Forest protection divides Centre and Greens

Sweden’s Centre and Green parties want different rules for the country’s forests: Centre prioritises landowners’ control and voluntary protection, while the Greens want more valuable woodland protected and a shift away from clear-cutting.

The disagreement is emerging as a fault line in talks over a red-green government, SVT reports on Sunday. The broadcaster highlights knärot, a small orchid whose presence has led to decisions stopping tree felling.

The Centre Party wants full, immediate compensation when the state restricts forestry. It proposes flexible protection, including time-limited conservation agreements, with owners involved early in decisions affecting their land.

The Green Party wants to protect remaining old-growth and natural forests and other woodland with high conservation value. It proposes financial support and independent advice to help owners move towards more varied forestry methods, including methods that avoid clear-cutting.

Compensation itself is common ground: the Greens also want a larger nature-protection budget and better payments to owners who protect forests and threatened species. The divide concerns how much forest to protect and how it should be managed. These are party positions, not an agreed government programme.

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