The Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) is widely used for mapping, ecosystem assessment, and natural capital ecosystem accounting. On the basis of the experience gained in using it since the first version was published in 2013, it has been updated for version 5.1. This policy brief summarises what has been done and how the classification can be used.

Highlights Review of conceptual frameworks, e.g. the ‘cascade’ in ecosystem service assessments. The cascade model provided a common reference for a diverse set of place-based studies Cascade can help organise work, re-frame perspectives & design analytical strategies. Graphical image of the cascade needs to be supported by other types of material.

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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.

Small islands are of special interest for sustainable development because of their unique characteristics and vulnerabilities. They are ecologically fragile, have limited resources, are susceptible to natural disasters and climate change. This study reviews the literature on island ecosystems, their contribution in the delivery of five key Island Ecosystem Services (IES) and acting pressures and trade-offs associated with IES management. From a set of 1630 potential relevant papers, 273 were selected for analysis. Most of the selected papers focused on cultural IES, in the form of recreation, eco-tourism and gene pool protection. However, provisioning and regulating IES were also well represented in the literature. Most of the studies discussed different management strategies and pressures arising from human use of IES. A small subset investigated the links between island biodiversity and IES, and the contribution of IES to human well-being. This review highlights knowledge gaps in the literature and identifies the need to develop approaches for IES assessments that are informed by local knowledge and which make use of empirical and spatial data for management that maximises the potential of island ecosystems to deliver IES whilst reducing trade-offs.