Multifunctionality and biodiversity conservation: Institutional challenges

Integrating biodiversity conservation objectives to local level practices takes place in rural areas where land and natural resources are managed for multiple functions. Institutional arrangements in these local contexts will necessarily need to adapt to respond to evolving environmental conditions as well as social expectations and opportunities. Institutional capabilities to deliberate across policy sectors and levels include open communication channels, systems of learning, facilitation of actors and technical interfaces as well as ability to communicate across borders. Cross-sectoral communication that serves the identification and integration of the multiple functions of natural resources and land is enhanced when different actors trust each other, learn and work together, and share targets. In this article, we draw on experiences from three empirical cases in which different kinds of institutional arrangements have been developed to address the challenge of multifunctionality in rural land use, agriculture and forestry. In studying these cases, we make an effort to identify the institutional contexts where the case processes developed, as well as the development and application of shared capabilities to deal with multifunctionality and biodiversity across policy sectors and levels. We conclude by making the statement that while we can identify successful trails of crossing sectoral borders and integrating biodiversity conservation to land and natural resource management, greater attention to multifunctionality is required when planning and participating in natural resource management and biodiversity conservation decisions.