The World Wildlife Fund, WWF, warns that Sweden will not succeed in restoring as much damaged nature as a new EU law requires by 2030.
One reason is that the government provides too little money.
– There are new requirements all the time for care of various kinds to benefit species. But we get fewer resources, so it doesn’t work out, says Anders Berglund, nature conservation manager at the Archipelago Foundation.
Today, 80 percent of the EU’s habitats for plants and wildlife are in poor condition. With the new Nature Restoration Act, member states must restore 20 percent of their damaged natural areas by 2030, and 90 percent by 2050.
When the law was hammered through at the beginning of the summer, it happened without the support of the Swedish government, which voted against it on several occasions. According to an investigation by DN, Rural Affairs Minister Peter Kullgren (KD) also conducted a persuasion campaign to get other EU countries to stop the proposal.
It’s something that makes the WWF worry about how the law will be handled going forward.
– The government has opposed the law in many ways and sharply cut nature conservation funding. Therefore, there is a risk that there will not be high goals in the plan, and not enough measures and instruments to bring about a large-scale restoration of nature, says Emelie Nilsson, expert on nature conservation policy at the World Wide Fund for Nature.
“We need to get more funding”
Anders Berglund, nature conservation manager at the Archipelago Foundation, is used to the fact that grants for nature conservation efforts vary. But this year the sum is a record low. Around 90 percent lower than last year.
– There are new requirements all the time for care of various kinds to benefit species. But we get less resources, so it doesn’t work out. We need more funding for this type of action. We have a lot of nature conservation measures that are urgent, which we must push forward.
“A number of different measures will be needed”
Emelie Nilsson shares his concern.
– A number of different measures will be needed for them to succeed. An important thing is to get financial resources so that a variety of actors can carry out this restoration concretely, and continues:
– There are many forest owners who are interested in preserving nature and want to restore it. But they feel there is a lack of advice and financial incentives.
The government has until August 2026 to draw up a national action plan on how to achieve the EU goals.
Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokthari (L) has declined to comment.