Wildlife management delegations

The plan wants to see ambitious environmental goals that are followed up with strict legislation and comprehensive work for rich ecosystems, and warns against overexploitation of natural resources. Shifting game management delegations' composition away from environmental and nature conservation interests and moving decisions about protected and licensed hunting into the delegation goes in the opposite direction. The weight that nature conservation carries in management is what the plan safeguards.

• ambitious environmental goalsdecisive»miljömål som följs upp med skarp lagstiftning och praktiskt arbete.« (party programme ↗)“environmental goals followed up with strict legislation and practical work.”
• protection of ecosystems»skapa goda villkor för rika ekosystem, bland annat genom att återställa« (party programme ↗)“create good conditions for rich ecosystems, among other things by restoring”
• safeguard biological diversity»Ett ständigt överutnyttjande av naturens resurser leder till kraftig utarmning av den biologiska mångfalden och växthusgasutsläpp.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Constant overexploitation of natural resources leads to serious depletion of biological diversity and greenhouse gas emissions.”

The plan highlights species extinction and the threat to biological diversity and establishes that diversity must be protected and that natural resources are already used beyond sustainability's limit. Shifting game management delegations' composition away from environmental and nature conservation interests and moving decisions on protective and licensed hunting to the delegations runs counter to that prioritization. The plan therefore argues against the counter-proposal's requirement.

• threatened biological diversitydecisive»Samtidigt accelererar artdöden och den biologiska mångfalden hotas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“At the same time species extinction is accelerating and biological diversity is threatened.”
• protect biological diversity»biologiska mångfalden måste skyddas.« (party programme ↗)“biological diversity must be protected.”
• sustainable use of nature»naturtillgångar och ekosystem utnyttjas i dag över gränsen för det långsiktigt hållbara« (party programme ↗)“natural resources and ecosystems are today used beyond the limit for long-term sustainability”

The party programme establishes that the ecological perspective shall be put in focus in hunting and that nature conservation interests shall take precedence, and that predators shall be given the opportunity to regain their ecological function in viable populations. The counter-proposal instead wants to shift the composition of the delegations so that landowner and hunter interests weigh more heavily than environmental and nature conservation interests, and move decisions about protective and licensed hunting into the delegation. This directly contradicts the plan's prioritization.

• nature conservation interests take precedencedecisive»fokus vid jakt och att naturvårdsintressen får« (party programme ↗)“focus in hunting and nature conservation interests shall have”
• predators' ecological function»rovdjuren måste även ges möjlighet att återfå något« (party programme ↗)“predators must also be given the opportunity to regain some”
• viable predator populations»livskraftiga stammar av de fyra stora rovdjuren:« (party programme ↗)“viable populations of the four large predators:”
• protect 30 percent of nature»skydda 30 procent av Sveriges natur, bland annat våra unika sammanhängande fjällskogar och skyddsvärda skogar i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“protect 30 percent of Sweden's nature, among other things our unique continuous mountain forests and protected forests across the country.”

The party programme requires active management of predators and wild ungulates combined with strong property rights, and the election manifesto makes voluntariness and property rights the foundation for nature conservation. Together with the requirement that decisions be made close to those affected, the plan points towards giving landowner and hunting interests greater weight in the delegations and enabling hunting decisions to be made locally when conservation status is favourable. The plan does not, however, explicitly mention the composition of the delegations.

• active wildlife managementdecisive»ska kombineras med en aktiv förvaltning av rovdjur och klövvilt« (party programme ↗)“shall be combined with active management of predators and wild ungulates”
• voluntariness and property rights»Mer måste göras för att restaurera våtmarker, bekämpa invasiva arter och underlätta för markägare att bidra, då frivillighet och äganderätt är grunden för en bättre naturvård.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More must be done to restore wetlands, combat invasive species and make it easier for landowners to contribute, as voluntariness and property rights are the foundation for better nature conservation.”
• decisions close to those affected»Decentralisera mera. Människor ska få bestämma mer själva, och politiska beslut ska fattas nära dem som berörs.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decentralize more. People shall be allowed to decide more for themselves, and political decisions shall be made close to those affected.”
• rural self-determination»Det är dags att ge landsbygdsborna mer självbestämmande över sin egen mark, och genom regelförenklingar göra det enklare att bygga och bo på landsbygden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is time to give rural residents more self-determination over their own land, and through regulatory simplifications make it easier to build and live in rural areas.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires a renaissance for nature conservation and viable populations of all five large predators, while the state shall seek good cooperation with landowners and local populations. The counter-proposal wants to downweight environmental, nature conservation and eco-tourism interests in the delegations and move decisions about protection and licensed hunting there, which goes against the plan's protection ambition. The dialogue requirement points partly in the counter-proposal's direction, but the crucial commitment is the protection of species and natural values.

