Protected nature 2017:
Protected nature in Sweden 2017
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden and Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 2018-05-23 9.30
nextNationally designated areas of protection encompass 11 percent of Sweden’s land surface, including inland waters. In 2017, designated protected areas (marine and terrestrial) increased by almost 100 000 hectares. The new areas are mainly located in nature reserves in mountainous areas in northern Sweden.
The total area of nationally designated areas of protection is more than 5.6 million hectares (including marine areas). Of the total area, 89 percent, or 5 million hectares, comprise land areas and inland water. If the international protection type Natura 2000 is included, protected nature comprises almost 14 percent of Sweden’s land area, including inland waters.
| Area in hectares | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of protection | Number of areas | Total area, including marine areas | Marine areas | Land area, including inland waters | Share in percent, out of Sweden’s total land area, including inland waters | |
|
National parks
|
29 | 741 365 | 45 971 | 695 394 | 1.6 | |
|
Nature reserves
|
4 737 | 4 729 954 | 533 159 | 4 196 795 | 9.4 | |
|
Nature conservation areas
|
89 | 109 761 | 26 333 | 83 428 | 0.2 | |
|
Habitat protection areas in forest land
|
7 956 | 28 598 | 2 | 28 597 | 0.1 | |
|
Habitat protection areas, other
|
108 | 280 | 22 | 258 | 0.0 | |
|
|
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|
Total 2017
|
12 919 | 5 607 892 | 605 483 | 5 002 409 | 11.2 | |
|
Total 2016
|
12 474 | 5 512 174 | 602 612 | 4 909 562 | 11.0 | |
|
|
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|
Natura 2000
|
4 532 | 7 768 946 | 2 001 943 | 5 767 003 | 12.9 | |
|
Natura 2000 areas not included in protection specified above
|
2 969 858 | 1 595 814 | 1 374 044 | 3.1 | ||
Nationally designated areas, most commonly located in national parks and nature reserves, are unevenly distributed across the country because of the need to protect large old-growth forest areas in mountainous regions. Eighty percent of the national designated land area is located in the three northernmost counties. The protected areas in these counties are concentrated in the mountains or along the edge of the mountain chain.
Sweden has large areas of protected nature per capita compared with other countries in Europe. On the other hand, if we consider protected nature as a share of the total area, many other European countries have protected larger shares of their territories.
Definitions and explanations
Protected areas are defined here as statutory protection of nature regulated by the Environmental Code. Until 1 January 1999, the main legislative provision for nature protection in Sweden was embodied in the Act on the Management of Natural Resources (NRL). On 1 January 1999, this Act was replaced by the Environmental Code.
Publication
A more detailed report of this survey is published in the Statistical Report Protected Nature 2017 (pdf).
Next publishing will be
2019
Statistical Database
More information is available in the Statistical Database
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.