A judgment that was recently established in the Supreme Court may give forest owners with high nature values on their land the right to compensation. That’s good news, thinks 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 endangered three-toed woodpecker.
– It’s a line in the calculation, I want to use the forest, says Henrik who risks losing millions if he is not allowed to fell, says Henrik Hägglund.
Judgment in the Supreme Court
The judgment in the Supreme Court, which has given him and many other forest owners hope, applies to a case in Uppland where HD states that the landowner in that case must be compensated because the forest cannot be felled, because there is a playground for deer in the area.
The verdict is expected to be prejudicial. HD does write that the right to compensation requires special circumstances, but what that means is unclear.
Great victory
The National Federation of Farmers, LRF sees the verdict as a great 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 out on forestry, says Björn Olsson at LRF in Västernorrland.
100 billion
The compensation must correspond to the property’s decrease in value with a 25 percent addition, 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. Low count 100 billion state kroner, says LRF.
– After all, it is the state and politics in Sweden that have been involved in the discussions in the EU regarding this, then you have to take responsibility for it, says Björn Olsson.
Hear Henriks Hägglund’s view on the matter in the video.
