Biosphere Reserves as Boundary Organisations that support landscape governance: Analysing the Biosphere for Baltic network
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article analyses how Biosphere Reserves (BRs) in the Biosphere for Baltic network operate as Boundary Organisations (BOs) in support of collaborative landscape governance. Using Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development framework in combination with BO theory, it examines how institutional arrangements, stakeholder interactions, and contextual conditions shape the capacity of BRs to convene, translate, collaborate, and mediate across governance levels. Based on case studies of seven BRs in the Baltic Sea region, the results show consistent patterns in how governance models, participatory processes, knowledge flows, and institutional recognition enable or constrain boundary functions. Effective convening and collaboration were most evident where long-standing relationships, strong trust, and cross-sectoral platforms were in place. Barriers arose from short-term project cycles, uneven participation, tensions around authority and role boundaries, and limited national-level uptake of BR-generated knowledge. Knowledge translation appeared stronger when BRs could connect scientific, local, and administrative perspectives and relate them to planning and management needs, while institutional misalignment made learning and follow-up more difficult. The findings underscore the need to balance institutional flexibility, neutrality, learning, and embeddedness to enhance the effectiveness of BRs as boundary organisations for advancing landscape governance.
Source: Land Use Policy
Authors: Charles Westerberg, Ralph Tafon, Michael Gilek
Institution: Södertörn University
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,830
Funder: Naturvårdsverket
OpenAlex ID: W7171461480