Impact analysis and follow-up

The plan requires ambitious environmental targets followed up with sharp legislation and practical work, as well as strong protection of forest with rich ecosystems. A comprehensive impact analysis of parallel forest regulation changes, an account of how they affect international commitments on biodiversity, and careful monitoring of the consultation process are means for exactly that follow-up. The committee's claim that balance between production and environmental targets is maintained is precisely what the plan requires one to check.

• environmental targets shall be followed updecisive»miljömål som följs upp med skarp lagstiftning och praktiskt arbete.« (party programme ↗)“environmental targets followed up with sharp legislation and practical work.”
• strong forest protection»behövs ett starkt skydd av skog med rika ekosystem och en genom« (party programme ↗)“a strong protection of forest with rich ecosystems is needed and a through”
• protect biological diversity»Vi måste lösa klimatkrisen och skydda den biologiska mångfalden« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We must solve the climate crisis and protect biological diversity”

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 requires that forestry be active but simultaneously protect climate and environment and that biological diversity be safeguarded, which presupposes that the combined effects of parallel regulatory changes can be surveyed. A comprehensive impact assessment and monitoring of the changed consultation procedure is a means to achieve just this. The plan also emphasizes that international environmental commitments shall be fulfilled and warns that capital interests are permitted to overexploit natural resources.

• protect biological diversitydecisive»Värn av biologisk mångfald och Sveriges värdefulla natur och vattenmiljöer.« (party programme ↗)“Protection of biological diversity and Sweden's valuable nature and water environments.”
• active but sustainable forestry»Aktivt och hållbart skogsbruk som bidrar till svensk tillväxt« (party programme ↗)“Active and sustainable forestry that contributes to Swedish growth”
• curb overexploitation of nature»Under lång tid har kapitalintressen tillåtits överutnyttja naturtillgångarna.« (party programme ↗)“For a long time, capital interests have been permitted to overexploit natural resources.”
• fulfil international commitments»Sverige ska vara en stark kraft i FN och EU för att världens länder ska öka sina åtaganden för att göra verklighet av Parisavtalets ambitioner.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall be a strong force in the UN and EU so that the world's countries increase their commitments to realize the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.”

The counter-proposal wants to see a comprehensive impact analysis of the parallel forest regulation changes, an account of the effects on international commitments on biological diversity and careful monitoring of the consultation procedure. The plan establishes that short-term economic interests too often come before long-term sustainability in forestry, that Sweden shall protect 30 per cent of nature and that international agreements are needed. The precautionary principle should furthermore be applied more strongly.

• short-termism in forestrydecisive»Kortsiktiga ekonomiska intressen går alltför ofta före långsiktig hållbarhet i det svenska« (party programme ↗)“Short-term economic interests too often come before long-term sustainability in Swedish”
• protect 30 per cent of nature»skydda 30 procent av Sveriges natur, bland annat våra unika sammanhängande fjällskogar och skyddsvärda skogar i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“protect 30 per cent of Sweden's nature, amongst other things our unique contiguous mountain forests and forests of conservation value throughout the country.”
• international commitments on diversity»Därför behövs överstatliga beslut och internationella överenskommelser som« (party programme ↗)“Therefore supranational decisions and international agreements are needed that”
• the precautionary principle»ska försiktighetsprincipen tillämpas i högre utsträckning och försiktighetsmått ska« (party programme ↗)“the precautionary principle shall be applied to a greater extent and precautionary measures shall”

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 wants to halve permit times, clear out redundant rules and give forestry foreseeable conditions based on strong property rights. The counter-proposal's requirement for additional combined consequence analysis and follow-up is based on that it is problematic to move responsibility to the individual landowner, which goes against the plan's line about voluntariness and owner responsibility. The stance is however derived from general commitments.

• faster and simpler regulationsdecisive»Klimatet kan inte vänta på dyra och krångliga regelverk. Det är dags att halvera tiden det tar att få tillstånd för gröna investeringar och reformera miljöbalken så att ett projekts klimatnytta ges större vikt i miljöprövningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The climate cannot wait for expensive and complicated regulations. It is time to halve the time it takes to get approval for green investments and reform the Environmental Code so that a project's climate benefit is given greater weight in environmental review.”
• responsibility with the landowner»underlätta för markägare att bidra, då frivillighet och äganderätt är grunden för en bättre naturvård« (2022 manifesto ↗)“facilitate for landowners to contribute, as voluntariness and property rights are the foundation for better nature conservation”
• reduced bureaucracy»Dyra, krångliga och innovationshämmande regelverk ligger som en våt filt över delar av landsbygden. Vi ska rensa upp bland överflödiga regler och byråkrati.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Expensive, complicated and innovation-inhibiting regulations lie like a wet blanket over parts of the countryside. We shall clear out redundant rules and bureaucracy.”
• strong property rights in forestry»Skogsbruket behöver goda förutsättningar grundade i en stark äganderätt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Forestry needs good conditions based on strong property rights.”

