Essential ecosystem service variables for monitoring progress towards sustainability

Global frameworks to guide consistent monitoring of changes in human–nature interactions across space and time are needed to better understand how healthy ecosystems support societies and to inform policy design. Monitoring Essential Ecosystem Service Variables (EESVs) can provide a comprehensive picture of how links between nature and people are changing. A first proposed set of EESV classes comprises: ecological supply, anthropogenic contribution, demand, use, instrumental values, and relational values. Development of specific indicators of these classes for three exemplary ecosystem services (food from fisheries, crop pollination and wildlife viewing) confirms their readiness for global operationalization. The EESV classes will advance our ability to monitor progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

• Publication year

  2022

• Venue

  Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

• Publication date

  2022-02-01

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101152
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• A comment on Hamilton (2016) “Measuring sustainability in the UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting”

  2022cited by this paper
• Nature’s contributions to people: coproducing quality of life from multifunctional landscapes

  2021cited by this paper
• Vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna), Wild Andean Altiplano Camelids

  2021cited by this paper
• The maturation of ecosystem services: Social and policy research expands, but whither biophysically informed valuation?

  2020cited by this paper
• Fishery biomass trends of exploited fish populations in marine ecoregions, climatic zones and ocean basins

  2020cited by this paper
• An expert-based reference list of variables for characterizing and monitoring social-ecological systems

  2020cited by this paper
• Trade-offs and synergies in the ecosystem service demand of urban brownfield stakeholders

  2020cited by this paper
• Global trends in nature’s contributions to people

  2020cited by this paper
• Epilogue: Toward a Global Biodiversity Monitoring System

  2020cited by this paper
• Global targets that reveal the social–ecological interdependencies of sustainable development

  2020cited by this paper
• Ecosystem services or nature’s contributions? Reasons behind different interpretations in Latin America

  2020cited by this paper
• Indicators for relational values of nature’s contributions to good quality of life: the IPBES approach for Europe and Central Asia

  2020cited by this paper
• Integrating supply, flow and demand to enhance the understanding of interactions among multiple ecosystem services.

  2019cited by this paper
• Disentangling ‘ecosystem services’ and ‘nature’s contributions to people’

  2019cited by this paper
• Essential biodiversity variables for mapping and monitoring species populations

  2019cited by this paper
• Global modeling of nature’s contributions to people

  2019cited by this paper
• Biocultural approaches to pollinator conservation

  2019cited by this paper
• Essential biodiversity

  2019cited by this paper
• A minimum set of Information Standards for Essential Biodiversity Variables

  2019cited by this paper
• Assessing nature's contributions to people

  2018cited by this paper
• Advancing Marine Biological Observations and Data Requirements of the Complementary Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) and Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) Frameworks

  2018cited by this paper
• Towards global data products of Essential Biodiversity Variables on species traits

  2018cited by this paper
• Linking Capacity Development to GOOS Monitoring Networks to Achieve Sustained Ocean Observation

  2018cited by this paper
• Editorial overview: Relational values: what are they, and what’s the fuss about?

  2018cited by this paper
• Cultivating relational values and sustaining socio-ecological production landscapes through ocean literacy: a study on Satoumi

  2018cited by this paper
• Twenty years of ecosystem services: How far have we come and how far do we still need to go?

  2017cited by this paper
• Essential variables help to focus sustainable development goals monitoring

  2017cited by this paper
• Global fishing capacity and fishing effort from 1950 to 2012

  2017cited by this paper
• Exploring intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values for sustainable management of social-ecological systems

  2017cited by this paper
• Taking stock of nature: Essential biodiversity variables explained

  2017cited by this paper
• Priorities to Advance Monitoring of Ecosystem Services Using Earth Observation.

