A review of the management of the Laponia World Heritage Site

The Swedish Agency for Public Management has been assigned by the Government to analyse the administration of the Laponian Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Laponian Area is the only World Heritage Site in Sweden consisting of both natural and cultural heritage. Since 2013, the non-profit association Laponiatjuottjudus (meaning Laponia Administration in the Sámi language) has administered the Laponian Area World Heritage Site. The members of the association are the Sámi villages in Laponia, Gällivare municipality, Jokkmokk municipality, the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. This model of public administration is unique in Sweden.

Administration of the Laponian Area works well in several respects

Based on the results achieved by Laponiatjuottjudus, the Agency for Public Management finds that, overall, this model of public administration works relatively well. This is particularly true in the administration of trails and facilities, and the administration of cultural -values. This local model of public administration is anchored in the Sámi villages and local communities, and we believe this helps to improve the association's performance in these respects. The organisation actively seeks synergies between the administration of cultural and natural valuess, which we consider advantageous, since the Laponian Area is a combined natural and cultural World Heritage Site. Overall, this helps facilitate a more efficient, long-term and sustainable administration.

However, Laponiatjuottjudus has not been equally successful in administering the natural values of Laponia. In part, this is because the activities of the association have insufficiently prioritised nature conservation, but it is also due to the association's periodic lack of a nature conservation officer.

Shortcomings that the State and Laponiatjuottjudus must address

The association has shortcomings in its internal governance and monitoring, which makes effective and sustainable administration of the World Heritage Site difficult. We deem that the management plan is overly broad and that it fails to guide the association in properly prioritising and planning its activities. Clear objectives and monitoring of the World Heritage Site's assets are lacking, which makes it difficult to assess whether the right measures are being implemented. Given the limited resources of the association, clear priorities are essential in order to use its funds effectively.

There are also shortcomings in the model of public administration that hamper the effective administration of the World Heritage Site. Laponiatjuottjudus is a small organisation that lacks both economies of scale and broad expertise. Therefore, the model is sensitive to changes, such as staff turnover and other unforeseen events. The vulnerability of the administration, the lack of certain skills and the short-term and reduced government financing continue to pose challenges.

The administration of protected areas is a commission delegated by the Government, via the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, to Laponiatjuottjudus. This means that the State retains overall responsibility for ensuring the proper administration of protected areas. At present, the roles and responsibilities of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and, to some extent, the County Administrative Board are not sufficiently clear, which has limited the public authorities' governance, follow-up and demands on the association's work. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has a dual role, serving as a governing and regulating authority as well as being a member of the association. These dual roles have limited the Agency's ability to ensure that the administration of the Laponian Area fulfils national and international natural conservation commitments. At the same time, the County Administrative Board has not sufficiently monitored the development of the World Heritage Site and the adequacy of its administration to protect and preserve its values.

Most appropriate model of public administration for administering the cultural and natural values of the Laponian Area

We believe that the current model of public administration is the most appropriate one for administering the natural and cultural values of the Laponian Area. This model of public administration has its strengths and weaknesses, but our review of other models of public administration shows that no other model is better in terms of ensuring long-term, sustainable and effective administration of the Laponian Area. 

We also consider that organisational autonomy remains important for the legitimacy of the administration among some members of the association, especially the Sámi villages concerned within Laponia. Sámi participation, in turn, is a prerequisite for the administration, partly as a result of the criteria underlying World Heritage Site designation. We believe that the current model of public administration provides for organisational autonomy, but a clearer role for the State in relation to the association is needed.

The Swedish Agency for Public Management's proposals to strengthen and develop the administration

In order to ensure that administration of the Laponian Area's cultural and natural values is more long-term, sustainable and effective, we believe that the Government, the relevant authorities and Laponiatjuottjudus must implement several measures (see Table 1). If these shortcomings are not addressed, the association ultimately runs the risk of lacking sufficient conditions to fulfil its assignment. We consider that the association is ready for development work. The members of the association have previously diverged widely, but our investigation shows that they have come a long way in their cooperation and that there is a desire for Laponiatjuottjudus to continue administering the Laponian Area.

Table 1 The Swedish Agency for Public Management's proposals for strengthening and developing administration of the Laponian Area.

Operator	The Swedish Agency for Public Management's proposal
Government	extend the Laponia Ordinance for five years, effective from July 2026 consider specifying in the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's appropriation directions the minimum amount that the Agency must pay to Laponiatjuottjudus grant the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's request to leave the association remove the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency from the Laponia Ordinance and remove the task of being a member of Laponiatjuottjudus from the Environmental Protection Agency's instruction clarify the division of tasks between Laponiatjuottjudus and the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, by removing the task in the Laponia Ordinance to carry out predator inventories clarify in the Laponia Ordinance that, every five years, the County Administrative Board must expand its reporting to the Government with an account of how the administration of the Laponian Area is progressing.
County Administrative Board of Norrbotten	formalise cooperation with Laponiatjuottjudus through a written agreement.
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency	together with the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, develop indicators to monitor the state of the Laponian Area's cultural and natural assets. This work is to be done in cooperation with Laponiatjuottjudus.
Laponiatjuottjudus	update and refine the administration and management plan to include only those tasks that are within the scope of the association's mandate and tasks complement the management plan with clearer objectives and prioritised measures for the conservation of World Heritage assets evaluate the regulations for national parks in consultation with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency to ensure effective protection of the natural and cultural assets of the World Heritage Site review the possibility of increasing staffing of nature conservation officers seek external funding to strengthen nature conservation efforts reintroduce induction training for new members of the decision-making bodies of Laponiatjuottjudus. .