The circumstances under which different ecosystem service benefits can be realized differ. The benefits tend to be coproduced and to be enabled by multiple interacting social, ecological, and technological factors, which is particularly evident in cities. As many cities are undergoing rapid change, these factors need to be better understood and accounted for, especially for those most in need of benefits. We propose a framework of three systemic filters that affect the flow of ecosystem service benefits: the interactions among green, blue, and built infrastructures; the regulatory power and governance of institutions; and people's individual and shared perceptions and values. We argue that more fully connecting green and blue infrastructure to its urban systems context and highlighting dynamic interactions among the three filters are key to understanding how and why ecosystem services have variable distribution, continuing inequities in who benefits, and the long-term resilience of the flows of benefits.

The sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems requires better coordination between policies span-ning freshwater, coastal and marine environments. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) has been promoted as a holistic and integrative approach for the safekeeping and protection of aquatic biodiversity. The paper assesses the degree to which key European environmental policies for the aquatic environment, namely the Birds and Habitats Directives, Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive, individually support EBM and can work synergistically to implement EBM. This assessment is based on a review of legal texts, EU guidance and implementation documents. The paper concludes that EBM can be made operational by implementing these key environmental directives. Opportunities for improving the integration of EU environmental policies are highlighted.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-017-0928-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Climatic and environmental changes are expected to affect in particular those regions where the economy is primarily based on the agricultural sector and where the dependency on water availability is high. This study examines how smallholder farmers in rural Tanzania perceived climatic and environmental changes over the past 20 years and the resulting effects on water availability and food security. The study is based on a household survey of 899 farmers in a semi-arid and a sub-humid region in Tanzania. It was found that (a) significant differences in perceptions of the environment by farmers can be attributed to agro-climatic location, while the distance to a water source has less impact on individual perception; (b) differently perceived changes affect individual water availability and food security; and (c) the farm level adaptation methods applied are linked to vulnerability to changes and the household dependence on the immediate environment. The authors conclude that the specific environmental surroundings paired with socioeconomic factors can severely compound the negative effects of water scarcity on rural farmers.

Ongoing urban densification and the resultant stress on socio-ecological systems necessitate the development of innovative strategies for safeguarding green and blue infrastructure (GBI) and the benefits it provides. Yet, while GBI is increasingly recognised as an effective tool to respond to urban challenges, outcomes are often less than ideal. The capacity of multifunctional natural areas to simultaneously address user preferences, answer municipal needs, and fulfil wider political obligations is far from being fully realised. The present article responds to this situation and highlights the Q-method as an effective approach for assessing and integrating user viewpoints on urban GBI and its benefits in urban decision-making and planning processes. The application of the Q-method with 227 participants in two case study sites-Halle, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden-forms the basis for our analysis and conclusions. Results indicate that four main stakeholder groups are present in each city, with each group having clear preferences for specific green and blue characteristics, such as areas shaded by trees, access to water for swimming, "wild" nature, and manicured grass fields. By establishing which features are shared across groups, urban planning processes can successfully integrate public subjectivity into decision-making processes and respond to user preferences. The Q-method can thereby support an optimised use of public funds in urban planning to ensure that user needs are met and public acceptance is high, while safeguarding critical GBI benefits. This research was carried out as part of the ENABLE project, funded through the BiodivERsA COFUND call for research proposals.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly employed as a tool to protect Europe's swiftly declining marine biodiversity. However, despite increasing coverage, MPA effectiveness and equity is considered highly variable. Concurrently, Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM)-that is, management that aims to protect, restore, or enhance the resilience and sustainability of an ecosystem to ensure sustainable flows of ecosystem services and conserve its biodiversity-is growing in prominence. We applied EBM in the Faial-Pico Channel, a 240 km 2 MPA in the Azores, Portugal, to assess whether EBM can protect biodiversity whilst meeting diverse stakeholder and policy goals. Collaborating with local stakeholders and policy-makers, this chapter documents the steps of EBM: identifying integrative policy and stakeholder objectives, understanding the social-ecological system, scenario development, and identification and evaluation of EBM measures and policies. We find that stakeholder co-creation and collaboration is a key strength of EBM and should be strengthened in the Faial-Pico Channel. We find that local stakeholders support effective and equitable EBM of MPAs by clearly identifying challenges and priorities, co-creating solutions, providing low-cost knowledge and expertise, and