People’s outdoor behavior and norm based on the Right of Public Access: a questionnaire survey in Sweden

ABSTRACT Forests in Sweden, as well as natural sites in other Northern European countries, are the center of various outdoor activities, such as picking berries and mushrooms. These activities are supported by the Right of Public Access. However, outdoor activities based on this right potentially cause overuse and free-rider problems and conflict between landowners and visitors. Previous studies have not explained how Swedish people maintain their tradition of outdoor activities. This study aimed to clarify people’s outdoor activities supported by the Right of Public Access. We conducted an on-site questionnaire survey with a special focus on picking berries and mushrooms. We found that the conflict between landowners and visitors related to picking was low and that the pickers have a strong awareness of the need to avoid conflict. Such behaviors and norms were found to have originated largely from family activities since early childhood. Therefore, for sustaining public access to nature, the picking practice configures an important opportunity for the succession of informal knowledge and formal education.


Introduction
In Sweden, the Right of Public Access (allemansrätt) is a basic human right widely supported by the people in the country (Beery 2013). Although the origin of the right can be traced back to the early Middle Ages, its legal concept had not developed till the early 20th century (Carlsson 2001;Sténs and Sandström 2013). The Right of Public Access allows anybody to pass through forest areas and collect some minor products such as berries or mushrooms in nature, even if they do not own the land. In early times, the right played an important role to support landless people's lives (Sténs and Sandström 2013); however, it is now an important base for people's recreational activities related to nature.
Not only in Sweden but also in other Nordic countries, such as Norway and Finland, similar rights have been developed, although their legal status varies. In these countries, various outdoor activities are performed based on these rights, and their contemporary significance has been outlined as follows: • Fostering interest in the environment (Faarlund 1993). • Ensuring the effectiveness of environmental studies (Sandell and Fredman 2010;Beery 2013). • Creating an understanding of environmental policy (Sandell 2006). • Contributing to human health and healing (Hartig and Fransson 2009;Petersson-Forsberg 2014). • Preventing overdevelopment through the exercise of customary rights (Abe 1979;Hiramatsu 1999).
However, outdoor activities can potentially cause problems. Specifically, the Right of Public Access in Sweden allows anyone (i.e. citizens and tourists alike) to enjoy the benefits of free access to nature. From the perspective of natural resource management, the support of the Right of Public Access to outdoor activities is similar to the "openaccess regime" (Dietz et al. 2002, p. 18), and can lead to overuse and free-riding problems. Further, harvesting forest products, such as berries, is classified as the use of subtractable resource units (Ostrom 1990), and the misuse of this type of resource will likely result in either of the two aforementioned problems: overuse and free-riding.
In fact, these problems have been considered in Sweden. Concerning overuse, the extent of pressure on harvesting berries was estimated, and it was argued that overharvesting might not have occurred as of the late 1970s (Kardell 1979(Kardell , 1980. However, whether over harvesting occurred on site has not yet been examined. The free-rider problem has been discussed mainly within the context of land ownership problems (Ostrom 1990). Debates that lasted for a century on whether people who exercise their right to public access might violate a landowner's rights have led to the formation of the Right of Public Access Sandström 2013, 2014). After the assessment of various outdoor activities, it was reported that the conflicts of interests occurred not only between users and landowners but also among users themselves (Elgåker et al. 2012;Sténs and Sandström 2014).
Previous studies have shown that the problems related to outdoor activities supported by the Right of Public Access are mostly created by foreign tourists and workers who lack the experience of proper conduct in dealing with nature in Sweden Sandström 2013, 2014). Sandell and Fredman (2010) also reported that the organized and commercial use of natural resources tends to increase the possibility of problems. This means that it is quite difficult for all users to follow common rules and customs. Further, it is difficult to properly monitor and punish violators.
Despite repeated conflicts, the Right of Public Access itself has not been questioned (Sténs and Sandström 2013). Based on an analysis of discussions in the Swedish parliament, it was pointed out that "soft governance" was preferred to strict regulation (Sténs and Sandström 2014). "Soft governance" involves the zoning of areas where a recreational activity is not allowed, using channeling devices such as signboards to instruct visitors to do an activity in a certain way, and disseminating public information and education to enhance people's performance of harmless activities.
Among these measures, public information and education have been major solutions since the early 20th century, when conflicts between landowners and berry pickers occurred (Sténs and Sandström 2013). In Sweden, various organizations have taken measures to maximize the positive and minimize the negative aspects of the Right of Public Access. For example, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (n.d.) is trying to raise awareness among Swedish people and foreigners through online pamphlets (written in many languages) about proper conduct concerning nature. It is assumed that good behavior is a crucial factor in preventing any problems. Beery (2013) pointed out that organizations, such as Skogsmulle and Naturskolor, played an important role in teaching children how to behave well in nature. These institutional arrangements seem to have worked well, so that the Right of Public Access could maintain the principles for preventing disturbance and destruction for a long time.
This study aimed to specify people's actual outdoor behavior supported by the Right of Public Access. Concerning behavior, the preference for activities has already been investigated in prior research (Raadik et al. 2010); however, the problems and the norms that help people avoid problems have not been clarified. The questionnaire survey was considered more appropriate than other methods for the sufficiency of data input. In order to know people's actual behavior and related norms, we performed an on-site questionnaire survey with a special focus on berry and mushroom picking with the following questions: (i) What kind of problems have people actually experienced? (ii) What are their outdoor behavior and norms? (iii) What is the source of these norms?

