UNSaveSpara
This summer it burned in Tyresta National Park, says CEO Jonas Ekstrand. But the rescue service’s car could not go out because the bridge could not be restored safely. Instead, they had to send out drones to locate the fire. A new bridge would cost around SEK 8 million, money that does not exist.
1 / 4foto: Anders Wiklund / TT
Falling trees, bridges that rot and overcrowded trash cans. It is the reality of several of the country’s national parks and nature reserves.
“The gap between the major needs and the government’s appropriation is far too great,” says Kristina Ljungros, secretary general of the Outdoor Promotion.
In Tyresta National Park south of Stockholm it is quiet. The streams’ progress sounds springy and the birds reveal that winter is probably over this time. Spring also increases the number of visitors in the park. Jonas Ekstrand, national park manager and CEO, is worried.
– We pat and cook as best we can. But unfortunately we have had several cases where visitors were injured as a result of neglected maintenance work.
According to calculations from the Outdoor Promotion and the Swedish Tourist Association (STF), the grant for maintenance and outdoor infrastructure in state nature reserves and national parks has decreased by a total of 59 percent during the current term. The figure has come to the conclusion after inflation -proof numbers and erupting items that affect just maintenance and infrastructure in parks and reserves.
Tyresta National Park has more than one million visitors a year and is known for its primeval forest. It is surrounded by Tyresta nature reserve and together they make up 5,000 hectares with 55 kilometers of hiking trails. To some of the entrances go local bus lines and the park has been available for wheelchairs and strollers.
– But that’s not really true anymore. Some bridges and blades have expired so that we had to remove them so as not to risk more people being injured, says Jonas Ekstrand.
Becomes a class issue
As accessibility decreases, the nature experience risks becoming a class issue because only certain groups have the opportunity to get there.
– In the end, the cuts lead to fewer people being able to come out into nature, says Maria Ros-Hjelm, STF’s secretary general.
She describes reports from associations throughout the country that there are no resources for everything from emptying trash cans and toilets to caring for barbecue places.
– If we want to improve public health and reduce the sedentary, it is not just possible to invest in competition sports. Nature is the most important place for Swedes’ exercise and recreation, says Kristina Ljungros.
County boards lack resources
In a review, the OAG has stated that the county administrative boards lack resources to maintain natural values and to a large extent make the protected areas available to visitors. They believe that the county administrative boards build up a maintenance debt.
The parliamentary environmental target committee believes that it needs to be added SEK 1.6 billion annually in order for Sweden to cope with the management of a valuable nature. As it seems now, maintenance will continue to slip.
– It is great that the government should now invest in outdoor life for the elderly for example. But in a longer perspective, the budget appropriations for taking care of protected nature and outdoor infrastructure have been lowered, says Maria Ros-Hjelm.
Fact -in -law -injured appropriations in numbers
According to the Environmental Goals Committee, SEK 1.6 billion per year is needed to manage a protected nature and make it available to visitors.
SEK 150 million per year estimates the environmental target committee is needed to finance the outdoor infrastructure in protected areas.
The government is investing SEK 100 million extra during 2025 on nature reserves and national parks – but the level of funding remains because it replaces a previous reinforcement.
The appropriations for outdoor life and infrastructure have decreased by 59 percent on the total during the current term.
The number of protected areas has increased sharply and in combination with inflation, the appropriation in real money per protected area has decreased by 43 percent since 2018.
In 2025, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency received almost SEK 1 billion less than what the authority had been able to cope with the management of Sweden’s most valuable nature.
The Lona grants available to finance local conservation projects have decreased by 74 percent since 2022.
According to Statistics Sweden, the proportion of the Swedish population that is out in the forest and land each week was increasing and was 40 percent of the population in 2022.
Source: Outdoor Promotion, Swedish Tourist Association
Read the More Facts Climate and Environment Minister responds
Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L) writes in an e-mail to TT that “When this government took office, a tight budget was presented, which primarily aimed at fighting inflation. The grant is now at the same level as it did during the period 2019 to 2020. SEK 30 million extra on the maintenance of valuable natural environments and species in the cultural landscape.
Read more factual criticism from the OAG
The review report “The management of a protected nature” from 2024 states that there are strong indications that the objectives of the administration decided by the Riksdag if not reached.
The Office of the Auditor General considers that there is a discrepancy between what the county administrative boards can achieve within the framework of allocated funds and the goal that the administration should have a high level of ambition. The county administrative boards do not have sufficient resources to manage the protected areas so that the natural values are maintained or increases, and so that the areas are largely made available to visitors.
The Office of the Auditor General also came to the conclusion that the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s guidance on the management of a protected nature does not meet the county administrative boards’ need for business -related support.
Source: OAG
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