Capacity and Governance

Capacity and governance are critical for effective biodiversity conservation, influencing how policies are designed and executed. Strong governance ensures that conservation laws are robust and properly enforced, facilitating the creation of protected areas and the regulation of activities that impact biodiversity. Adequate capacity ensures resources are well-allocated, supporting everything from scientific research to ecosystem maintenance.

Furthermore, effective governance involves broad stakeholder engagement and international cooperation, essential for addressing complex biodiversity challenges that cross national boundaries. This holistic approach enables adaptive management practices, which are crucial for responding to new environmental challenges and ensuring the sustainability of conservation efforts.

The higher the score, the better the country ranks for this parameter.

The table is sorted from the highest score to the lowest:

Rank	Country	Score	Change
1	Iceland	86	None
2	Norway	82	None
3	Australia	81	None
4	Costa Rica	79	+1
5	Seychelles	79	-1
6	New Zealand	78	+32
7	Chile	77	+3
8	Singapore	76	None
9	Canada	76	-1
10	Switzerland	76	+4
11	Denmark	75	+1
12	Finland	75	-1
13	Ireland	75	None
14	Sweden	75	+27
15	Brunei	74	None
16	United Kingdom	74	-9
17	Taiwan	73	+1
18	Japan	73	-1
19	Estonia	72	-3
20	Bhutan	72	None
21	Netherlands	72	-15
22	Luxembourg	72	+3
23	Uruguay	71	-4
24	Mauritius	71	+2
25	Bahamas	71	-3
26	Czech republic	70	+3
27	Cape Verde	70	+1
28	United Arab Emirates	70	+4
29	Portugal	70	+2
30	Rwanda	69	+16
31	Belgium	69	+8
32	Botswana	69	+1
33	South Korea	69	+7
34	Germany	69	-4
35	Fiji	69	+1
36	Croatia	69	-12
37	Qatar	68	+8
38	Austria	68	-11
39	Solomon Islands	68	None
40	Antigua and Barbuda	68	+10
41	Dominica	68	+11
42	Tanzania	68	+6
43	Italy	68	+20
44	Thailand	68	+5
45	Barbados	68	+6
46	France	68	+15
47	South Africa	68	None
48	Vietnam	68	-6
49	Namibia	68	+12
50	Cuba	68	-15
51	Lithuania	67	-7
52	Grenada	67	+1
53	Kuwait	67	+11
54	China	67	-20
55	Latvia	67	-12
56	Poland	67	+1
57	Indonesia	66	-3
58	Spain	66	+10
59	Maldives	66	-4
60	Malaysia	66	+5
61	Belize	66	+9
62	Malta	66	-6
63	Slovenia	66	+3
64	Hungary	65	-2
65	Trinidad and Tobago	65	+10
66	Samoa	65	+18
67	Philippines	65	+15
68	Argentina	65	+1
69	United States	65	-1
70	Honduras	65	+8
71	Saint Lucia	65	+12
72	Romania	64	-51
73	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	64	+1
74	Ecuador	64	+16
75	Colombia	64	+1
76	Mexico	64	+18
77	Jamaica	64	+2
78	Peru	64	-5
79	Saudi Arabia	64	+6
80	Kazakhstan	64	-8
81	Guyana	64	-4
82	Vanuatu	64	+4
83	Mozambique	64	-3
84	Tonga	64	+15
85	Dominican Republic	64	+3
86	Panama	63	+11
87	Montenegro	63	+8
88	Nepal	63	-7
89	Oman	63	+7
90	Madagascar	63	+3
91	Sri Lanka	63	+14
92	Senegal	63	+6
93	El Salvador	63	-34
94	Georgia	63	-4
95	Laos	62	-3
96	Guatemala	62	-5
97	Cyprus	62	+10
98	Bahrain	62	+2
99	Gabon	62	-10
100	Paraguay	62	+3
101	Papua New Guinea	62	+10
102	Zimbabwe	62	+10
103	Eswatini	61	-43
104	Nicaragua	61	-2
105	Russia	61	-1
106	India	61	+9
107	Uganda	61	+13
108	Malawi	61	+2
109	Ghana	61	-1
110	Bolivia	60	-4
111	Jordan	60	+5
112	Slovakia	60	+12
113	Serbia	60	+6
114	Albania	60	+7
115	Mauritania	60	+8
116	Lesotho	60	-15
117	Kenya	60	None
118	Angola	60	+8
119	Benin	60	-6
120	Brazil	60	-6
121	Moldova	59	+7
122	Greece	59	None
123	Mongolia	59	-5
123	Ukraine	59	+18
124	Suriname	59	+6
125	Israel	59	-16
126	Gambia	59	+1
127	Uzbekistan	58	-2
128	Bulgaria	58	+1
129	Zambia	58	+2
130	North Macedonia	58	+10
131	Belarus	58	+2
132	Ivory Coast	57	-61
133	Cambodia	57	+4
134	Algeria	57	-2
135	Morocco	57	-6
136	Egypt	57	+6
137	Ethiopia	57	+2
138	Burkina Faso	57	-2
139	Kyrgyztan	56	+9
140	Armenia	56	+5
141	Tunisia	56	+10
142	Cameroon	56	-4
143	Bosnia and Herz.	56	-9
144	Turkey	56	None
145	Guinea-Bissau	55	-2
146	Togo	55	+4
147	Azerbaijan	55	-1
148	Iran	55	-1
149	Turkmenistan	55	+30
150	Lebanon	54	+3
151	Guinea	54	+1
152	Comoros	54	+5
153	Chad	54	+3
154	Congo	53	+4
155	Sierra Leone	53	None
156	Djibouti	53	+4
157	Sao Tome and Principe	52	-3
158	Bangladesh	52	+1
159	Niger	52	+5
160	Pakistan	52	+1
161	Liberia	52	+6
162	DR Congo	61	-75
163	Venezuela	51	-1
164	Nigeria	51	+6
165	Equatorial Guinea	51	-2
166	Mali	50	+2
167	Burundi	50	-2
168	Micronesia	50	+3
169	Myanmar	50	None
170	Iraq	49	-4
171	Tajikistan	49	+2
172	Sudan	48	-23
173	Kiribati	48	-1
174	Marshall Islands	47	+1
175	Eritrea	46	-3
176	East Timor	46	+2
177	Central Af. Rep.	46	-1
178	Afghanistan	45	-1
179	Haiti	38	-1