Incentives and regulations to reconcile conservation and development: Thirty years of governance of the Sami pastoral ecosystem in Finnmark, Norway

► Incentive-based mechanisms are regarded as efficient instruments to reconcile conservation and development. ► We examine cross-compliance in the Sami pastoral ecosystem in Norway. ► The incentive-based mechanisms are agreed upon through negotiated agreements with Sami pastoralists. ► Lack of regulations by the governance system is likely to be the cause of failure to reach sustainability. ► We conclude that cross-compliance need to be combined with regulatory approaches.