News

Monetary valuation for ecosystem accounting: MAIA's open access collection in the One Ecosystem journal

10 October 2023

Prior to its conclusion, the MAIA project created an open access collection in the One Ecosystem journal - an innovative open access scholarly journal which provides a forum for studies in the field of ecology and sustainability. The topical collection currently hosts 11 papers that cover a wide range of topics, including the elucidation of the purpose and principles of monetary valuation for ecosystem accounting. Additionally, it disseminates practical applications of monetary ecosystem acco...

New MAIA study presents extensive details about institutional context in simulation and generalising exchange values

5 December 2022

In a recently published paper in the One Ecosystem Journal by MAIA’s partner David Barton from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), it is argued that when simulating markets to create exchange values where none previously existed and when conducting value generalisation, which extrapolates exchange values from particular sites to the entire accounting area, monetary valuation of ecosystem services for ecosystem accounting needs to be sensitive to institutional context. The pape...

New MAIA-supported study presents analysis of drinking water treatment costs

23 November 2022

Selecting a cost-effective solution for public drinking water supply systems requires an understanding of the variables influencing the price of producing drinking water. The filtration of raw water is a significant factor in determining the cost of water treatment. Despite being a widely recognised ecosystem service, the cost of water purification has not yet been extensively quantified. In a newly published article in the One Ecosystem journal, written by members of the Global Change Resear...

4th ESP Conference: Post-event news

18 October 2022

A significant step toward recognising the contribution of ecosystems to our economy and well-being has been made with the recent adoption by the United Nations of the statistical framework for the System of Environmental Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) (United Nations, 2021). Ecosystem extent, condition, service flows, monetary ecosystem assets, and thematic ecosystem accounting are all integrated by SEEA-EA. These accounts are viewed as a tool with great potential for suppo...

New MAIA-supported paper looks into the past developments and future challenges of ecosystem accounting

14 October 2022

A recently published MAIA-funded paper is now available in the Ecosystem Services journal. The study investigates the past scientific developments and future challenges in ecosystem accounting, and is conducted by a team of leading international experts, all part of the MAIA team. Amongst the paper contributors are the MAIA Project Coordinator Prof. Lars Hein of Wageningen University, Adrien Comte and Harold Levrel of AgroParisTech, C. Sylvie Campagne and Sabine Lange of Leibniz University Hanno...

28th Meeting of the London Group on Environmental Accounting

3 October 2022

The Federal Statistical Office of Germany held the 28th Meeting of the London Group on Environmental Accounting from September 26–29, 2022, in Siegburg, Germany. There were more than 50 attendees from different countries, amongst whom were MAIA’s partners from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). While the bulk of attendees joined in person, several attendees joined online due to travel restrictions to discuss and present their research papers. The symposium was divided into seven...

Four years of mapping and assessment for integrated ecosystem accounting

28 September 2022

Last week’s meeting in Brussels, Belgium marked the end of the four-year research collaboration MAIA (Mapping and Assessment for Integrated ecosystem Accounting). On 20 and 21 September 2022 representatives of all partner institutions gathered at the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) to celebrate the project achievements over the course of a fruitful research collaboration. In the span of two days, the final meeting was divided into three thematic sessions with 20 presentations...

MAIA: Final Project Conference

9 September 2022

Natural capital includes both mineral ores, as well as oil and gas (non-renewables) and renewable resources derived from ecosystems. Ecosystems provide many different services to people - they supply us with food and materials, they regulate our water cycles and soils, and they provide us with opportunities for tourism, recreation and reflection. Whereas methods to account for non-renewable resources are well established, the development and application of accounting systems for ecosystems and t...

Monetary valuation for ecosystem services and assets for ecosystem accounting

2 August 2022

A new report on the Monetary valuation of ecosystem services and assets for ecosystem accounting, developed jointly by the NCAVES and MAIA projects is now available on the United Nations’s website. The newly published report has been developed in accordance with the adopted earlier in 2022 by the UN Statistical Commission SEEA Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) implementation strategy. The publication is intended to provide a useful starting point with suggestions on valuation methods and referen...

New MAIA study proposes a framework for classification of different models for water regulation ecosystem services

6 July 2022

Natural capital accounting (NCA) is a tool used for measuring the changes in the stock of natural capital at a variety of scales and for integrating the value of ecosystem services into accounting and reporting systems at the international, EU, and national levels. In a recently published article in the journal Ecosystem Services, written by MAIA project partners, a new classification scheme is proposed that organises different models and modelling approaches. The aim is to use this newly c...