Ecosystem services (ES) are the natural functions and processes of ecosystems that are of value to humans. By definition, therefore, ES are an anthropocentric concept: humans are the focus of ES (Fig. 1). This means that it is essential to acknowledge the social, economic and ecological systems within which individuals and human societies are embedded, in order to fully apply the concept of ES. Given the ubiquity these socioeconomic–ecological interrelationships across the globe, the ES framework has almost universal potential and its importance in policymaking is growing. Nonetheless, ES and the way the concept is sometimes applied (e.g. the commodification or monetarisation of nature) are still viewed with caution by many, especially those who see it as a threat to the traditional conservation goals of maximising biodiversity. Even now, a full decade after the publication of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2005), which catalysed the field, there is surprisingly little empirical data that bring together social, economic and ecological thinking about ecosystems, and much of the theory is similarly embryonic.