Freedom to roam

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The freedom to roam, or everyman's right is a term describing the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land for recreation and exercise. The term is sometimes called right of public access to the wilderness or the right to roam.

In England such access applies to certain categories of mainly uncultivated land - specifically mountain, moor, heath, down and registered common land. Developed land, gardens and certain other areas are specifically excluded from the right of access. Agricultural land is accessible if it falls within one of the categories described above. Most publicly owned forests have a similar right of access by virtue of a voluntary dedication made by the Forestry Commission. People exercising the right of access have certain duties to respect other people's rights to manage the land, and to protect nature.

In the Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden; and also in Scotland it may take the form of general public rights which are sometimes codified in law. The access is ancient in parts of Northern Europe and has been regarded as sufficiently basic that it was not formalised in law until modern times.

Many tropical countries such as Madagascar have historic policies of open access to forest or wilderness areas. This practise in the rainforests of eastern Madagascar and in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests has led to considerable destruction of habitat, much of which is effectively irreversible.

In the United States hiking access to true wilderness areas is encouraged, but the rights of a property owner to control access to private lands is generally respected, with exceptions for beach access and other easement rights that can be negotiated between government entities and owners to allow access to lands of unusual merit.

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[edit] History

Traces of the the freedom to roam can be found in several European countries which suggest it was a much earlier common norm, but today the applicability is in a much narrower extent.

It has survived in perhaps its purest form mainly in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Here the right has been won through practice over hundreds of years[1] and it is not known when it changed from common practise to become a commonly recognised right. It has in any place been in existence since before recorded history. The right existed for a long time only as a customary law, but has in recent years been established as written law.

A possible explanation as to why the right has survived mainly in these four countries is that feudalism and serfdom were not established there. Another factor is the survival of large areas of unenclosed forest. Elsewhere in Europe land was gradually enclosed for private use and enjoyment, with communal rights (for instance, rights to gather fuel or graze animals) largely eliminated.

[edit] Recreation

These rights underpin opportunities for outdoor recreation in several of the Nordic countries, providing the opportunity to hike over or camp on someone else's land (e.g. in Sweden for one night, or "temporarily"), to travel by boat on somebody else's waters, and to pick wildflowers, mushrooms and berries. However — with the rights come responsibilities, i.e. the obligation to do no harm, not to disturb, not to litter, not to damage wildlife or crops.

Access rights are most often for travel on foot. Rights to fish, hunt or take any other product are usually constrained by other customs or laws. Building a fire is often prohibited (though in Finland you are sometimes allowed to build a fire in state owned land and in Sweden you can usually build a fire as long as you take proper safety precautions). Making noise is discouraged. In some countries, putting up a tent in the forest for one night is allowed, but not the use of a caravan. Access does not extend to built up or developed land (such as houses, gardens) and does not include commercial exploitation of the land. For example, getting workers to pick berries is legal only with the landowner's permit.

There are some significant differences in the rules in the different countries. In Sweden exercising of the rights is overseen by the Swedish National Environmental Protection Agency - which can, for example, force the removal of a fence if it obstructs peoples right to enter the property under 'allemansrätten' (see Swedish environmental law - 'Miljöbalken 26 kap. 11 §'). In northern Norway Cloudberries belong to the land owner. In Enontekiö, Finland, berry picking is excluded from the everyman's rights, requiring the landowner's permission, since it has commercial importance.[citation needed]

[edit] Criticism

In recent years population growth has increased pressure on some areas popular for hiking and increased mobility and affluence has made previously remote areas more accessible. There is some concern that some recreational users have limited understanding of the economic and natural systems they are exploring, though significant harm or damage is unusual, the main concerns being disturbance of sensitive species of wildlife (particularly by dogs), and litter.

The 1992 Rio Convention on Biodiversity (subscribed to by 189 countries) expressed some caution about the potential effect of unlimited access, especially in tropical forests, where slash and burn practices undermine biodiversity. For this reason, broad public access rights are challenged in some countries' resulting Biodiversity Action Plans.

Critics of a general right of public access sometimes assert that it threatens the management practices of property owners who have created and preserve many environmentally important qualities. It has also been argued that newly created access rights should lead to some form of financial compensation for private landowners. In England, after a very polarized debate about the merits, rights and benefits of private landowners and public recreation, in 2000 the Government legislated to introduce a limited Right to roam, without compensation for landowners.

