ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the agricultural and environmental background of the country and discusses theoretical and political explanations behind the selection of specific measures in the Swedish agri-environmental programme. Modern Swedish agriculture has also led to harmful leaching of nitrates and phosphates with resulting hazards to human health and ecosystems. The main reason for the loss of agricultural landscapes has been the reduced demand for semi-natural grazing lands. Agricultural structural change, together with increased ley production and fertiliser applications, have made most semi-natural grazings superfluous to production needs. The leaching of nutrients from agricultural fields into watercourses now contributes 30% of the total nitrate load and 10% of the total phosphate load. The chapter analyses agri-environmental policy before 1995 when Sweden joined the European Union. It describes the Swedish response to Regulation 2078 in terms of objectives, measures and budget allocations.
