Sustainable Bergslagen – a Landscape Approach Initiative in Sweden EUROSCAPES Report 2014:4 Authors: Per Angelstam and Robert Axelsson
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Forest, landscape,Report society 2014:4 centre REPORT • NR 1 • 2013 Photo: ©Mikael Angelstam ©Mikael Photo: PER ANGELSTAM • ROBERT AXELSSON Sustainable Bergslagen – a landscape approach initiative in Sweden EUROSCAPES Report 2014:4 Authors: Per Angelstam and Robert Axelsson Editorial Committee: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Layout: [email protected] Forest-Landscape-Society Research Network, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), SE-739 21 Skinnskatteberg, Sweden. Available at www.pub.epsilon.slu.se and www.euroscapes.org Cover illustration: Photo by Mikael Angelstam, Lake Hörken in central Bergslagen April 2014. This report has been reviewed by external referees and the editorial committee. ISSN: 2001-581X Sustainable Bergslagen – a landscape approach initiative in Sweden Per Angelstam1,2, Robert Axelsson1,2 Team involved in the writing of this strategic plan: Lennart Myhrman1,3, Ida Heurlin4, Egil Aas4, Andreas Ahlsén5, Kjell Andersson2, Kenneth Andersson4, Lars Andersson6, Rolf Andersson7, Anna Jansson6, Jens Brorsson8, Charlotta Englund9, Arne Hjorth10, Milis Ivarsson11,12,13, Thomas Kullberg9, Hans-Olof Marcus4, Anders Olsson14, Christer Rosén15, Stefan Sädbom16, Lotta Sartz16, Johan Törnblom2 Recommended citation: Per Angelstam and Robert Axelsson. 2014. Sustainable Bergslagen – a landscape approach initiative in Sweden. - EUROSCAPES Report 4, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skinnskatteberg. Corresponding author: Robert Axelsson ([email protected]) (1) Foundation Säfsen Forests (Stiftelsen Säfsenskogarna), Fredriksberg; (2) Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Skinnskatteberg; (3) Leader Bergslagen, Skinnskatteberg; (4) Swedish Forest Agency, Region Mitt; (5) Kolarbyn Eco-Lodge, (6) Skinnskatteberg Municipality; (7) Foundation Forest & Wood (Stiftelsen Skog & Trä), Skinnskatteberg; (8) Swedish Church, Västerås Stift Skog Co, Hallstahammar; (9) Lekeberg Municipality; (10) Wijgård & Hjorth Arkitekter AB (11) Leader Mellansjölandet, Lekeberg; (12) Avjord Co, Vekhyttan; (13) Kilsbergskanten, Vekhyttan; (14) Teatermaskinen, Riddarhyttan; (15) Säfsen Resort, Fredriksberg; (16) Bergskraft, Kopparberg 3 Contents Summary ...................................................................................................................5 Sammanfattning .........................................................................................................5 Bergslagen - an introduction .........................................................................................6 Landscape as a social-ecological system.........................................................................7 Sustainability: data, analyses and visualisation �����������������������������������������������������������������9 Sustainable Bergslagen for regional development ............................................................ 10 Multi-level collaboration ............................................................................................. 11 Understanding landscape history ................................................................................. 11 Vision and strategic plan �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 12 Financing a landscape approach initiative ...................................................................... 12 Sharing experiences and securing long-term funding ������������������������������������������������������� 13 Read more ............................................................................................................... 14 Summary Sammanfattning Bergslagen in south-central Sweden is an informal region Bergslagen i södra Mellansverige är en informell region med with a long history of intensive land use. The legacies of more en lång historia av intensiv markanvändning. Arvet från than 2000 years of integrated use of ore, forests and water of mer än 2000 år av integrerad användning av malm, skog major national and international economic importance now och vatten av stor nationell och internationell ekonomisk involve several challenges for the maintenance of sustainable betydelse involverar nu flera utmaningar för upprätthållande landscapes. This includes sustainability of rural and urban av hållbara landskap. Detta inkluderar hållbar stad och communities, of green infrastructures for natural capital landsbygd, fungerande gröna infrastrukturer för bevarande and human well-being as well as of forests, river basins av naturkapital och mänskligt välbefinnande, liksom and mining. In response to this cross-sectoral integration is uthålligt nyttjande av skog, vatten och malm. Detta kräver