The report sets the foundations for the second EU Ecosystem Assessment (MAES2), updating and harmonising the conceptual architecture of the First EU Ecosystem Assessment of 2020 with the UN System of Economic-Environmental Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting and the IPBES drivers-of-change categories. By establishing an integrated, spatially explicit framework and mapping crosswalks between major assessment systems, it delivers the conceptual and methodological blueprint for producing updated indicator trends, ecosystem condition assessments, and ecosystem services accounts. Moreover, the knowledge generated by the First EU Ecosystem Assessment could be more effectively utilised if aligned with state-of-the-art scientific advances and the scope of the second IPBES Global Assessment. The approach developed in this report underscores MAES2 strong policy relevance for guiding restoration priorities for the implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation, strengthening environmental governance, and supporting evidence-based EU biodiversity commitments for 2030 and beyond. Preliminary results (summarised in Chapter 7) show that despite methodological advances and selected improvements—such as reduced nutrient loads, better air and water quality, and declining nitrogen deposition—a large proportion of EU ecosystems remain in degraded or unfavourable condition. The assessment also reveals persistent structural pressures, including habitat conversion, soil degradation, invasive alien species, and climate-driven disturbances, highlighting the urgent need for coordinated EU action to reverse ecosystem decline and enhance their resilience.

PARACCHINI Maria Luisa;  VALLECILLO Sara;  MARCHETTI Angelica;  MARCANTONIO Matteo;  BARREDO Jose I.;  SÁNCHEZ-ESPINOSA Antonio;  TROMBETTI Marco;  GALIMBERTI Francesco;  ALONSO ALLER Elisa;  ARIAS NAVARRO Cristina;  CARDOSO Ana Cristina;  GRAMMATIKOPOULOU Ioanna;  CZUCZ Balint;  ABDUL MALAK Dania;  CADAHÍA LORENZO Luis;  CAUDULLO Giovanni;  GRIZZETTI Bruna;  GUERRERO FERNANDEZ Irene;  JONES Arwyn;  KOLSTAD Anders;  KUŽELOVÁ Klára;  LA NOTTE Alessandra;  LIAKOS Leonidas;  LIQUETE Camino;  MALEK Ziga;  MAGLIOZZI Chiara;  NOCITA Marco;  ORGIAZZI Alberto;  PARDO Adara;  PETERSEN Jan Erik;  PIRODDI Chiara;  PISANI Domenico;  POLCE Chiara;  SCARPA Simone;  VAN DER VELDE Marijn;  VIGHI Morgana;  WEISS Michael;  ZULIAN Grazia;  ZURBARAN NUCCI Mayra; 

2026-04-21

Publications Office of the European Union

JRC145950

978-92-68-38767-2 (online),   

1831-9424 (online),   

EUR 40664,    OP KJ-01-26-132-EN-N (online),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC145950,   

10.2760/1394895 (online),