As concerns for the ongoing and increasing degradation of the natural environment worldwide, have increased the impetus for action, and development of governance arrangements to support natural resource management. Despite this, issues around governance remain a significant challenge to the success of natural resource management. This study reports the findings of a systematic literature review of 240 papers to better understand how governance challenges manifest spatially, how they change over time, and identify key priority areas for strategic governance reform. This paper reveals that the capacity of natural resource management governance systems internationally is most limited by factors that limit connectivity and collaboration between stakeholders in decision-making processes, and the alignment of vision and objectives across institutions. The paper shows clear spatial disparities and temporal changes in the number of studies and governance challenges of natural resource management identified in developing and developed countries.