ABSTRACT
Forest landscape restoration often requires governance arrangements that can accommodate new science, information, and reflexive engagement of local communities and central planners. Across various landscapes, governance arrangements can benefit from inclusion of multiple actors and knowledge types. Polycentric restoration offers the needed flexibility to encompass multiple objectives under a variety of frameworks. Building from a comprehensive awareness of local concerns, and incorporating the realities of funding partners and governmental agencies, polycentricity requires ongoing engagement from all parties. A polycentric approach enables multiple actors to have a voice, and then sets up nested decision-making scales that contribute to the ongoing decision-making support system. The ideal polycentric governance system provides the framework to coordinate activities, conduct monitoring with multiple inputs, and conduct restoration work. It represents one, but not the only, mode of governance for restoration. The process helps to identify needs and match them with the resources to accomplish goals.
