Why is it difficult to produce biodiversity conservation even when it is imperative to do so? The present analysis answers this question by applying the logic and dynamics of resource conservation that prevail at the community level to the national level in the context of Madagascar. I argue that conservation results are not commensurate with conservation efforts because conservation models and policies overlook the specific and limited conditions under which conservation behaviour can occur. The analytical framework I employ singles out key actors, their interests in supporting conservation, the institutions that result from their interactions and the actual conservation outcomes institutions ultimately produce. First, the causal links between rules and conservation behaviour outcomes (community level) and between foreign assistance and conservation policy outcomes (national level) are tested. Second, a cross-level analysis is conducted to show that conservation is likely only under specific and limited conditions, hence the challenge of biodiversity conservation. The theoretical implication is that scaling up the analysis from local to national is necessary to explain why biodiversity conservation is difficult to achieve. This challenges the view that local-level dynamics do not apply beyond the local scale. The empirical implication is that conservation policies need to recognize the specific and limited conditions under which conservation is possible so that efforts are better focused and resources more efficiently used.