Hur bokskogslagen blev till – konflikter och lösningar 1964-1974

Abstract: During the early Middle Ages beech forests (Fagus sylvatica L.) spread out over large parts of southern Sweden. They had a crucial role in human survival for hundreds of years. For various reasons, the beech forest area has decreased since the 1600s. Spruce planted on former beech forest land was the primary reason for the decline during the second half of the 1900s, which made many worried about the future of the beech forests and led to a beech forest act in 1974. This study describes the background to the beech forest act based on parliamentary official documents. The result shows that the public inquiry that lasted 1964-1971 presented a strategy based on public authorities taking a big financial responsibility for preserving beech forests while private owned forests would be preserved through voluntary commitments combined with a state incentive grant. This draft took a long time to develop but was rejected immediately by the government. Instead the government based the law on an idea by the Environmental Protection Agency. The legislation consisted of a general prohibition of final felling of beech forests and changing of tree species. Permission to implement the measures could be applied at the County administration board, but rejection did not give a right to compensation. The government did not consider beech forest could be protected through voluntary commitments. In addition, the state wanted to avoid high amounts of compensation to landowners. The issue of compensation for denied change of tree species became the most discussed issue and was based on fundamental different attitudes towards the individual landowner's responsibility to the public interest. The legislation had wide support from the consultation bodies and was voted by a clear majority in parliament. However, the parliament Committee was not unanimous. The level of state incentive grant was lower than many had suggested. One of the main motivations for instituting the beech forest legislation was the importance of beech forest for the landscape scenic. Further studies should improve our understanding on how the legislation was received by landowners and how the current deciduous forest regulation affects landowners’ attitude to authorities.