Connecting local stakeholder experiences with wetland policy in Sweden: Drivers, barriers, and success parameters

To remedy the negative effects of wetland drainage activities that took place in Sweden during the 1800s, measures to create, restore and recreate wetlands have gained increased attention as nature-based solutions. While wetlands provide cost-effective long-term solutions and co-benefits that help achieve national and international environmental objectives, targets relating to wetland measures have fallen short. The study aim was to investigate drivers, policy influence and barriers to wetland implementation on the local level and to discuss potential success parameters. Local stakeholder experiences were collected using survey design with open, closed, and partially close-ended questions, analysed with thematic analysis. The findings identified drivers relating to ecological and social benefits, climate change, and multifunctionality- and indicated that policy objectives on the national level influence drivers on the local level. Furthermore, barriers towards wetland implementation were identified, fuelled by a lack of communication, policies that rely on one-size-fits-all approaches, and a lack of resources for administration. Potential success parameters to address the barriers include improved collaboration between and within wetland projects, financial incentives for landowners and administration, maintenance plans, systems for follow-up outside of the policy instruments, and increased flexibility for wetland projects that take into account the natural variability of wetlands. The findings can lay the foundation for further research exploring more in-depth the identified barriers and success parameters to help set new policy directives and suggestions for how wetland measures could be implemented at a larger scale in the future