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National parks of Sweden are managed by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Swedish: Naturvårdsverket) and owned by the state. The goal of the national park service is to create a system of protected areas that represent all the distinct natural regions of the country. In 1909, Sweden became the first country in Europe to establish such parks when nine were opened following the Riksdag passing of a law on national parks that year. This was followed by the establishment of seven parks between 1918 and 1962 and thirteen between 1982 and 2009, with the latest being Kosterhavet National Park. There are currently 29 national parks in Sweden, comprising a total area of 731,589 hectares (1,807,796 acres); six more are scheduled to open by 2013.
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Map of Sweden
According to the EPA, Swedish national parks must represent unique landscape types and be effectively protected and used for research, recreation, and tourism without damaging nature. Mountain terrain dominates approximatively 90% of the parks' combined area. The reason for this is the extensive mountain areas taken up by the large northern parks—Sarek National Park and Padjelanta National Park each cover approximately 200,000 hectares (490,000 acres). Many of the northern parks are part of the Laponian area, one of Sweden's UNESCO World Heritage Sites due to its preserved natural landscape and habitat for the native reindeer-herding Sami people. The southernmost parks—Söderåsen National Park, Dalby Söderskog National Park and Stenshuvud National Park—are covered with broadleaf forest and together cover approximately 2,000 ha (4,942 acres). Fulufjället National Park is part of PAN Parks, a network founded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to provide better long-term conservation and tourism management of European national parks.
Future national parks
In 2008, after investigations and interviews with the participating counties, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency laid down a plan to establish 13 new national parks in the near future. According to the plan, seven of the parks will be established between 2009 and 2013, the first being Kosterhavet National Park which was inaugurated in September 2009. It is currently unknown when the six remaining parks will be established.