The Role of National Environmental Objectives in Local Biodiversity Conservation : Perspectives from Swedish Municipalities

Sammanfattning

2030 is the goal year for several environmental goal systems. The Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Biodiversity Framework both face implementation challenges. At the national level, Sweden is expected to meet only one of its 16 national environmental objectives by 2030. Biodiversity objectives are among the ones with the worst outlook. Clearly, there is room for improvement in environmental governance across governance levels. Local-level implementation is important for the achievement of national as well as global biodiversity goals. Yet, research on local environmental objective implementation is scarce. This thesis explores the role of national environmental objectives in local-level biodiversity conservation through semi-structured interviews with municipal-level civil servants in southeastern Sweden. Additionally, the thesis delves into challenges and opportunities for local implementation of the national environmental objectives. While national-level environmental objectives are perceived as important at the local level, they do not steer the work with biodiversity conservation. The national environmental objectives can provide strength to conservation work as an overarching goal structure, but further guidance on their implementation is asked for. Land use change is a common challenge in implementing biodiversity objectives at the local level. Clarifying expectations, allocating sufficient resources and rallying around clear focus areas across governance levels could increase the implementation of the national environmental objectives.