Materials and methods
The survey participants included people who enjoyed outdoor activities such as picking natural resources like fruits. Survey sites were selected based on two criteria: the sufficiency of the sample size and the possibility of obtaining answers from those who enjoyed access to nature. As for the second criteria, since differences could be found between urban and rural areas in the actual state of problems, the norm of outdoor activities, and the source of the norm, we selected study sites from both urban (Tyresta) and rural (Skellefteå) areas (see Figure 1).
The Tyresta National Park is located in governmentowned land 20 km from the center of Stockholm. According to Statistics Sweden, a government agency that produces official statistics, Haninge Municipality, where the park is located, had a population of 82,000 in 2014, whereas Stockholm County as a whole had a population of 2.2 million in 2014, including Stockholm Municipality with a population of 912,000 (Statistics Sweden n.d.). The Vitberget area, located 2.5 km from the center of Skellefteå Municipality, is owned by the municipality as an area for outdoor activities, especially walking, running, and cross-country skiing. The population of Skellefteå Municipality in 2014 was 72,000. Also, there are no neighboring municipalities with a large population within 50 km of the study spot. These study spots are public lands; however, the questionnaire contained questions about respondents' experiences and ideas regarding outdoor activities in general (see Appendix). Accordingly, the answers may be considered to reflect the experiences of visitors with other types of lands, such as private lands.
The survey was conducted in Tyresta on August 9-11, 2014 and in Skellefteå on August 15-17 (a total of 6 days), 2014, which was the most active period for berry and mushroom picking. At the access points of each survey site, surveyors distributed an anonymous selfadministered questionnaire (see Appendix) to each visitor who came for outdoor activities including the picking of berries and mushrooms. Surveyors stood beside the respondents while they answered the questions and gave additional explanations, if required, to prevent insufficient/incomplete answers. We used an on-site sampling of the study population, including people who performed the picking activities.
The questionnaire sheet was provided in Swedish, and it has been included in the Appendix. An English version of the questionnaire, which was not used in the survey, is also attached at the end of the Appendix. Of all the visitors who were asked to respond to the questionnaire, 70.6% and 84.7% responded in Tyresta and Skellefteå, respectively; we obtained 188 answers each in Tyresta and Skellefteå.

Results
Most of the respondents (55.9% in Tyresta and 69.1% in Skellefteå) said that their travel time to the relevant spot was <30 min, suggesting that the answers represented well the locality of each survey site. Table 1 shows the basic attributes of the respondents.
The data obtained showed that the respondents in Skellefteå were relatively younger and a higher proportion of them were women. Differences shown between Tyresta and Skellefteå in a few responses were not statistically significant and did not affect our conclusions. Therefore, we did not focus on comparing Tyresta and Skellefteå. The results which showed significant differences between the two sites are indicated in Tables 2 and 3. Table 2 shows the respondents' descriptions of their own experiences of problems. Most of the respondents (80%) answered "nothing," indicating that problems were at a low level. Among problems related to outdoor activities experienced by the respondents, the most common was finding garbage in forests (12.6%). Commercial harvesting through employing foreigners was more of a problem for outdoor activities in Skellefteå (5.7%) than those in Tyresta (1.1%), although at a low level (P = 0.05). Only 1% of the respondents selected, "being driven from the forest by its landowners" as a problem, which indicated a direct conflict with landowners. Table 4 shows the reasons for people picking berries or mushrooms on land owned by others. Nearly 90% of the respondents stated their reason as the Right of Public Access in the Swedish legal system (Sténs and Sandström 2014).    Source: The questionnaire survey. **P < 0.01between Tyresta and Skellefteå.

