Adaptive capacity of legal and policy frameworks for biodiversity protection considering climate change

•We define the institutional framework for forest biodiversity protection in Sweden.•We identify implications regarding adaptive capacity.•The adaptive capacity of the formal institutional framework is relatively limited.•Successful implementation of policy depend on how law is framed and interpreted.•Site conservation is insufficient to protect biodiversity considering climate change.•Planning is an essential tool for long-term biodiversity protection.

Protection of biodiversity under conditions of climate change is likely to place large requirements on existing frameworks for biodiversity protection at both EU and national level. While these systems are not perfectly adapted today, the inclusion of climate change concerns will require revision and addition of new issues, such as species migration corridors and buffers, as well as proactive strategies in areas that may not be protected today. Biodiversity in forest is particularly important as forest range over large areas that include also other land uses; this holds particularly true for the large forested areas in northern Europe. Illustrating complexities regarding biodiversity protection, this study reviews the applicable legal framework related to biodiversity in forests on EU and national level in Sweden, one of the countries with the largest forest areas in the EU. Mainly drawing on a policy and legal study, the paper concludes that adapting the legislative and policy system to a future with large uncertainties in terms of extent of change poses a problem for what are largely reactive systems in particular in terms of legislation.