Bolyai Grant of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences under grant number BO/00138/12/8Peer Reviewe

Pursuing economic targets of job creation, growth, and innovation while tackling global environmental challenges, has long been seen as impossible. However, any long‐term economic competitiveness and security depends on the extent to which natural resources are used sustainably. Therefore, the European Union is investing in nature‐based solutions to achieve this double goal. The difference between the prevailing economic model and a sustainable resource use has long seemed insurmountable. While many debates are paralyzed or radicalized, nature‐based solutions could offer a transition path with realistic, incremental steps toward a sustainable economy as envisaged by the EU Horizon 2020 vision. This paper outlines the basics of a nature‐based scenario for Europe, and proposes criteria to focus, guide, and evaluate the implementation of nature‐based solutions, geared at production of wide socioeconomic benefits, provision of jobs, and low‐carbon technology innovations.