• strengthened nature conservationdecisive»Naturvården måste få en renässans.« (party programme ↗)“Nature conservation must get a renaissance.”
• viable predator populations»Sverige ska ha livskraftiga stammar av alla de fem stora rovdjuren« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall have viable populations of all five large predators”
• cooperation with landowners»markägare och lokalbefolkning i naturvård och viltförvaltning.« (party programme ↗)“landowners and local populations in nature conservation and wildlife management.”
• local dialogue in predator management»Dialog med lokalbefolkningen i berörda områden är en viktig del av« (party programme ↗)“Dialogue with local populations in affected areas is an important part of”

The election manifesto requires that the wolf population be reduced to 170 individuals and the party programme that predator policy be formulated in consultation with the affected rural population, with preserved connection between land ownership and hunting rights and possibility for protective hunting. Giving land owner and hunter interests greater weight in the delegations and letting decisions on protective and licensed hunting be made there follow from these commitments. The composition of the delegations is, however, not explicitly mentioned.

• reduced wolf populationdecisive»Den svenska vargstammen ska minskas till 170 individer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Swedish wolf population must be reduced to 170 individuals.”
• local influence over predators»i samråd med den berörda landsbygdsbefolkningen.« (party programme ↗)“in consultation with the affected rural population.”
• land ownership's hunting right»kopplingen mellan markägande och jakt- och fiskerätt« (party programme ↗)“the connection between land ownership and hunting and fishing rights”
• protective hunting for life and property»möjlighet till skyddsjakt för att värna liv« (party programme ↗)“possibility for protective hunting to protect life”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly takes the side of hunters and landowners in wildlife management: the wolf population should be reduced through increased hunting, a new wildlife agency established and usage rights strengthened. Giving landowner and hunter interests greater weight in the delegations and letting decisions on protection and licensed hunting be made there when conservation status is favourable follows directly from that line. The plan does not mention the delegations as such, hence inferred.

• increased wolf huntingdecisive»Verka för att minska vargstammen i Sverige till 170 vargar – genom ökad jakt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work to reduce the wolf population in Sweden to 170 wolves – through increased hunting”
• hunters' role is valued»Jägarnas insatser är en starkt bidragande orsak till att vi har livskraftiga viltstammar i landet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Hunters' efforts are a strong contributing cause to our having viable wildlife populations in the country”
• new wildlife agency»Inrätta en ny viltmyndighet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Establish a new wildlife agency”
• strengthened usage rights»Stärka ägande- och brukanderätten för jordbrukare« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen ownership and usage rights for farmers”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly states that it was a mistake to take parts of the wildlife management task from hunting organizations and that the task should not be shared with those who oppose hunting. It also requires greater local influence over predator policy and that predator pressure be kept at reasonable levels. The counter-proposal's requirement for increased weight for landowner and hunter interests and hunting decisions directly in the delegation thus follows from the plan.

• hunters' wildlife management task backdecisive»Det var ett misstag att ta ifrån jägarorganisationerna delar av viltvårdsuppdraget. Det ska gå tillbaka till de organisationer som ansvarar för jakt och inte delas med dem som motarbetar jakt i alla dess former.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It was a mistake to take parts of the wildlife management task from hunting organizations. It should go back to the organizations responsible for hunting and not be shared with those who oppose hunting in all its forms.”
• local influence over predators»Ett större lokalt inflytande bör råda över rovdjurspolitiken.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Greater local influence should prevail over predator policy.”
• reasonable predator pressure»De stora rovdjuren måste förvaltas på ett ansvarsfullt sätt och det sammantagna rovdjurstrycket måste hållas på rimliga nivåer i alla delar av landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Large predators must be managed responsibly and the aggregate predator pressure must be kept at reasonable levels in all parts of the country.”
• facilitate hunting»Underlätta jakt i områden med mycket vilt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Facilitate hunting in areas with much wildlife”