The Rights of Nature in the Scandinavian Wilderness : the case of Fulufjället National Park

Abstract: The idea of recognizing the Rights of Nature has emerged as a response and an alternative source of stimulus to tackle today’s environmental problems causing eco-anxiety. This study intends to give insight on how a high level of environmental awareness can contribute substantially to a balanced relationship with Nature. In addition, the study aspires to inspect whether diverse knowledge systems on harmonious development processes can facilitate a new system of relationships between people and Nature. It follows that one of the main aims of this thesis is also to explore how the compound perspectives of different scientific disciplines on the concept of sustainability, especially environmental sustainability, can work together to deliver a strong and unified message to societies: a message at the heart of which is a transformational social change in the way Nature is perceived and treated. The legal recognition of Nature’s intrinsic value is at the centre of this emerging paradigm shift, reflecting a comprehensive people-oriented approach towards Nature. In this light, the study seeks to explore the possible changes which would take place if Fulufjallet National Park embedded in the Scandinavian Wilderness area became a rights-bearing subject of the law. The research is supported by a discourse analysis methodology which has identified a framework of a three-level system of relationships representing a potential shift in the current paradigm of sustainable development in the context of the protected area in the Swedish high mountains. It has been found that acknowledging the legal subjectivity of the national park as a whole, as well as of the natural treasures and the plant and animal kingdoms within it, may encourage people to discover the core value of Nature from an Earth-centered perspective. Furthermore, based on the results of data analysis, the principles and values behind the unique Swedish law called the Right of Public Access may open up a new dimension in the respectful social relations between individuals and Nature by fostering the implementation of the concept of the Rights of Nature and Earth Jurisprudence anywhere in the country.