摘要：Integration of biodiversity conservation into economic utilization of natural resources hasbecome a central response to the challenges of sustainable development. However, the resources andcompetencies required to implement such an integrated strategy at the level of the individual, theorganization, and the sector are not known. To address this knowledge gap, we have developed an approachto analyze responses of organizations to environmental change and evolving social demands for biodiversityconservation. We analyze the scale, scope, and distribution of the resources and competencies that supportthe delineation of ecologically significant habitats in intensively managed nonindustrial private forests inFinland, an important international actor in the sector. Based on a national survey of 311 foresters workingin public agencies, private firms, and cooperative organizations, we investigate the division of labor in thesector and the patterns of investment in human capital, organizational resources, and information networksthat support delineation. We find that communicating frequently with the actors who are directly engagedin field operations is consistently the most productive resource in conserving habitats. Our analysis identifiesdifferences in competencies among different types of organizations, as well as distinct roles for public andprivate-sector organizations. Beyond identification of differences in conservation behavior andcompetencies among organizations, our analysis points to substantial uniformity in the sector. We attributesimilarities in patterns of investment in conservation resources to historically structured central coordinationmechanisms within the sector that include education, training, and broadly shared professional norms.These institutional structures and the resulting uniformity can be potential impediments to radicalinnovation. Our approach to analyzing adaptation to environmental change highlights the interplay betweeninvestments in competencies by actors within a particular technical domain and the evolving externalinstitutional environment
