Report Two

Under the general heading of ”Sustainable Development”, some 180 heads of state and 50,000 delegates and media personnel will be gathering in Johannesburg – and SAEFL will also be represented in the Swiss delegation. Among the important environmental issues that Switzerland intends to highlight are climate change, chemicals, biodiversity and forests. Switzerland will be assuming a leading role and pressing for rapid implementation of international environmental agreements. Deficiencies in the area of binding environmental regulations will need to be remedied. Alongside social and economic concerns, the environment is the third pillar on which sustainable development rests.

Switzerland actively participates in the "Environment for Europe" process. To this end, great importance is given to the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy as indicated under Point 4.5 of the 1998 CBD national report. Switzerland has participated in drawing up several strategies and programs within the framework of congresses and ministerial conferences, in support of Strategy Action Themes 1, 2, 8 and during 1997-98 held the chairmanship of the Strategy Executive Bureau. Switzerland is currently engaged in intensive preparations for this major event. Strategies can be found by clicking here:

The SDC: The primary focus of SDC co-operation work is to apply appropriate measures to support partner countries in their efforts to accelerate their own development, with particularly attention to sustainable use of natural resources, thereby helping to solve or prevent global environmental problems.

SDC-supported programmes and projects are designed to improve the living conditions of local populations taking fully into account the need to conserve the environment – locally and globally.

Projects and programmes supported by SDC must either directly serve defined objectives or serve as catalysts for related measures. They should have a positive effect in every case on environmental policies in developing countries, take the social, economic and political conditions of these countries into account, and be an integral part of a broad national or international concept.

It is an SDC principle to support countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and CIS countries while trying as far as possible to balance its commitments among these continents.

Guidelines and Principles of Action: The Federal Council clearly underlined the importance of commitments made at the Rio Summit in its North-South Guidelines of 1994: "The consumption and overexploitation of natural resources by industrialized countries bears a large part of the responsibility for damage to the environment. This cannot provide a model for developing countries. For this reason Switzerland must also make a contribution to sustainable development at home".

Three Guiding Principles: Three guiding principles underlie the actions taken by Switzerland to manage biological and landscape diversity:

1. Preservation. This implies the protection and maintenance of rare habitats of great value, including traditional and cultural landscapes. A functional ecological network is essential to maintain biological and landscape diversity.

2. Enhancement. This principle is especially important on the Swiss Plateau and in built-up areas where landscapes have been exploited intensively, have lost their variety, and have become impoverished from the biological point of view. Regions which are ecologically poor must be enhanced, using existing components of the landscape and nature, or by creating them.

3. Sustainable use. The ability of biological diversity resources to generate must be maintained and encouraged, preserving the normal function of ecosystems and adapting the way they are used to specific local conditions. This principle particularly applies to water resources, forestry and agriculture. Nonrenewable resources should be used sparingly and renewable replacements should be sought.

Cooperation between partners. Sustainable development requires the collaboration of everyone for its incorporation into all sectors concerned.

New alliances. The changes in society, the economy and the markets must be turned to good use to set up collaborations to benefit biological diversity, whether it be through agriculture, industry or services.

Principle of subsidiary. The tasks must be accomplished at the appropriate level. In Switzerland the cantonal and municipal authorities are responsible for implementing the conservation of biological diversity, on their own initiative or through delegation.

Principle of prevention. This principle is one of the foundations of environmental law. It aims to integrate the interests of biological and landscape diversity into all projects.

Principle of causality. Those responsible for an accident must take responsibility for the consequences. The internalization of costs should reflect real prices so that an accurate evaluation can be made. Whenever an alteration is inevitable, corresponding compensatory measures should be taken.

Information / training / education. Realization of the significance of biological diversity by society as a whole is a key condition for sustainable development.

International cooperation. Only international coordination can allow us to appreciate and serve global interests in the conservation of biological diversity.

Switzerland's objectives regarding the conservation and sustainable use of biological and landscape diversity have been defined according to existing legislation, the state of biological diversity, and also as a function of established Swiss political mechanisms. Realization of the objectives set demand a coordinated approach to conservation and sustainable development, implemented through a holistic management of biological and landscape diversity throughout Switzerland, and the integration of sustainable development concepts into all activities.

In Switzerland there are activities promoting the conservation of biological and landscape diversity at all levels of the federal state:

The Confederation: Sets the framework of principles by means of Federal laws and ordinances.

The Cantons (federal states): Organizes the implementation of protection and enact legislation applicable to their territory.

The Municipalities: Implements cantonal provisions on the ground, for example by promulgating regulations on protection or by creating nature reserves.

Illustration of the federalist principle in distributing the responsibilities for nature protection:

The Confederation: Draws up an inventory which identifies fens of national importance. It supports the cantons financially in carrying out this protection. In this way it respects the legislative provisions adopted by the population concerning the protection of biotopes.

The Cantons: Puts the protection of fens of national importance into practice, and take them into account when making plans for land use. They draw up plans for their protection and maintenance. The cantons are responsible for protecting fens of regional and local importance.

