ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Environment card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 72 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaEnvironment & resources
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Environment & resources

Environment

Human impact, nature & ecosystems

The nature around you, the forest, the air and the birds, is more regulated than you might think. The Environmental Code (Miljöbalken) sets the frame, the EU stands behind a large share of the rules, and the decisions about the nature right next to you are often made closer than you expect. Whoever knows where the power lies can also protect a forest.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · plans, supervision & local nature · approx 20 %
  • State · the Environmental Code, protection & supervision · approx 45 %
  • EU · directives & nature conservation · approx 35 %

The central government holds the Environmental Code and the County Administrative Boards (Länsstyrelsen), but a large share of the rules is written in Brussels. The general election weighs the most, with the European Parliament election close behind.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityLocal nature & supervision
The regionOn the side
Central governmentThe Environmental Code & the agencies · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige), the environmental committee (miljönämnden) and the inspectors at the environment office.
The region has no formal role in environmental protection.
The Riksdag (Sweden's parliament), the Government, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) and the County Administrative Boards (Länsstyrelsen), the central government's regional arm.
What do they decide?
Local environmental supervision, detailed development plans (detaljplaner) that decide what gets built, and municipal nature reserves in the nature close to town.
No formal role, but the region's decisions on public transport and regional development affect the environment indirectly.
The Environmental Code, national parks and most nature reserves, species protection and supervision of the large businesses.
Where are decisions made?
In the environmental committee and the municipal council. Detailed development plans are always put out for public consultation (samråd).
In the regional council (regionfullmäktige), when environmental questions are weighed into other decisions.
In the Riksdag, at the Environmental Protection Agency and at the County Administrative Board in your county.
Who pays?
Municipal tax, plus supervision fees from the businesses being inspected.
Regional tax, but not for environmental protection as such.
The central government budget: protecting nature, environmental monitoring and grants for local measures.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election A citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag) to protect a forest, comments during a detailed development plan consultation.
Regional election The regional election steers things indirectly: transport and regional development shape the environment.
General election A referral response (remissvar), comments to the County Administrative Board, membership in an association with the right to appeal.
EUThe EU's nature conservation and environmental directives lie behind a large share of the Environmental Code, and Natura 2000 protects nature across the whole union. Influenced in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A nature reserve takes shape
  1. EU

    The EU identifies nature worth protecting

    The Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive oblige Sweden to protect species and habitats. The Natura 2000 areas are the EU's network of protected nature, and they weigh heavily in every Swedish assessment.

  2. State

    The Environmental Code provides the tool

    In the Environmental Code, the Riksdag has given both the central government and the municipality the right to create nature reserves. The Environmental Protection Agency distributes the money that makes it possible to buy land or compensate landowners.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers both the law and the budget for nature protection.

  3. State

    The County Administrative Board investigates and negotiates

    The County Administrative Board, the central government's arm in the county, surveys the natural values, negotiates compensation with the landowners and drafts a proposed decision and a management plan.

    Point of influence

    The proposal is sent out openly as a referral. Landowners, associations and neighbours can submit comments before the decision.

  4. Municipality

    The municipality can go first

    The municipality can also create nature reserves, often in the forests close to town where many people spend time. The municipality also often maintains trails, benches and signs in the outdoor areas.

    Point of influence

    Many municipalities accept citizen's proposals. Proposing protection for a well-loved forest is a classic example.

  5. Your everyday life

    The Sunday walk is protected

    The forest you walk in on Sundays can no longer be logged or built on. The decision that protects it was made openly, and someone took the first initiative.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which place in your municipality do you think should be protected, and who would you turn to?

  2. How should we weigh jobs and housing against protected nature when they clash?

  3. Who should have the final word over nature: the central government, the municipality or the landowner?

  4. What in the nature near you has changed during your lifetime, and who made the decisions?

  5. How much of environmental policy do you think should be decided at the EU level?

Glossary

Miljöbalken
Sweden's combined environmental law, the basis for almost every environmental decision.
Natura 2000
The EU's network of protected nature areas, found in every member state.
Naturreservat
A protected nature area that the central government or a municipality creates under the Environmental Code.
Länsstyrelsen
The central government's regional agency in each county, handling much of the environmental protection in practice.
Samråd
The formal stage when everyone can have their say before a decision is made.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.