MAIA (Mapping and Assessment for Integrated ecosystem Accounting) aims to mainstream natural capital and ecosystem accounting (NCA) in EU member states. MAIA uses the System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) as the methodological basis for NCA. The SEEA EEA provides a consistent framework for analysing and storing information on ecosystem assets and flows of ecosystem services, in both physical and monetary units. The SEEA EEA follows a spatial approach, requiring extensive (spatial) data and models as inputs into the accounts. In MAIA, a flexible approach will be followed, allowing for adaptation of the SEEA EEA framework to the conditions of individual EU countries. In particular, MAIA will: (i) assess policy priorities for accounting; (ii) test, pilot and mainstream NCA in 10 countries; (iii) test innovative approaches for NCA in the European context; and (iv) support NCA in the EU through various communication and dissemination activities including the development of guidelines, a web-based information system and other facilitating actions. MAIA will involve in-country work in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain but there will be outreach to all EU member states through exchanging data, guidelines and experiences. The MAIA consortium includes a balanced mix of partners with backgrounds in statistics, ecological modelling and environmental economics, including three statistical agencies. In addition, MAIA has 18 supporting partners including statistical and other government agencies in 10 countries. Institutes with more experience will mentor and assist those with less experience. MAIA partners are involved in a range of other initiatives such as the SEEA London Group, MAES, ESMERALDA and IPBES, and includes partners supporting KIP INCA, which will facilitate exchanging experiences. Overall coordination of MAIA is with Wageningen University.

The importance of biodiversity (BD) and healthy ecosystems and the services they deliver has increasingly been acknowledged. Policy initiatives, such as the EU BD Strategies 2020 and 2030, IPBES, IPCC and CBD were launched to address BD, natural capital and related values. Research has created a knowledge base to better understand nature-human interactions that are at the base of ecosystem services (ES) delivery. The key aim of related actions is to provide robust information that can be harnessed to support protection, restoration and sustainable as well as climate-neutral use of ecosystems in the EU by 2030. MAES has provided the conceptual, methodological and data base for comprehensive assessments on different spatial scales, including the EU-wide assessment (2020) and assessments in EU member states. Knowledge and data for different ecosystem types (including protected and marine areas) are increasingly available. The next step is to integrate the different MAES components (ecosystem mapping, condition, ES, accounting) and to enable the uptake of ES in decision making. Key challenges include the proof of BD-ecosystem condition-ES relationships and to link them to EU policies. The consortium brings together experts from all EU member states, associated countries and EU overseas regions with stakeholders from various public and private sectors. The expertise in the consortium includes leading experts (ecologists, economists, social scientists) on ES science, ecosystem accounting and on science-policy-business interfaces from related actions (OpenNESS, ESMERALDA, MAIA, MAES, ESP, IPBES, BD Partnership). Therefore, the project will successfully address the call's challenges and provide applicable tools and models together with guidance how to use them. The project will deliver real cases for an evidence-, ES-based and harmonised decision making across Europe, enabling transformative change to halt BD decline and to secure essential ES-sustainable supply and use.

Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services (ES) are core to the EU Biodiversity (BD) Strategy. They are essential if we are to make informed decisions. Action 5 sets the requirement for an EU-wide knowledge base designed to be: a primary data source for developing Europe’s green infrastructure; resource to identify areas for ecosystem restoration; and, a baseline against which the goal of ‘no net loss of BD and ES’ can be evaluated. In response to these requirements, ESMERALDA aims to deliver a flexible methodology to provide the building blocks for pan-European and regional assessments. The work will ensure the timely delivery to EU member states in relation to Action 5 of the BD Strategy, supporting the needs of assessments in relation to the requirements for planning, agriculture, climate, water and nature policy. This methodology will build on existing ES projects and databases (e.g. MAES, OpenNESS, OPERAs, national studies), the Millennium Assessment (MA) and TEEB. ESMERALDA will identify relevant stakeholders and take stock of their requirements at EU, national and regional levels. The objective of ESMERALDA is to share experience through an active process of dialogue and knowledge co-creation that will enable participants to achieve the Action 5 aims. The mapping approach proposed will integrate biophysical, social and economic assessment techniques. Flexibility will be achieved by the creation of a tiered methodology that will encompass both simple (Tier 1) and more complex (Tier 3) approaches. The work will exploit expert- and land cover-based methods, existing ES indicator data and more complex ES models. As a result the outcomes will be applicable in different contexts. The strength of the ESMERALDA consortium lies in its ability to make solutions for mapping and assessment problems available to stakeholders from the start of the project, because our expertise allows us to build on existing research projects and data sharing systems.