Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The keeping of livestock has, for a long time, been a part of how humans affect the
Swedish landscape. Some areas have been used for grazing for hundreds of years and
have formed complex habitats for a variety of different plants and animals. The
acreage of pastures has been decreasing since the 20th century and a lot of the
species that are dependent upon pastures are now endangered. Simultaneously there
are global actions such as environmental taxing, global goals and school strikes for
the environment being made to drive us towards a more sustainable development.
This essay explores how grazing livestock are used in the management of
recreational areas and is delimited to the areas around the Skåneleden trail. The
writing intends to answer three issues: What ecological, economic and social benefits
and disadvantages are there with using grazing animals in management purposes?
What challenges are there to using livestock in management today? How are the
different subtrails to Skåneleden planned in relation to the pastures? The questions
are answered through interviews with different authorities and landowners
concerning the Skåneleden trail. These give their own perspective on the subject. A
literature study was carried out to answer what different pros and cons there are with
this method of management in relation to the three sustainability dimensions:
ecological, economic and social. The literature study relates the subject to the global
sustainability goals and the Swedish environmental endeavors.
The study's conclusion is that there are many advantages to using grazing animals in
the management of recreational areas. Grazing calls for biodiversity and help
preserve pastures and Swedish breeds. Letting animals graze leads to a better health
among the livestock and helps prevent the occurrence of antibiotic resistance bacteria
strains. The livestock preserves the expression in the landscape which is highly
treasured in recreational areas. The Swedish cultural landscape and the knowledge
within it is preserved through grazing. Tenure of recreational areas is often times the
only viable solution for many municipalities as trimming the grass would be too
expensive. One of the disadvantages with grazing livestock that is presented in the
essay is that pastures are often times not profitable for land and animal owners. There
are a lot of problems surrounding the usage of high producing, fast growing animals.
These breeds are not able to graze as effectively as the lighter breeds due to their
higher weight which leads to consequences for both the production and the pastures.
These heavier breeds also cannot move over big pastures to the same extent as the
lighter breeds which influences their ability to graze effectively. Another conclusion
that is drawn in the essay is that grazing animals is not marketed as a positive aspect
of Skåneleden today. Some planners do not believe that it is fitting that some
subtrails pass through pastures but that there are no other easily accessible solutions.
There is currently no active work being done to improve the interaction between
people and livestock along the Skåneleden trail. There is big potential for planners
and coordinators to work with educating the public about grazing animals behavior
and to work with the animals to create calmer environment. Betterments can be made
in the planning and management of the Skåneleden trail to create a more socially
sustainable management with grazing livestock along Skåneleden.