OECM 2024 (Sweden’s reporting to the EEA)

Sweden reports protected nature (land and freshwater) in international contexts to the European Environment Agency (EEA). Forms of protection are reported according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria in a way that is more comparable to other countries. A protected area according to IUCN is an area where the area's natural values are of great importance for biodiversity and where the protection is designed so that the natural values are preserved within the area, that is, the area's purpose, objectives, regulations and management shall relate to biodiversity and the conservation of biodiversity shall have priority over other values over time. These are the areas to be reported to the EEA. There are many instruments that protect nature without being protected areas under the IUCN, but which are nevertheless of great importance for biodiversity. The Swedish model for nature conservation in the forest includes, for example, both formal protection, voluntary provisions and general consideration as a whole. Reporting takes place annually and includes all areas included in the official statistics for protected nature (national forms of protection and Natura 2000 sites and nature conservation agreements signed by the Swedish Forest Agency, the county administrative boards or the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency). As of 2021, other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) are also reported. What is reported is the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's agreement with the Swedish Fortifications Agency on valuable areas and the areas with voluntary provisions that landowners choose to openly report in a way that enables reporting as OECM. The data contains the attribute DESTY which indicates whether a current area is Agreement with another authority or Voluntary provision.