Environmental governance and its implications for conservation practice

Background

Environmental governance is a growing field that expands conservation practice beyond traditional management approaches. Managers make operational decisions to achieve specific conservation outcomes, while governance involves the broader processes and institutions through which societies make decisions that affect the environment. Unlike management, governance incorporates diverse views, fosters networks, and supports hybrid partnerships among state and non-state actors, creating opportunities for shared learning.

Goals and Methods

This paper reviews environmental governance concepts, models, and issues relevant to conservation practice. It aims to help conservation managers and scientists engage more effectively in conservation initiatives, reflect on their roles, and navigate conservation within a complex social context.

Conclusions and Takeaways

Effective environmental governance is essential for successful conservation, as traditional government-led approaches cannot address complex, multiscale challenges. Hybrid governance models that integrate the state, markets, and civil society are emerging, but their conservation outcomes require careful evaluation. Key factors include institutional fit and scale, adaptability, knowledge co-production, the roles of new actors, and accountability. Shared governance and regulatory mechanisms must align with biophysical realities and ecological change, while networks must extend beyond spatial boundaries. Adaptive, multilevel governance is critical for managing change and uncertainty. Conservation efforts must also recognize and incorporate diverse forms of knowledge from both state and non-state actors. Ultimately, success depends on understanding trade-offs in governance dilemmas and how ecological and social conditions evolve over time and space, requiring sustained commitment from all stakeholders.