  2017cited by this paper
• Disentangling the Pathways and Effects of Ecosystem Service Co-Production

  2016cited by this paper
• Improving the identification of mismatches in ecosystem services assessments

  2015cited by this paper
• The IPBES Conceptual Framework - connecting nature and people

  2015cited by this paper
• The quiet revolution of numerical weather prediction

  2015cited by this paper
• Accounting for capacity and flow of ecosystem services: A conceptual model and a case study for Telemark, Norway

  2014cited by this paper
• The Concept of Essential Climate Variables in Support of Climate Research, Applications, and Policy

  2014cited by this paper
• Fish market prices drive overfishing of the ‘big ones’

  2014cited by this paper
• Essential Biodiversity Variables

  2013cited by this paper
• Capacity, pressure, demand, and flow: A conceptual framework for analyzing ecosystem service provision and delivery

  2013cited by this paper
• Mapping and modelling ecosystem services for science, policy and practice

  2013cited by this paper
• Framework for systematic indicator selection to assess effects of land management on ecosystem services

  2012cited by this paper
• A Global System for Monitoring Ecosystem Service Change

  2012cited by this paper
• Integrating Ecology and Economics in the Study of Ecosystem Services : Some Lessons Learned

  2012cited by this paper
• Uncovering Ecosystem Service Bundles through Social Preferences

  2012cited by this paper
• Ecosystem services

  2012cited by this paper
• Integrating Ecology and Economics in the Study of Ecosystem Services: Some Lessons Learned

  2009cited by this paper
• Farming the planet: 2. Geographic distribution of crop areas, yields, physiological types, and net primary production in the year 2000

  2008cited by this paper

• Developing Essential Biodiversity Variables for the Southern Ocean: From data gaps to valuable insights

  2026cites this paper
• Why do people go to nature? Enhancing the recognition and scope of cultural ecosystem services in landscape

  2026cites this paper
• From data to decisions: Toward a Biodiversity Monitoring Standards Framework.

  2026cites this paper
• Local ecological knowledge, ecosystem service perceptions, and conservation attitudes along a forest proximity gradient in Menagesha Suba forest, central Ethiopia

  2026cites this paper
• A global–local analytical framework for social-ecological systems: A deductive–inductive approach

  2026cites this paper
• A framework to assess socioeconomic and spatialized nature-related risks: an application to South Africa

  2025cites this paper
• Monitor social–ecological systems to achieve global goals for biodiversity and nature's contributions to people

  2025cites this paper
• Social-ecological system sustainability in China from the perspective of supply-demand balance for ecosystem services

  2025cites this paper
• Technology transfer and innovation for climate resilience in urban areas: possible integration of ecosystem services in urban planning in Reggio Calabria (Italy)

  2025cites this paper
• In-Lieu Fee Credit Allocations on Public Lands in the United States: Ecosystem Prioritization and Development-Driven Impacts

  2025cites this paper
• A review of open data for studying global groundwater in social–ecological systems

  2025cites this paper
• From soil to health: advancing regenerative agriculture for improved food quality and nutrition security

  2025cites this paper
• Mapping the safe operating space of marine ecosystems under contrasting emission pathways

  2025cites this paper
• National‐scale terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring with essential biodiversity variables in Japan and Finland

  2025cites this paper
• A regenerative systems framework for sustainable management of natural resources: integrating ecosystem resilience with intergenerational wellbeing

  2025cites this paper
• Early shifts in soil microbial community structure and functions upon application of a biofertilizer in a kaki (Diospyros kaki) orchard.

  2025cites this paper
• A Biodiversity Observation Network to support conservation action and mainstream knowledge in Canada

  2025cites this paper
• Advancing ecosystem service monitoring by mapping the current use of essential ecosystem service variables

  2025cites this paper
• Strong sustainability in the SEEA and the wider indicator landscape

  2025cites this paper
• A well-connected Earth: The science and conservation of organismal movement.

  2025cites this paper
• Towards a unified ontology for monitoring ecosystem services

  2025cites this paper
• Consumption Patterns and Utilisation of Provisioning and Cultural Ecosystem Services in Lambaréné, Gabon

  2025cites this paper
• Revealing driver-mediated indirect interactions between ecosystem services using Bayesian Belief Networks

  2025cites this paper
• Does the marine functioning link with the supply of ecosystem services and human benefits? A practical application in the Bay of Biscay

  2025cites this paper
• A data- and expert-driven framework for establishing land cover–related essential variables for SDG monitoring and assessment

  2025cites this paper
• Interoperability for ecosystem service assessments: Why, how, who, and for whom?

