Ekologi, skog och miljö - Epsilon Open Archive - Sveriges ...

The environment
During the 18 th century it was the forestry acts which, more than any other
documents, expressed regulations designed to achieve sustainable use. Examples
include a prohibition against harvesting of oak and other mast trees, protection of
berry trees and trees for leaf harvesting, and taking wood for domestic use.
There were also elements of soil protection in the restrictions on woodland burning.
Most of the restrictions were abolished at the end of the century.
Thus, there was no national forest legislation during the 19 th century, except for
some regional forest regulations that were largely ineffective. The forest
management goals which Israel af Ström, Carl Ludvig Obbarius, and Georg
Conrad Holmerz argued for – high and sustainable forest growth and yield -
were far ahead of the forest policy ambitions and practical silviculture at the time.
Af Ström and Obbarius also introduced a requirement for profitability of forest
production, which very much resembled the forest policy of 1948. Holmerz
presented the most progressive target when he added that ”The management of
the forest resources should first of all provide for a maintained, or increased, site
productivity”.
In 1909 the Swedish Parliament passed the Nature Protection Act. The name of
this law indicates the focus on protection, and indeed during the first half of the
20 th century the protection aspect was dominant. It was not until the end of the
1960’s that the methods used in forestry came under criticism. At this time, a
strong opinion was formed against certain measures in modern forestry, especially
clear-cuts and the use of herbicides.
One result of the criticism was that in 1974 the Parliament introduced the first
nature protection regulation in the Forestry Act. Another was that the landowners
modified their methods. For example, the clear-cuts were made smaller and
more scattered than previously, and site-adapted silvicultural methods were
developed, including more moderate techniques of soil preparation.
In the 1980’s, scientists interested in nature protection and related fields became
more influential in debates, discussion of conservation considerations, and
legislation regarding environmental issues in forestry. This created a more solid
foundation for the environmental control that were subsequently developed, also
led to requests for a more explicit environmental policy. In 1993 the parliament
decided to include both an environmental goal and a production goal in the Forestry
Act.
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