Gothenburg Natural Environment Responsibility Dashboard

Institution snapshot

Public institutions that show up across Gothenburg's nature work

Older reserve pages may still mention the former Parks and Nature Administration. The City of Gothenburg states that function was split into Urban Environment Administration and Land Development Administration in the 2023 reorganisation.

Västra Götaland County Administrative Board

Usually manages protected nature such as nature reserves and national parks, and remains a key authority for protected coastal and inland nature.

City Planning Committee

Leads municipal reserve formation, boundaries, strategic prioritisation, and management plans for new city reserves.

Urban Environment Committee & Urban Environment Administration

Manage the city's natural areas, public bathing sites, and much of the day-to-day upkeep of forests, trails, bridges, wetlands, and outdoor facilities.

Environmental Administration

Provides environmental supervision and co-defines the guidance used for discharges to water recipients and the stormwater network.

Recycling and Water

Works with the Environmental Administration on water quality target values and supports planning around stormwater, ditches, and watercourses.

Land Development Administration

Owns and develops city agricultural land and urban farming programmes that intersect with reserve-edge landscapes and biodiversity work.

Responsibility matrix

Area-by-area accountability

This view stays at area-type level. It does not try to assign parcel-level accountability.

Protected nature

Nature reserves & protected landscapes

Responsible authority: Västra Götaland County Administrative Board for most protected nature, with the City of Gothenburg acting as the public authority and manager for municipal reserves.
Responsible actors: The City Planning Committee handles reserve formation, boundaries, and management plans; the Urban Environment Committee and Urban Environment Administration manage and develop reserves after formation; some reserve pages name the City of Gothenburg directly as the nature conservation manager.
Daily maintenance: Management-plan-led work includes thinning, wetland restoration, upkeep of trails and bridges, and follow-up so reserve goals are actually delivered on the ground.
Research units: Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre (GGBC) and the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences support biodiversity, conservation, and ecosystem-service knowledge.

Sources: Västra Götaland County Administrative Board protected nature, city reserve roles, Stora Amundö reserve page

Marine edge

Coast, archipelago & marine areas

Responsible authority: The City of Gothenburg for municipal bathing sites and many city-managed coastal sites, Västra Götaland County Administrative Board for protected coastal nature, and the Environmental Administration with Recycling and Water for water-quality guidance.
Responsible actors: The Urban Environment Committee owns the municipal bathing-site mandate, the Urban Environment Administration runs the operational service, and the Environmental Administration plus Recycling and Water set the guidance used for polluted water releases to recipients and networks.
Daily maintenance: During bathing season the city keeps toilets, bridges, lifebuoys, and containers in place, staffs larger sites with attendants, cleans most bathing sites daily, and can increase maintenance from 15 May when demand rises.
Research units: The Department of Marine Sciences, the Centre for Sea and Society, and the Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment provide marine science, cross-sector collaboration, and ecosystem-based governance support.

Sources: bathing-site responsibility and service, stormwater roles, Department of Marine Sciences, Centre for Sea and Society, Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment

Land systems

Forests, urban natural areas & recreation corridors

Responsible authority: The Urban Environment Committee through the Urban Environment Administration is the main public manager for the city's forests, natural areas, and outdoor public-space systems.
Responsible actors: The Urban Environment Administration has the city's broad public-space and natural-area mandate and runs work that must balance recreation, biodiversity, and cultural landscape values.
Daily maintenance: Work is area-specific, guided by mapped tasks and site instructions, with each area's natural conditions and public use shaping how maintenance is carried out with minimal disturbance.
Research units: The Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences' plant ecology and environmental science work covers forests, land use, and urban vegetation, while GGBC links biodiversity science to restoration and practice.

Sources: natural-area maintenance, urban environment remit, Plant ecology, physiology & environmental science (PEPES), Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre (GGBC)

Freshwater link

Lakes, streams, wetlands & stormwater-linked habitats

Responsible authority: The City of Gothenburg is responsible for meeting water environmental quality norms, with the Environmental Administration and Recycling and Water defining core guidance and the Urban Environment Administration managing the operational public systems.
Responsible actors: The Environmental Administration and Recycling and Water set target values for polluted-water releases; the Urban Environment Administration maintains stormwater facilities and the connected public realm that influences downstream habitats.
Daily maintenance: Stormwater facilities need regular operation and maintenance with explicit operating instructions so the treatment and retention functions keep working for streams, lakes, wetlands, and coastal receivers.
Research units: The Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences is the clearest research match here because its work spans land, freshwater, and marine environments.

Sources: water norms and guidance, stormwater maintenance, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences research areas

Research network

Units worth tracking by area type

These are not regulators. They are the research organisations most directly aligned with the area types above.

Department of Marine Sciences

Core science unit for coast, archipelago, marine conservation, and marine spatial questions.

Coast · Marine reserves · Marine environment

Centre for Sea and Society

Connects marine research to authorities, organisations, industry, and public dialogue.

Coast · Collaboration · Policy bridge

Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment

Produces synthesis and knowledge support for ecosystem-based marine governance.

Coast · Governance · Water quality

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences

Spans land, freshwater, and marine environments, which makes it the broadest match for forests, streams, and mixed habitats.

Forest · Freshwater · Mixed habitats

Plant ecology, physiology & environmental science (PEPES)

Studies forests, land use, urban vegetation, climate impacts, and ecological change on land.

Forest · Urban nature · Vegetation

Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre (GGBC)

Connects biodiversity researchers and public actors around conservation, restoration, and ecosystem services.

Reserves · Biodiversity · Restoration

Source register

Official references used in this version

Every link below is publicly accessible and was used to ground the dashboard content.