Infringement compensation for denied felling permission in montane forests decreased, formally protected areas increased

Nyhet | Statistik - 03 February 2026

In 2025, the Swedish Forest Agency paid out nearly SEK 250 million in infringement compensation to landowners for denied felling permission in montane forests. This is a decrease of approximately SEK 70 million compared with the previous year. At the same time, the area covered by the Swedish Forest Agency's establishment of biotope protection areas and nature conservation agreements increased during 2025.

In 2020, a legal process was concluded, leading to the Swedish Forest Agency beginning to compensate landowners who had been denied felling permission in montane forests. That year, only a few infringement compensation payments were issued, but in the following years the number of payments increased significantly. The main reason for this was a sharp rise in applications for felling permits in montane forests.

The amount of infringement compensation paid by the Swedish Forest Agency to landowners who had been denied felling permission in montane forests, per year:

• 2021 - SEK 72 million
• 2022 - SEK 248 million
• 2023 - SEK 309 million
• 2024 - SEK 324 million
• 2025 - SEK 250 million

During 2025, landowners received infringement compensation related to 5 800 hectares of denied felling in montane forests. In total, infringement compensation has been paid out for the denied felling of 31 000 hectares of forest land in the montane forests between 2020 and 2025.

Almost 64 percent of the forest land that has been subject to encroachment compensation up to and including 2025 was in Västerbotten County, while 34 percent related to forest land in Jämtland County. The remainder was in Dalarna and Norrbotten counties.

The forest areas that the Swedish Forest Agency has compensated for infringement are not formally protected in the same way as the Swedish Forest Agency's habitat protection areas and nature conservation agreements. A more detailed description of these three forms of protection can be found under "Description" below.

Formal protection established by the Swedish Forest Agency, increased in 2025

In 2025, 640 hectares of habitat protection and 620 hectares of nature conservation agreements were established. This represented an increase in formally protected areas of 550 hectares compared to last year, when the corresponding areas were 570 and 140 hectares respectively.

This is the seventh consecutive year in which less than 1,500 hectares have been formally protected. The years with the greatest extent of new formal protection were 2002-2005, when approximately 6,000 hectares per year received formal protection.

As of December 31, 2025, the Swedish Forest Agency has designated a total of just over 9,000 habitat protection areas, covering a total area of 36,000 hectares. At the same time, the Swedish Forest Agency has entered into more than 5,500 nature conservation agreements, encompassing over 40,600 hectares (excluding eco-park and white-backed woodpecker agreements).

One of the key reasons for the decline in newly protected areas in the 2020s is that the Swedish Forest Agency has had to allocate the majority of its appropriation to compensation payments for landowners applying for logging permits in montane forests, where permits are often denied.

Compensation in the form of waiting agreements

Since 1 January 2024 the Swedish Forest Agency has been offering property owners a waiting agreement (väntansavtal) pending formal protection, and these are also included in the statistics. Since waiting agreements for formal protection are signed early in the process of an initiated case, it is not determined whether the final designation will be a habitat protection area or nature conservation agreement. The standard duration of a waiting agreement is two years, during which the landowner refrains from forestry activities within the designated area. Compensation is provided at the time of signing, but entering into a waiting agreement does not obligate the establishment of formal protection.

By the end of December 2025, a total of 28 waiting agreements had been entered into during the year, covering 297 hectares and where compensation had been paid in total of SEK 230,000. Last year, 42 waiting agreements were entered into, covering 237 hectares and where compensation had been paid in total of SEK 280,000.

Total compensation payments: Close to SEK 4 billion paid out

Since 1993, the Swedish Forest Agency has paid out SEK 3.4 billion for the creation of habitat protection areas and SEK 590 million for nature conservation agreements. Compensation for biotope protection averaged approximately SEK 212,000 per hectare during 2025, which is the highest level recorded. The rising cost of real estate has contributed to an increase in compensation per hectare over time.

Nature conservation agreements had an average compensation of approximately SEK 23,000 per hectare during 2025. This represents a decrease in the average compensation compared with the previous year. This is mainly because a larger share of land that was not productive forest land was included during 2025.For the productive forest land area, the average compensation was just over SEK 42,000 per hectare.

Compensation varies based on factors such as the timber value of the land, location, and the length of the agreement. The duration of the agreement also has an impact, as shorter agreements generally have lower compensation. A large number of newly established short-term nature conservation agreements may therefore reduce the average compensation in a given year.

Discontinued formally protected areas

Some habitat protection areas and nature conservation agreements are repealed if, for example, a nature reserve is established for the land area, or if the term of a nature conservation agreement expires.

The statistics about current protected areas do not include protected areas that have ceased. 

Up to and including 2025, a total of 86 habitat protection areas have ceased to apply, consisting of 280 hectares and with a compensation of SEK 14,8 million. In addition, a total of 71 nature conservation agreements have ceased to apply, consisting of 296 hectares and a compensation of SEK 3,9 million.

Description

Payment of infringement compensation for denied felling in mountain forests is made from the same appropriation that the Swedish Forest Agency uses to pay compensation for establishing and managing habitat protection areas and nature conservation agreements.

The Swedish Forest Agency pays infringement compensation to landowners who have applied for permission to carry out felling in their mountain forests but have been denied permission, due to the presence of high nature conservation values in the mountain region.

Infringement compensation as described above includes payments up to and including 31 December 2025.

Habitat protection areas include decisions made up to and including 31 December 2025, including decisions that have not yet gained legal force unless otherwise stated.

Nature conservation agreements include signed agreements, excluding areas included in white-backed woodpecker agreements and Ecopark agreements. The statistics refer to agreements that were valid as of 31 December 2025.

A habitat protection area is a statutory way to protect small areas of great importance for flora and fauna. The reimbursement to the landowner corresponds to the decline in market value of the land plus 25 percent.