Landscape Conservation Cooperatives: Bridging Entities to Facilitate Adaptive Co-Governance of Social–Ecological Systems

Abstract

To address rapidly changing and uncertain environmental and social change on large landscapes/seascapes, conservation organizations need to overcome barriers to collaboration and create governance structures that integrate ecological, biological and physical sciences with social science insight and refine decisions based on new information. Adaptive co-governance frameworks are social networks supported by diverse stakeholders that use dynamic learning to inform adaptation. Disincentives for adaptive co-governance include entrenched organizational cultures, conflicting mandates/jurisdictions, and disparate interests among stakeholders. Bridging entities can foster adaptive co-governance by providing platforms for communication, relationship building and stakeholder engagement. This article reinforces the need for institutionalization of adaptive co-governance of social–ecological systems and suggests that Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) are bridging entities within a broader co-governance framework. LCCs, a network of conservation organizations both governmental and nongovernmental, have great potential to facilitate conservation of rapidly changing social–ecological systems by providing structure and incentives for collaboration and shared learning.