... has an important public interest role in the cultural, ecological, environmental and social fields, and constitutes a resource favourable to             economic activity and whose protection, management and planning can contribute to job creation;

         ...  Aware that the landscape contributes to the formation of local cultures and that it is a basic component of the European natural and cultural heritage, contributing to human well-being and consolidation of the European identity;

... Acknowledging that the landscape is an important part of the quality of life for people everywhere: in urban areas and in the countryside, in degraded areas as well as in areas of high quality, in areas recognised as being of outstanding beauty as well as everyday areas;

... Noting that developments in agriculture, forestry, industrial and mineral production techniques and in regional planning, town planning, transport, infrastructure, tourism and recreation and, at a more general level, changes in the world economy are in many cases accelerating the transformation of landscapes;

... Wishing to respond to the public’s wish to enjoy high quality landscapes and to play an active part in the development of landscapes;

... Believing that the landscape is a key element of individual and social well-being and that its protection, management and planning entail rights and responsibilities for everyone;

"Pastische Modernism"

Landscape: "In favour of Sweden, in our Time"...?

"landscapes which might be described as by-products of their economic atcitivieties". [---] "As a result of our ancestors' unrelenting efforts we have a tremendous variety of types of scenery and landscapes, which many countries envy us" ... before summing up:

Simon Schama in 1995  in Landscape and Memory:

"Objectively, of course, the various ecosystems that sustain life on the planet proceed independently of human agency, just as they operated before the hective ascendancy of Homo sapiens. But it is also true that it is diffficult to think of a single natural system that has not, for the better or for worse, been substantially modified by human culture." (---) "And it is the argument of Landscape and Memory that it is used not for guilt and sorrow but for  celebration."

Less theoretical is a book by cultural reporter of the Swedish Radio, Johannes Ekman, a book from another "Ekman" ( "Man of Oak"), however not related: Skogen i vårt inre - Utmark och frihetsdröm/ The forest inside of us - Outlying lands, dreams of liberty. But it penetrates deeply into the Nordic soul, which seems to cry somewhat for help in a sort poem as the following by Verner Aspenström ( Stream of Aspen):

Those shivering aspen leaves, however - are they not whispering about the need, in the Far North, for more universal wanderers à la Friedrich's first picture?! The risk of self-choking monotony, without! The deeply human need, to feel, of course, but in fact also to reflect, "... perceive" ...

Again, the need for the European Landscape Convention.

Landscape & Citizens believes there is a problem in our society concerning who (ought to), are the  real experts on landscape in Sweden? We have so long had definite expertise in the natural sciences domains, while more or less neglecting traditional - and changing - landscapes per se: a field considered "soft". And now? Experts haven't done their jobs, experts should be  redefined...