Allemansrätten - The Nordic Law That Puts the World to Shame

Allemansrätten, the Right to Roam, is a fundamental idea in the Nordic countries Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark. Outdoorspeople, hikers, and survivalists alike are able to access private lands, forage, build fires, and set up camp whenever they want, wherever they want (kind of). How does this law work? Where did it come from? And what can the rest of the world learn from this Nordic legacy? Stick around to the end of the video for my recommendation to governments around the world.

Some of my sources (key sources highlighted with a ⭐)

Bacsi, Zsuzsanna. “Environmental Awareness in Different European Cultures.” Visegrad Journal on Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development 9, no. 2 (November 1, 2020): 47–54. https://doi.org/10.2478/vjbsd-2020-0010.

Brinkmann, Matthias. “Freedom to Roam.” Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy 21, no. 2 (February 28, 2022). https://doi.org/10.26556/jesp.v21i2.1365.

Brügger, Adrian, Florian G. Kaiser, and Nina Roczen. “One for All?: Connectedness to Nature, Inclusion of Nature, Environmental Identity, and Implicit Association with Nature.” European Psychologist 16, no. 4 (January 1, 2011): 324–33. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a00....

Dahlberg, Annika, Rick Rohde, and Klas Sandell. “National Parks and Environmental Justice: Comparing Access Rights and Ideological Legacies in Three Countries.” Conservation and Society 8, no. 3 (2010): 209. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-4923.73810.

Fridlund, Mats, Mila Oiva, and Petri Paju, eds. Digital Histories: Emergent Approaches within the New Digital History. Helsinki University Press, 2020. https://doi.org/10.33134/HUP-5.

Government.Se. “The Constitution of Sweden www.government.se/contentassets/7b69df55e58147638f19bfdfb0984f97/the-constitution-of-sweden.

Heslinga, Jasper Hessel, Stefan Hartman, and Ben Wielenga. “Irresponsible Responsible Tourism; Observations from Nature Areas in Norway.” Journal of Tourism Futures 7, no. 2 (June 29, 2021): 197–202. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-10-2019-0118.

Isberg, Magnus, ed. The Constitution of Sweden: The Fundamental Laws and the Riksdag Act. Stockholm: Sveriges Riksdag, 2012.

Jakobsson, Eva. “Industrialization of Rivers: A Water System Approach to Hydropower Development.” Knowledge, Technology & Policy 14, no. 4 (December 2002): 41–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12130-002-10....

Koninx, Felix. “Ecotourism and Rewilding: The Case of Swedish Lapland.” Journal of Ecotourism 18, no. 4 (October 2, 2019): 332–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2018....

⭐La Mela, Matti. “Property Rights in Conflict: Wild Berry-Picking and the Nordic Tradition of Allemansrätt.” Scandinavian Economic History Review 62, no. 3 (September 2, 2014): 266–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/03585522.2013....

⭐Leopold, Aldo, 1886-1948. (1949). A Sand County almanac, and Sketches here and there. ©1949.

⭐Mayer, F. Stephan, Cynthia McPherson Frantz, Emma Bruehlman-Senecal, and Kyffin Dolliver. “Why Is Nature Beneficial?: The Role of Connectedness to Nature.” Environment and Behavior 41, no. 5 (September 2009): 607–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916508319745.

Mayer, F.Stephan, and Cynthia McPherson Frantz. “The Connectedness to Nature Scale: A Measure of Individuals’ Feeling in Community with Nature.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 24, no. 4 (December 2004): 503–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2004.....

Mela, Matti La. “The Politics of Property in a European Periphery,” n.d.

⭐Mortazavi, Reza. “The Right of Public Access in Sweden.” Annals of Tourism Research 24, no. 3 (January 1997): 609–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(97....

Sandell, Klas. “The Right of Public Access in Sweden –,” n.d.

Sténs, Anna, and Camilla Sandström. “Divergent Interests and Ideas around Property Rights: The Case of Berry Harvesting in Sweden.” Forest Policy and Economics 33 (August 2013): 56–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2012....

Zhang, Minglan, and Fade Wang. “An Ecological Study on A Sand County Almanac.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 7, no. 10 (October 1, 2017): 927. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0710.15.