  2025cites this paper
• A long-term ecological research dataset from the marine genetic monitoring programme ARMS-MBON 2020-2021

  2025cites this paper
• Triple Bottom Line Scenario Sites as Boundary Objects for Integrating Diverse Disciplines in Convergent Research

  2024cites this paper
• Linking biodiversity, ecosystem function, and Nature's contributions to people: a macroecological energy flux perspective.

  2024cites this paper
• Essential environmental impact variables: A means for transparent corporate sustainability reporting aligned with planetary boundaries

  2024cites this paper
• Monitoring ecosystem services with essential ecosystem service variables

  2024cites this paper
• Monitoring Changes in the Enhanced Vegetation Index to Inform the Management of Forests

  2024cites this paper
• Differences in the experience of cultural ecosystem services in mountain protected areas by clusters of visitors

  2024cites this paper
• A Relational Social-ecological Systems Approach to Determine Essential Variables for Monitoring Sustainability at a Catchment Level.

  2024cites this paper
• Servicesheds connect people to the landscapes upon which they depend

  2024cites this paper
• Assessing coverage of the monitoring framework of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and opportunities to fill gaps

  2024cites this paper
• An integrative methodology framework for assessing regional ecological risk by land degradation using the case of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

  2023cites this paper
• Sustainability threshold for multiple ecosystem services in the Venice lagoon, Italy

  2023cites this paper
• Grand challenges in ocean sustainability

  2023cites this paper
• Ecosystem indicators to measure the effectiveness of marine nature-based solutions on society and biodiversity under climate change

  2023cites this paper
• Insights into Global Water Reuse Opportunities

  2023cites this paper
• A global biodiversity observing system to unite monitoring and guide action

  2023cites this paper
• New paths for modelling freshwater nature futures

  2023cites this paper
• Co‐production of nature's contributions to people: What evidence is out there?

  2023cites this paper
• Perspective: sustainability challenges, opportunities and solutions for long-term ecosystem observations

  2023cites this paper
• Tailoring evidence into action: using a codesign approach for biodiversity information in the Tropical Andes

  2023cites this paper
• From national monitoring to transnational indicators: reporting and processing of aquatic biology data under the European Environment Agency’s State of the Environment data flow

  2023cites this paper
• European marine omics biodiversity observation network: a strategic outline for the implementation of omics approaches in ocean observation

  2023cites this paper
• Optimizing landscape patterns to maximize ecological‐production benefits of water–food relationship: Evidence from the West Liaohe River basin, China

  2023cites this paper
• Dynamic bundles to detect the spatiotemporal characteristics and impact factors of ecosystem services in northern China

  2023cites this paper
• Groundwater Connections and Sustainability in Social‐Ecological Systems

  2023cites this paper
• The future of ecosystem assessments is automation, collaboration, and artificial intelligence

  2022cites this paper
• Trends in ecosystem goods and services obtained from red panda habitats in north-western Nepal

  2022cites this paper
• A data-driven methodological routine to identify key indicators for social-ecological system archetype mapping

  2022cites this paper
• Gains and losses in ecosystem services and disservices after converting native forest to agricultural land on an oceanic island

  2022cites this paper
• Strategic use of ecosystem services and co‐benefits for Sustainable Development Goals

  2022cites this paper
• Ecosystem services values and changes across the Atlantic coastal zone: Considerations and implications

  2022cites this paper
• Land, Water, and Climate Issues in Large and Megacities under the Lens of Nuclear Science: An Approach for Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG11)

  2022cites this paper
• Approaches to Enhance Integration and Monitoring for Social-Ecological Systems

  2022cites this paper
• An ecosystem-based system of variables to enhance marine species and habitat monitoring and conservation: The Adriatic Natura 2000 case study

  2022cites this paper
• BON in a Box: An Open and Collaborative Platform for Biodiversity Monitoring, Indicator Calculation, and Reporting

  year unknowncites this paper