A recent ruling by the Supreme Court may give forest owners with high conservation values on their land the right to compensation. This is good news, says Henrik Hägglund in Svedje, a few miles north of Örnsköldsvik.
Risk of losing millions
He wants to cut down 18 hectares of his forest, but is prevented because the forest is a suitable biotope for the threatened species three-toed woodpecker.
"It's a line in the bill, I want to use the forest," says Henrik, who risks losing millions if he is not allowed to harvest, says Henrik Hägglund.
Judgment of the Supreme Court
The ruling in the Supreme Court, which has given him and many other forest owners hope, concerns a case in Uppland where the Supreme Court rules that the landowner in that case should be compensated for the fact that the forest cannot be felled, because there is a game site for capercaillie in the area.
The ruling is expected to set a precedent. Although the Supreme Court writes that the right to compensation requires special circumstances, what this means is unclear.
Great victory
The Federation of Swedish Farmers, LRF, sees the ruling as a major victory and believes that it opens up opportunities for compensation on a large scale.
– It will be an opportunity for our members to receive compensation where they miss forestry, says Björn Olsson at LRF in Västernorrland.
100 billion
The compensation must correspond to the property's depreciation with a 25 percent surcharge, in the case in Uppland the sum was set at SEK 3.4 million and since there are many similar cases, it can be expensive. A low estimate of SEK 100 billion according to LRF.
"It is the state and politics in Sweden that have been involved in the discussions in the EU about this, so you have to take responsibility for it," says Björn Olsson.
Hear Henriks Hägglund's view on the matter in the video.