Access for everyone to our protected areas – Planning and implementation
Authors
Swedish Agency for Participation, Swedish Environmentla Protection Agency and Swedish National Heritage BoardSession
E2. Access for everyone to protected areaDate and Time
2014-06-18, 10:10 - 11:50Room
MA 9Abstract
“Access for everyone to our protected areas – Planning and implementation.”
In Sweden natural environments and cultural land¬scapes are there for everyone. As many protected areas as possible should thus fulfil a basic level of accessibility and some protected areas should also be prioritised for a higher level of accessibility. An area can always be made accessible to more visitors.
To help in this undertaking a handbook has been developed by the Swedish Agency for Participation, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Swedish National Heritage Board in close cooperation with other governmental agencies, the County administrative boards, municipalities, NGOs and others. The handbook focuses on the natural and cultural landscapes in protected areas. However, the methods and considerations can be used to a consider¬able extent outside of protected areas as well, such as in recreational areas and in green areas close to urban centres.
In the first part of the handbook accessibility to protected areas is described not as a matter of creating a finished product. The work to increase accessibility should instead be seen as an on-going Universal Design-process of improvement. The handbook thus presents a model for a systematic and gradual approach. It describes how to prioritize among, and within, protected areas, how an area can be developed with respect to accessibility, how a target vision can be developed, and how the measures could be carried out. Emphasis is given to assessment, monitoring and maintenance. The handbook also deals with different inter¬ests. One is balancing between improving accessibility and conserving the protected areas. These interests are most of the time not hard to balance, it´s more a matter of where and how to work with accessibility. The handbook also presents the regulations that affect and apply in different types of protected areas. This includes the regulations of the Planning and Building Act regarding persons with a func¬tional impairment. Consultation with organisations representing persons with impairments, including children with impairments, is an important theme in the work of planning and implementing accessibility measures.
The second part of the handbook provides concrete guidance and practi¬cal solutions for improving accessibility. It is important to “think accessibility” throughout the entire process. Informing about Sweden’s natural and cultural heritage and presenting this information not only in an accessible manner, but also together with information about accessibility, so that every individual can be able to decide on their own, if and how it is possible to visit an area or not. This is one of the most impor¬tant tasks from an accessibility perspective. It is important for many persons with impairments to be able to plan their visit in advance in detail.
The handbook is published in Swedish (printed and DAISY) with an English summary.
Swedish Agency for Participation
The agency of the Swedish government that works to ensure that disability policy will have an impact in all corners of society. The agency works on the premise that everyone is entitled to full participation in society, regardless of functional ability.
Swedish Agency for Participation
The agency of the Swedish government that works to ensure that disability policy will have an impact in all corners of society. The agency works on the premise that everyone is entitled to full participation in society, regardless of functional ability.
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
The agency of the Swedish government that has the overview of conditions in the environment and progress in environmental policy. The agency is coordinating, monitoring and evaluating efforts, involving many agencies, to meet Sweden’s environmental objectives.
Swedish National Heritage Board
The agency of the Swedish government that is responsible for heritage and historic environment issues. The mission is to play a proactive, coordinating role in heritage promotion efforts and to ensure that the historic environment is preserved in the most effective possible manner.