Mapping and Assessing Ecosystems and the Services they provide (MAES) aims to step up biodiversity protection by widening the knowledge base. The EU is committed to protecting biodiversity – because of its intrinsic value and the wide range of benefits that natural systems provide – but biodiversity loss is continuing across the EU.
Hosted by Commissioner Potočnik, the conference has attracted over 300 participants, with speakers including Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Sharon Dijksma, Minister for Agriculture of the Netherlands, Pavan Sukhdev, who led the ground-breaking study on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), and Lisa Emelia Svensson, Swedish Ambassador Oceans, Seas and Freshwater.
As too little is known about the state of the natural environment and the contribution it makes to human wellbeing, many ecosystems across the EU are degraded, and their capacity to provide services we depend on is compromised. Mapping and assessing ecosystems and services like water purification would increase understanding of how the economy depends on natural capital, and ensure that impacts and dependencies on ecosystems are adequately taken into account when major decisions are made.
European Commissioner for Environment Janez Potočnik said: "Talking about the importance of nature and the need to stop biodiversity loss is not enough: it will only happen when good intentions are translated into action on the ground. For this to happen, we need to make sure that we have right information. MAES is designed to fill that gap. It should help us make intelligent decisions about actions that affect biodiversity."
