Naturvanor under en pågående pandemi

Abstract

The Covid-19 virus was discovered in China in late 2019. The virus spread rapidly, and in March 2020, Covid-19 was classified as a pandemic. The media has since reported daily on the development of pandemic. One topic that also has been reported about is the increased interest in nature during the pandemic. Many nature areas have witnessed increased visitor numbers, littering, and wear on nature. Previous studies show that wear on nature is mainly due to a lack of knowledge about allemansrätten (the right of public access). The thesis aims to investigate whether there is a connection between the pandemic and the increased interest in nature.  A digital survey was distributed to adult residents in Kristianstad municipality to investigate this potential relationship. The survey included questions about the inhabitants' nature habits both before and during the pandemic. A statistical test of the result confirmed that adult residents of Kristianstad county are out in nature more often during the pandemic than before. Thirty percent of the participants answered that their nature habits have changed during the pandemic, and the majority believe that their changed nature habits have led to more time in nature. The most common activity is walking, and the most popular place to visit nature is its immediate local area. To avoid permanent damage to nature from the changed nature habits, increased knowledge of allemansrätten can be a part of the solution.