Abstract The active participation of local stakeholders in governing protected areas is increasingly recognized in biodiversity conservation. While progress has been made in countries to facilitate inclusivity in conservation decision-making, there is limited practical guidance of participatory mechanisms enabling stakeholder engagement. Disentangling formal and informal governance arrangements within protected areas illuminates how stakeholder participation in decision-making is shaped and potentially improved. Here, we provide an analytical framework characterising governance arrangements to examine the formal and informal mechanisms guiding stakeholder participation conservation decision-making in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain). We conducted 76 semi-structured interviews and field observations with local stakeholders, and reviewed Park policy documents. Our findings reveal governance arrangements are contingent upon stakeholders’ responsibility (shared vs. concentrated) and influence (equal vs. unequal), regardless of the (in)formality of decision making. We found four types of arrangements that characterise governance of Sierra de Guadarrama National Park—cooperative, consultative, informative, and prescriptive—and identified the mutually supportive role formal and informal mechanisms play in shaping participation. We argue stakeholders’ responsibility and influence are key analytical axes to delineate participatory mechanisms in order to identify challenges and opportunities for more inclusive conservation. Our study provides analytical guidance that could be adapted and scaled up to other protected areas for understanding participation in conservation decision-making.

中文翻译：

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界定参与保护治理：来自瓜达拉马山脉国家公园的见解（西班牙）

摘要 当地利益相关者积极参与保护区的治理在生物多样性保护中得到越来越多的认可。虽然各国在促进保护决策的包容性方面取得了进展，但有关使利益相关者参与的参与机制的实际指导有限。区分保护区内正式和非正式的治理安排，阐明了利益相关者对决策的参与是如何形成和潜在改善的。在这里，我们提供了一个表征治理安排的分析框架，以检查指导瓜达拉马山脉国家公园（西班牙）利益相关者参与保护决策的正式和非正式机制。我们与当地利益相关者进行了 76 次半结构化访谈和实地观察，并审查了公园政策文件。我们的研究结果表明，治理安排取决于利益相关者的责任（共同与集中）和影响（平等与不平等），而不管决策的（不）形式如何。我们发现了代表瓜达拉马山脉国家公园治理特征的四种安排——合作、协商、信息性和规定性——并确定了正式和非正式机制在塑造参与方面发挥的相互支持作用。我们认为利益相关者的责任和影响是描绘参与机制的关键分析轴，以便确定更具包容性的保护的挑战和机遇。