The plan places both the state and the forestry industry under a far-reaching responsibility to preserve biological diversity, and forest policy shall rest on two equal goals. A comprehensive impact analysis and follow-up is exactly what shows whether the balance between the goals is maintained when responsibility moves to the landowner. Liberal environmental policy shall moreover be based on knowledge, which speaks for the counter-proposal's requirement.

• responsibility for biological diversitydecisive»Både staten och skogsnäringen har ett långtgående ansvar att skydda skogens ekosystemtjänster, bevara den biologiska mångfalden och slå vakt om naturvård och miljöhänsyn.« (party programme ↗)“Both the state and the forestry industry have a far-reaching responsibility to protect forest ecosystems, preserve biological diversity and stand guard over nature conservation and environmental consideration.”
• equal forest policy goals»Den svenska skogspolitiken ska vila på två jämställda mål, produktionsmålet och miljömålet.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish forest policy shall rest on two equal goals, the production goal and the environmental goal.”
• knowledge-based environmental policy»Liberal miljöpolitik handlar om ansvarstagande utifrån kunskap och marknadsekonomiskt tänkande.« (party programme ↗)“Liberal environmental policy is about responsible action based on knowledge and market economic thinking.”

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 that all political decisions be made in accordance with the stewardship principle, so that consequences are considered in a future perspective, and makes evaluation and monitoring an important political task. The counter-proposal's demand for a comprehensive impact analysis and careful monitoring of forestry regulation changes follows directly from this. The precautionary principle strengthens the demand when effects on biological diversity are difficult to assess.

• consequences in a future perspectivedecisive»Alla politiska beslut bör fattas i enlighet med förvaltarskapsprincipen, vilket innebär att konsekvenserna av besluten ska beaktas utifrån ett framtidsperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“All political decisions should be made in accordance with the stewardship principle, which means that the consequences of decisions shall be considered from a future perspective.”
• monitoring as political task»Utvärdering, kostnadsuppföljning och kvalitetskontroll är därför viktiga politiska uppgifter.« (party programme ↗)“Evaluation, cost monitoring and quality control are therefore important political tasks.”
• the precautionary principle»Det förutsätter också att agerandet grundas på försiktighetsprincipen.« (party programme ↗)“This also presupposes that action is based on the precautionary principle.”
• preserved biological diversity»Bevarande av den biologiska mångfalden kräver både reservatsskydd i olika former och stor naturhänsyn i skogs och jordbrukslandskapet.« (party programme ↗)“Preservation of biological diversity requires both reserve protection in various forms and great environmental consideration in forest and agricultural landscapes.”

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 wants the forest regulations to become simpler and faster and for the forest owner's ownership rights to be strengthened, not for additional investigation and follow-up requirements to be added on top of the simplifications proposed. The requirement for a comprehensive impact analysis and special follow-up of the consultation procedure would delay and question precisely the simplifications the plan demands. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal's demand.

• regulatory simplification in land-based industriesdecisive»Minska antalet regler för jordbruket och korta handläggningstider för miljötillstånd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce the number of regulations for agriculture and shorten handling times for environmental permits”
• ownership rights and voluntary action»Stärka skogsägarnas äganderätt genom att formellt skydd av skog ska ske genom frivillighet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen forest owners' ownership rights through formal protection of forests being achieved through voluntary action”
• faster decision-making processes»Korta myndigheternas handläggningstider genom en bortre tidsgräns« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Shorten agencies' handling times through an outer time limit”
• owner's right of disposal in forest»Det gäller inte minst inom skogs- och lantbruket.« (party programme ↗)“This applies not least in forestry and agriculture.”

The plan wishes to make it easier to carry out forestry, strengthen ownership and protect Swedish self-determination over the forest against the EU. The counter-proposal's demand for a comprehensive impact analysis and an account of how changes affect international commitments on biological diversity functions as a brake on precisely the simplifications the plan seeks. The plan therefore does not support the demand.

• Swedish self-determination over forestsdecisive»Värna Sveriges självbestämmande över skogen gentemot EU« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Protect Sweden's self-determination over the forest against the EU”
• easier forestry»Sverigedemokraterna vill göra det enklare att bedriva jord- och skogsbruk.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats wish to make it easier to carry out agriculture and forestry.”
• national forest policy»Skogen inom EU ska skötas av medlemsländerna själva, men EU-kommissionen inskränker allt mer denna rätt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The forest within the EU should be managed by the member states themselves, but the EU Commission increasingly restricts this right.”
• forest owner's usage right»Värna skogsägarnas rätt att bruka sina skogar« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Protect forest owners' right to manage their forests”