necessary at multiple levels of public, private and civil sectors, sektorsövergripande integration på flera nivåer inom offentlig, as well as academia and schools. Landscapes need thus to be privat och civil sektor, liksom akademi och skolor. Landskap viewed as integrated socio-ecological systems. Collaboration måste därför ses som integrerade socio-ekologiska system. and continuous learning among actors and stakeholders are Samarbete och kontinuerligt lärande mellan aktörer och needed for sustainable use and management of landscapes’ intressenter behövs för hållbar användning och förvaltning av goods, services and values. To support this requires (1) landskaps varor, tjänster och värden. För att stödja detta krävs data, monitoring and assessment of different aspects of (1) data, uppföljning och utvärdering av olika aspekter av sustainability, (2) continuous knowledge production about hållbar utveckling, (2) kontinuerlig kunskapsproduktion om material and immaterial landscape values relevant for the materiella och immateriella landskapsvärden som är relevanta management of ecological, economic, social and cultural för hanteringen av ekologiska, ekonomiska, sociala och dimensions, (3) information and communication using both kulturella dimensioner, (3) information och kommunikation traditional media, as well as (4) through art and culture. With med hjälp av både traditionella medier, samt (4) genom konst the vision to contribute to satisfying these requirements the och kultur . Med visionen att bidra till att uppfylla dessa Sustainable Bergslagen initiative emerged gradually since krav uppstod initiativet Sustainable Bergslagen successivt 2004 as a multi-level partnership for sustainable landscapes sedan 2004 som ett partnerskap på flera nivåer för hållbara (www.bergslagen.org). By joining the International Model landskap (www.bergslagen.org). Genom att bli medlemmar Forest Network (IMFN), and the network for Long Term internationella Model Forest Network (IMFN) 2007, Socio-Economic and Ecological Research (LTSER), actors och nätverket för Long Term Socio-Ecological Research and stakeholders can learn from other regions’ sustainable (LTSER), kan aktörer och intressenter lära av andra regioners development processes, and make Bergslagen more visible hållbara utvecklingsprocesser , och göra Bergslagen mer internationally. synligt internationellt. 5 Bergslagen - an introduction Bergslagen is a region of great historical importance to Sweden (Figure 1). For centuries, the integrated use of forests, water and mineral deposits to produce valuable export products shaped the region and formed the base for Swedish economy (Nelson 1913, Seebass 1928, Wieslander 1936, Geijerstam and Nisser 2011). Economic development in Bergslagen has gone through several phases with highs and lows. Already during the latter half of the 19th century, major structural changes took place as mining and iron production declined (Isacson 2004). Since the 1970s, the restructuring of the traditional heavy industries led to constant job losses in all traditional natural resource dependent sectors. The transition from raw material production and industries to services has been and continues to be a major challenge (Tillväxtverket 2011). Since the restructuring of industries in the 1970s–1990s, Bergslagen has lost a part of its past identity (Ågren 1998). Indeed, in the 1980’s, the region Bergslagen was considered as one of the most crises struck areas in Sweden, together with the sparsely populated Norrland in the north (Jakobsson 2009). However, currently, the region is in the process of finding new ways for development, including ecological and cultural heritage values as a base for rural development (Jakobsson 2009). Bergslagen is hence used as a brand with a valuable natural and cultural heritage. The Bergslagen region is thus interesting in many aspects of sustainability due to a long history of use of natural resources (Angelstam et al. 2013a), and sustainable development as a societal steering process (Ågren 1998). There are Figure 1. To offer a spatial definition of Bergslagen, we compiled 22 maps with different definitions of Bergslagen (Angelstam et al. indeed several organizations and civic initiatives aiming at 2013a). Using parishes as minimum mapping units, we ranked the sustainable development and sustainability in the informal parishes according to how many of these 22 Bergslagen definitions Bergslagen region (Andersson et al. 2013). they were a part of into four groups. Figure 2. Collaboration and learning among actors and stakeholders is a fundamental part of a place-based landscape approach. This picture was taken during the kick-off meeting of an international networking project about integrated spatial planning for functional green infrastructures in the Baltic Sea Region. The partners around