Problems, respondents' behaviors, and the norm
Since people are aware of this, needless problems between landowners and visitors can be avoided. Table 3 shows the purposes of picking berries or mushrooms. The most common purpose was that the picking was one of the "easy recreational activities" (60.5%), followed by "to get daily foodstuff" (49.6%), and because the fruits were "lying on the forest walk" (36.0%). There was a statistically significant difference (P = 0.01) between Tyresta and Skellefteå in the following purposes: "easy recreational activities," "to get daily foodstuff," "lying on the forest walk", "for health," and "to sell." At any rate, people's behaviors did not lead to high pressure on picking berries or mushrooms, especially because commercial harvesting was rare. Therefore, people doing outdoor activities might avoid the problems of overharvesting or conflict with landowners. Figure 2 shows the importance respondents gave to (i) a concern for nature (awareness of nature conservation), (ii) a concern for others (awareness of not disturbing others), and (iii) risk avoidance. Points (i) and (ii) had high scores. People's awareness of avoiding problems might keep those problems at a low level.

Source of behaviors and the norm
As aforementioned, problems related to picking activities remain at a low level, and the behavior and norm of berry or mushroom pickers themselves might be contributing factors. Table 5 shows the source of the respondents' knowledge about berries and mushrooms. Most of the respondents (94.3%) wrote that they obtained knowledge from their families, indicating that vertical succession of knowledge is dominant compared to horizontal succession.
The average age of respondents when they began their picking activities was five years or earlier (Figure 3). "Taken   Source: The questionnaire survey. The word "Friends" was not indicated as an option, but the number of friends was counted based on a free description of "Others.". by family" was the dominant cue (91.6%) to begin picking activities (Table 6). This cue is the example of the vertical succession of knowledge described earlier.
Cross-tabulation results showed no explicit differences among generations; "Obtained from family" was the dominant source of knowledge, and "Taken by family" was the dominant cue to begin picking activities in both Tyresta and Skellefteå. However, young respondents, although a few in number, selected the options of kindergarten or schools, implying that educational institutions have recently been expanding their role of influence on picking activities.

Discussion
The Right of Public Access and its related institution have been sustained robustly in history. Natural resources are open to all people, so potential problems regarding resource management exist. We examined whether conflicts existed between landowners and visitors and whether recent progress in the organized and commercial use of natural resources may escalate the level of conflict among various stakeholders. This study showed that the behaviors and norms of those who enjoy the Right of Public Access might prevent problems caused by picking activities.
Previous literature has reported that outdoor activities based on the Right of Public Access sometimes cause conflicts between users and landowners and among users themselves. As for berry picking, an argument has been made for the commercial harvesting by foreigners Sandström 2013, 2014). From the visitors' perspective, this study revealed that in Sweden, problems related to picking activities, including conflict between landowners and visitors, are at a low level. Still, this study is limited to the observations of visitors who visited public land, and future research should consider the perceptions of visitors who frequently visit private land and landowners. Commercial harvesting by foreigners was indeed recognized as a relatively higher level of problem in the northern part of Sweden (Skellefteå), which is a major area for the commercial harvesting of berries, but such cases were not a major problem as a whole.
This study also revealed that activities of picking berries and mushrooms are performed in a such way that they do not cause conflicts. In other words, berries and mushrooms are harvested for self-consumption purposes. Further, picking berries or mushrooms are decreasing compared with other outdoor activities (Lindhargen and Hörnsten 2000; Raadik et al. 2010); thus, foraging activities are less likely to invite problems.
According to previous studies, substantial manner or norms for preventing disturbance and destruction have been developed since the early 20th century (Sténs and Sandström 2014). This study confirmed that berry and mushroom pickers are strongly aware of the need to avoid problems. These findings indicate that although picking activities supported by the Right of Public Access in Sweden are superficially considered "open access," there is order in people's behavior and norm to some extent. Thus, it is implicated that not only solid social and legal systems or regulations but also "soft governance instruments" (Sténs and Sandström 2014) are important for preventing potential problems caused by the use of natural resources.
Considering that formal education and other methods have been used for a long time to raise awareness about the Right of Public Access (Sténs and Sandström 2013), the proportion of participants who reported these methods as their source of knowledge remained at a relatively low level in our study. Rather, visitors' behaviors and norms have largely originated from activities within the family (vertical succession of knowledge) in early childhood. Moreover, this type of knowledge succession is to be considered for education programs (horizontal succession of knowledge), which have been suggested as key to maintaining people's good behavior (Beery 2013). This study cannot explain this difference, but it can be hypothesized that knowledge provided by education programs has been assimilated by people who pass it in the family. As no significant difference in people's norms was observed between urban and rural areas, it can be interpreted that their norm for accessing nature was culturally embedded in Swedish society. These hypotheses should be investigated in future studies. Further, it is indicated that the variety in people's preference for outdoor activities has been changing (Lindhargen and Hörnsten 2000; Raadik et al. 2010). As the results of this study are relatively old and COVID-19 might have influenced people's outdoor behaviors, the study findings should be re-examined by a new survey in the near future.