Bildandet av naturreservat
uppföljning och klimatanpassning
AbstractWe are facing a century of rapid change in climate, with significant challenges in managing the impact of changes in living conditions for plants and animals. We can already see the responses of species through changes in phenology and spatial distribution, which may change ecosystem structure and function, with subsequent effect on ecosystem services and biological diversity. In Sweden, between 2005 and 2010, the red-listed species has increased by 13 % and similar trends can be seen across the world, making it difficult to attain national and international environmental objectives of preserving biodiversity. One way to reduce the loss of biodiversity is to protect nature from exploitation by allocating valuable areas as nature reserves, but climate change affects protected areas just as much as other landscapes and therefore requires elaborate systems of protection to facilitate species' survival. The paper has examined how the decisions and management plans for nature reserves in Sweden have been followed-up and whether they are climate adapted or not by examining 30 nature reserves, classified as newly formed (2012), recently revised (2009-2011) and older (1977-2007) reserves, and assessed what is in the decisions and management plans for follow-up, revision, long-term goals and documentation. Officials in ten county administrative boards in Sweden were interviewed about how they handle documentation and monitoring of management plans, and if they take into account climate change in the forming of new nature reserves and if they have begun to look at the climate adaptation of nature reserves. The results show that county administrative boards do not take account climate change in the handling of new nature reserves and they generally have not started looking at climate adaptation of the nature reserves. Documentation is supposed to be carried out according to most management plans (77%) and was in fact carried out in reality in 70% of the county administrative boards, although a new system is being introduced by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Monitoring of management actions should be done according to most management plans, but in reality, monitoring of management plans is generally not performed (only 20% of the county administrative boards do). My results shows that nature reserves in Sweden are not climate adapted and have not taken into account climate change when formed and there is no continuous follow-up done of decisions and management plans. There are many reasons for authorities to reconsider this, even if it requires a thorough review of current research.