[edit] Norway

Everyone in Norway enjoys the right of access to and passage through uncultivated land in the countryside. The right was codified in law in 1957 with the implementation of the Outdoor Recreation Act. It is based on respect for the countryside, and all visitors are expected to show consideration for farmers and landowners, other users and the environment. In Norway the terms utmark and innmark divide areas were the right is valid and where it is not. The law specifies innmark thoroughly, [2] all other areas are utmark. Utmark is generally speaking uninhabited and uncultivated areas and where the right is valid. Cultivated land may only be walked on when it is frozen and covered in snow.

In later years the right has come under pressure particularily in the Oslo Fjord and in popular areas of Southern Norway. These areas are popular sites for holiday homes and many owners of coastal land want to restrict public access to their property. As a general rule, building and partitioning of property is prohibited in the 100 m zone closest to the sea, but local authorities in many areas have made liberal use of their ability to grant exemptions from this rule. Even though a land owner has been permitted to build closer to the shore he can not restrict people from walking along the shore. Fences and other barriers erected to prevent public access are not permitted.

[edit] Specific rules

A place is to be left at least as tidy as when you arrived there. It is not allowed to leave permanent traces of one's presence or to be a nuisance to the land owner or other people. You are only allowed to walk or ski if travelling off tracks and roads. On tracks and roads cycling and riding is permitted. You are only allowed to pitch a tent at least 150 meters from a dwelling and only for two days without getting permission from the land owner. Kindling and firewood may be gathered from dead trees and branches, but felling of living trees is prohibited. Fires are not permitted in or near forests between 15 April and 15 September. You are not allowed to tear down fences and enclosures. The land owner is permitted to expel people who damage his property.

You are allowed to gather flowers, herbs, berries and mushrooms, but common sense dictates that it should not be for commercial purposes without getting permission from the land owner and that endangered species must be left in place. Nuts must be consumed on the spot. You are not allowed to remove rocks, firewood or peat. Some shores in Norway have deposits of large, round stones shaped by sea and ice for thousands of years. These are popular souvenirs for tourists and as a result many such deposits have been emptied.

You are allowed to go canoeing, kayaking, rowing and sailing in rivers, lakes, and ocean. Motorised boats are only permitted in salt water. All waters are open for swimming.

Hunting rights belong to the landowner, and thus hunting is not included in the right of free access. In freshwater areas such as rivers and lakes, the fishing rights belong to the landowner. Regardless of who owns the land, fresh-water fishing activities may only be conducted with the permission of the landowner or by those in possession of a fishing licence. In salt-water areas there is free access to sports fishing using boats or from the shoreline. All fishing is subject to legislation to among other things protect biological diversity, and this legislation stipulates rules regarding the use of gear, seasons, bag or size limits and more.

[edit] United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom feudalism was established and the absolute property right of the sovereign meant that all land was in some way owned by the Crown. The land owners had and still have a very strong position regarding their property rights. Even uncultivated land has been heavily protected mostly to preserve the land owner's hunting or fishing rights. This in turn left the general public with little access to natural areas. Even popular sights such as Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill in the Peak District with very little economic interest to the owner has been out of access to the public.

The Ramblers' Association works to improve the rights of walkers in the United Kingdom and has been a driving force behind the recent legislation improving the public's access to the wilderness.

[edit] Scotland

In Scotland the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 comprehensively codified into Scots law the ancient tradition of the right to universal access to the land in Scotland.

The rights confirmed in the Scottish legislation are greater than the limited rights of access, which were not present in English law previously, granted in England and Wales with the passing of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. [3]

[edit] England and Wales

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 was gradually implemented from 2000 onwards in order to give the general public the conditional right to walk in certain areas of the English and Welsh countryside.

Traditionally the public could walk on established public footpaths and land owners could charge a fee if people wanted to gain access to any other areas.

Angling interests successfully lobbied for the exclusion of rivers in England and Wales from CROW, leaving other river users such as swimmers and canoeists with restricted access to less than 2% of navigable water. The British Canoe Union is running the Rivers Access Campaign, to highlight the level of restrictions the public face in gaining access to inland waterways in England and Wales.

The new rights were introduced region by region through England and Wales, with completion in 2005. Maps showing which accessible areas have been produced.


[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Caplex article (Norwegian)
  2. ^ ”gårdsplass, hustomt, dyrket mark, engslått, kulturbeite og skogplantefelt og liknende områder hvor allmennhetens ferdsel vil være til utilbørlig fortrengsel for eier eller bruker. Udyrkede, mindre grunnstykker som ligger i dyrket mark eller engslått eller er gjerdet inn sammen med slikt område, regnes også som innmark. Det samme gjelder områder for industrielt eller annen særlig øyemed hvor allmennhetens ferdsel vil være til utilbørlig fortrengsel for eier, bruker eller andre.”
  3. ^ Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000: Fact Sheets. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2000-03-07). Retrieved on December 9, 2006.
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