Are national biodiversity strategies and action plans appropriate for building responsibilities for mainstreaming biodiversity across policy sectors? The case of Finland |
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Authors: | Simo Sarkki Jari Niemelä Rob Tinch Jukka-Pekka Jäppinen Matti Nummelin Heikki Toivonen |
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Institution: | 1. Thule Institute, University of Oulu, Finland;2. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland;3. Median SCP, Valldoreix, Spain;4. Natural Environment Centre, Director's Office, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Helsinki, Finland;5. Department for Development Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Finland |
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Abstract: | The Convention on Biological Diversity's national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) are major mechanisms for mainstreaming biodiversity into national policies. This article examines whether and how the NBSAPs contribute to mainstreaming biodiversity across policy sectors in Finland in order to halt biodiversity loss. We have developed an innovative analytical framework where the concept of responsibility addresses how motivations for mainstreaming can be built, and the concept of social learning outcomes addresses the extent of institutional changes for biodiversity. The Finnish NBSAP processes have been able to build diverse forms of responsibility (liability, accountability, responsiveness and care) in different policy sectors by providing new knowledge, careful process design and developing institutional linkages. Despite pro-biodiversity outcomes in the targeted policy sectors, the responsibilities do not diffuse from the environmental administration to other policy sectors to a sufficient extent. Closing this ‘responsibility gap’ is a key challenge for building effective environmental policies. |
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Keywords: | convention on biological diversity environmental governance responsibility gap social learning outcomes trade-offs |
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