Designated terrestrial protected areas

In 1909, the first national parks in Europe were established in Sweden; however, compared with many other countries, Sweden has a lower proportion of protected nature. The far-reaching right of public access in Sweden means that the need for large recreational areas is lower in Sweden than in other similar countries with less developed rights of public access. The proportion of strictly protected areas is larger in Sweden than in several other EU Member States. One reason for this is Sweden’s relatively large proportion of old-growth forest. Strict regulation is needed to preserve these values. In Sweden, the highest proportions of protected land area are found in the mountain region and several municipalities near Stockholm. In terms of protection by habitat type, the low mountain forest has the highest proportion of formal protection (> 50%). The annual increase in protected areas is not enough to meet the EU target of 30% alone; the reported other effective area-based conservation measures also need to be taken into account. Overall, faster improvement is needed for Sweden to meet its EU policy target, which implies enhanced efforts to protect nature and to report other effective area-based conservation measures.