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 Hannover, Adrian Garcia Bruzon and Fernando Santos-Martin of the King Juan Carlos University (URJC).

The paper presents a systematic literature review on ecosystem accounting, i.e. natural capital accounting approaches that focus on ecosystems, is conducted to detail the evolving trends in concepts, methodologies, and applications, and to identify main gaps and challenges for future work.

Among the eleven ecosystem accounting frameworks identified, the SEEA is the most widely used. This very literature is moving from focusing on conceptual elements towards addressing implementation issues. It is primarily conducted in European countries, on forest ecosystems, using biophysical methods and monetary valuation methods consistent with exchange values to produce accounts.

The full paper and the results of the comparative literature review can be found here.