Call for papers: The Governance of Biodiversity Recovery

This special issue aims to further our understanding of how and the extent to which integration of biodiversity targets in public and private sectoral policies ‘works’ in terms of implementation and results, to provide in-depth insights into the critical barriers and challenges that impede a stronger integration. We invite contributions that address one or more of the following questions:

• How are biodiversity targets adopted and integrated, and why – what factors account for action as well as non-action? More particularly, what explains differences in degrees of integration (from ‘add-on’ to ‘transformative change’)? What is the steering power of global targets such as those of the CBD as opposed to other triggers for change?
• How and to what extent does biodiversity mainstreaming at certain levels of government affect mainstreaming at other levels? In other words, what can we learn about the multi-level governance of biodiversity mainstreaming?
• How can ‘telecoupled’ biodiversity impacts linking geographically distanced causes and effects be governed - think of tropical deforestation to supply resources for European consumption of e.g. soy and palm oil?
• How do different public and private biodiversity integration actions interact? Is there evidence that action from the government stimulates private action or the other way around, or do we observe ‘crowding out’ effects?
• How are sector-specific biodiversity targets implemented and with what results in terms of outputs (concrete measures such as regulations or ecolabels), outcomes (behavioural change among companies, consumers, farmers etc.), and impacts (on driving forces of biodiversity loss, such as deforestation due to unsustainable sourcing, habitat restoration, or even evidence of biodiversity recovery)? What are key enablers and barriers and how can these be manipulated?
• What mechanisms have been developed to secure effective mainstreaming? What enabling factors do support or hinder policy integration?
• To what extent do new concepts that aim to reconcile nature conservation with economic and social benefits such as ‘ecosystem based adaptation’, ‘nature based solutions’, ‘eco-engineering’, and ‘natural capital’ facilitate and enhance the mainstreaming of biodiversity targets?
• What is the role of law (international, regional, domestic) in achieving biodiversity targets and providing regulatory frameworks for implementation processes? What do we know about the ability of legal provisions to give political priority to biodiversity considerations? In particular, how is progress monitored and enforced, and accountability of responsible actors secured?