The Ecosystem services reference book contains 27 Synthesis Papers (SPs) on key concepts within the field of ecosystem services.  The SPs are succinct and up-to-date reviews of the state of thinking around different key concepts of ecosystem services such as (non-monetary) valuation, nature-based solutions, stakeholder involvement etc. The SPs include an exploration of concepts from various sectoral perspectives – including economics, public health, social welfare and land use planning – plus an exploration of conceptual understandings of the role of ES concepts in addressing various societal challenges including building resilience, addressing social inequality including those related to gender, and trade-off analysis. The SPs were designed to enhance common understanding of the concepts and issues. The ecosystem services reference book is available through Oppla (http://www.oppla.eu/), an online platform where the latest thinking on ecosystem services, natural capital and nature-based solutions is brought together.

Image: The cascade model and the four challenges (Source EU FP7 OpenNESS Project Deliverable 1.2, Potschin et al. (2016): Final conceptual frameworks for the analysis of ecosystem services and natural capital in relation to the challenges of well-being, sustainable management, governance and competitiveness, and how these issues can be communicated and resolved in difference place based-contexts. European Commission FP7).