From 25 to 26 February 2016, around 20 experts from 10 different European countries met at the European Environment Agency (EEA) in Copenhagen, Denmark. The workshop is part of ESMERALDA (Milestone 19) and was organised by Marion Potschin and Roy Haines-Young from the ESMERALDA partner University of Nottingham (UNOTT, leader of Work Package 4 on Ecosystems Service Assessment Methods) and hosted by the European Environment Agency.

Picture: Workshop participants following a video presentation; Credit: B. Burkhard

The aim of the workshop was to take stock of the experience gained in using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) Version 4.3 for mapping and assessment, and to advise on the objectives for any future revision and the development of guidelines to help people apply it effectively. The workshop has drawn on interim results from the current consultation on CICES that will be completed in April 2016 (see www.cices.eu).

The outcomes of the meeting will be published as a project Milestone report, helping to define options that can be developed in the CICES revision process and how changes can help meet current user needs. The results will support the development of the ESMERADLA guidelines for a flexible, integrated ecosystem service assessment methodology. Outcomes from the workshop and further insights from the consultation will also be presented during the ESMERALDA workshop II in Nottingham in late April and will form the basis for M20 "CICES-consistent library of indicators for biophysical, social and economic ES dimensions".