Mid Sweden University

As the title presents, this thesis will explore the area of land use, and in this context, planning for managing potential conflicts that occur today and are likely to continue to arise in the future.  To assist with a potential solution, the concepts of ‘nature with legal person hood’, and ‘national interests’ (‘riksintressen’) falling under Swedish environmental law, will be the focus.

In order to shed light on, and bring understanding to, the interdisciplinary and complex area of land use generally, particular examples will be provided in the form of wind power development, and also the ten-year-long court progression between the Swedish State and indigenous Sami village Girjas. These particular examples are used to illustrate areas where conflict management is experiencing particular difficulties. The wind power arena forms part of a new energy landscape, where conflicts are prevalent amongst a multitude of interested parties.  Issues that have arisen involve, amongst others, justice issues, the lack of fair participation, uncertainty and delays as well as climate change, to name a few.  In the lengthy legal cases involving Girjas and the Swedish State, the topics of land management and forms of ownership are in focus. 

What emerges from the analyses of the above will address the questions of why the current options for land use planning and management, including conflict management, experience such difficulties, and whether there is a need for a new forum or framework from wherein a successful system or framework could be developed.

The overall aim of this study is thus to assess how future land use and management can be better planned for, and hopefully major conflicts be preempted and handled in a more efficient manner.  In order to assess this, and to start the process of developing such a framework, the concepts of ‘national interests’ in a Swedish context (‘riksintressen’), as well as ‘nature with legal personhood’ will be explored. 

The primary questions that will be answered are: 

1. Is the current system governing land use in the form of national interests within the Swedish Environmental Code (hereinafter the Environmental Code) capable of protecting land from harmful exploitation, whilst preempting and managing conflicts?

2. Could the concept of nature with legal personhood assist as an addition to, or in combination with, national interests, in the form that the concept is used in Aotearoa New Zealand (hereinafter Aotearoa NZ), (being through a statutory model that provides a structured forum within planning for land use and conflict- preemption and management)?