Problems of scale abound in the governance of complex social-ecological systems. Conservation governance, for example, typically occurs at a single scale, but needs to inform governance and action at other scales to be truly effective at achieving social and ecological outcomes. This process is conventionally conceived as unidirectional – either scaling down or scaling up – in the way it both exploits and creates the natural, social, human, institutional, and financial resources and benefits that are collectively known as conservation ‘capital’. Here we analyse multiscale conservation governance and the different types of capital that impede or facilitate its effectiveness. Comparative analysis of conservation planning in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, through in-depth document review, key informant interview, and participant observation, reveals limited evidence of unidirectional processes. Instead, we observe multidirectional scaling pathways, cultivated by the following six scale-explicit characteristics of effective conservation governance: 1) multiscale understanding, 2) scale jumping, 3) scaled leadership characteristics, 4) scaled stakeholder engagement, 5) scaled policy frameworks, and 6) scaled institutional settings. While the latter four are familiar concepts, though not always recognised as explicitly scalar, we know little about the first two attributes of conservation governance. Based on this novelty and relevance, we propose a new form of capital – ‘scalar capital’ – to complement natural, social, human, institutional, and financial capitals as both input and outcome of effective conservation governance. We find that scalar capital facilitates flows of different resources (data, conservation objectives, practitioner experience, institutional support, and funding) in multiple directions. Critically, we present empirical evidence that conservation governance can foster scalar capital to improve outcomes across multiple scales.

在复杂的社会生态系统的治理中，规模问题比比皆是。例如，保护治理通常发生在单一规模上，但是需要告知其他规模的治理和行动以真正有效地实现社会和生态成果。按照惯例，此过程被认为是单向的，无论是按比例缩小还是按比例放大，都以其开发和创造自然，社会，人力，机构和财务资源及收益的方式被统称为保护“资本”。在这里，我们分析了多尺度的保护治理以及阻碍或促进其有效性的各种资本。通过深入的文件审阅，关键知情人访谈，对巴布亚新几内亚和所罗门群岛的保护规划进行比较分析，和参与者的观察，揭示了单向过程的有限证据。取而代之的是，我们观察到了以下有效养护治理的以下六个规模明确特征所培育的多向扩展途径：1）多层次理解，2）规模跳跃，3）规模领导特征，4）利益相关者参与程度，5）规模政策框架， 6）规模化的机构环境。尽管后四个是熟悉的概念，尽管并不总是被公认是明确的标量，但我们对保护治理的前两个属性知之甚少。基于这种新颖性和相关性，我们提出了一种新的资本形式-“标量资本”，以补充自然，社会，人力，机构和金融资本，作为有效保护治理的投入和结果。我们发现，标量资本促进了不同方向（资源，保护目标，从业人员的经验，机构支持和资金）的不同资源的流动。至关重要的是，我们提供了经验证据，表明保护治理可以促进标量资本在多个规模上改善产出。