The Municipalities: Implements the actual protection of the fens. The proprietors of fens commit themselves by private legal contracts to exploit the fens in accordance with the established objectives of protection. In exchange they receive subsidies from the Confederation and the cantons.

Text and graphics: National Report of Switzerland for the Convention on Biological Diversity, SAEFL 1998.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Its mandate is based on the Federal Law on International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid. Switzerland financial resources is relatively limited, it accounts for 0.2 per cent of the Swiss's federal budget.

Other financial means are provided by the Swiss Confederation through its federal department of forests, environment and landscape (OFEFP/BUWAL) and by many cantonal services of nature conservancy. Funds are also available though trust funds and grants.

Implementation of the Biodiversity Convention within Switzerland:

Switzerland's sector is primarily covered by the Nature and Landscape Protection divisions of SAEFL. A comprehensive overview of Switzerland's measures to fulfill her commitments according to the Biodiversity Convention is offered by the National Report of Switzerland for the Convention on Biological Diversity, which can be ordered online from SAEFL's Publications Service.

Switzerland and international conventions on biodiversity: For several decades now, Switzerland has been taking part in the drawing up and implementing on international conventions relating to biodiversity. As a result, the Swiss Government has ratified most of the conventions dealing with biodiversity conservation. More detailed information: SAEFL, International Affairs Division.

Principal conventions relating to biological diversity ratified by Switzerland

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
UNESCO Convention of 2 February 1971 on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitats

Protection of Global Cultural and Natural Heritage
UNESCO Convention of 23 November 1972 on the protection of global cultural and natural heritage

Washington Convention or CITES
UNEP Convention of 3 March 1973 on international trade in endangered species of flora and fauna

Bern Convention
Convention of 19 September 1979 on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, elaborated under the aegis of the Council of Europe

Bonn Convention
Convention of 23 June 1979 on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

Alpine Convention
Convention on the Protection and the sustainable Development of the Alpes
(7. November 1991)

Convention to Combat Desertification
Convention to combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa, was concluded in Paris in 1994 and came into force in Switzerland on 26 December 1996

Aarhus Convention
Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (25. June 1998)

Switzerland considers the environment as one of the major elements defining her relationship with other countries. This viewpoint results from a belief that international cooperation in environmental matters is in dissociable from the effort to enhance justice, peace and well-being on our planet.

Research and Higher Education: Research institutions (universities, research institutes) and supporting agencies, such as the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), are important partners in the conservation of landscape and biological diversity. The work areas of the SNSF include natural resource management (Program Man and Biosphere MAB, water, forest, protection of the air, soil, climatic change and natural catastrophes), as well as the Priority Program for Environmental Technology and Research created in 1992 and providing essential data that can be used in the field. Research in the public sector provides the federal administration with the basic data necessary for its mandates of protection and conservation, which it can publish and integrate into its basic or advanced training courses.

In higher education, general ecology will soon be incorporated into all scientific training programs. Several types of comprehensive training are offered by Swiss universities and other establishments of higher education, producing qualified specialists in biological diversity management and conservation (disciplines of biological and environmental sciences).

The CH CHM (abbreviation for "Swiss Clearing-House Mechanism Biodiversity") is the information and communication platform in Switzerland for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It provides information on biodiversity, in particular on the Swiss commitment at the international level and on the progress of the implementation of the Convention at the national level. It also promotes cooperation between all the agencies active in this field.

The Convention on Biological Diversity, which Switzerland ratified in November 1994, has three principal objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources. The contracting parties are obliged to set up a Clearing-House Mechanism (CHM). This is currently being designed at the Conferences of the Parties and in further subordinate bodies.

The Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL) is responsible for implementing the CH CHM. The content is determined by a steering committee mandated to collect comprehensive information in the field of biodiversity in Switzerland, and to make this information accessible to anyone interested in using the CH CHM. The committee is made up of representatives from the federal government, cantons, research, private business and NGOs.

Ramsar Implementation in Switzerland: Switzerland's wetlands are of great importance both nationally and internationally. As the source of several major rivers, with wetlands representing important sources of food and rest for migratory birds, Switzerland carries a major responsibility to protect watercourses near their origins and to use them sustainabley. At the national level wetlands are increasingly valued as the habitat of numerous species of animals and plants, and not least as an exceptionally beautiful element of the landscape. This was well illustrated by the plebiscite of 1987, in which a majority of the electorate voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to protect moors and moorland landscapes.

Switzerland has so far defined the following eight internationally important wetland areas for inclusion in the Ramsar Convention's inventory: Fanel et Chablais de Cudrefin, the south shore of Lake Neuchâtel, Les Grangettes, Rade de Genève et Rhône, Bolle di Magadino, Kaltbrunner Riet, the Klingnau reservoir and Aarestau Niederried. These areas - lakes, river deltas, moors, sections of rivers and reservoirs - have been selected largely because of their significance as waterfowl habitats. As their central regions have been designated nature protection areas, their legal protection can be considered good.

At a legislative level, Switzerland has fulfilled her commitments under the Ramsar Convention. The protection of wetlands is well anchored in federal law - for example in the Law on Protection of Nature and the National Heritage and the Law on Hunting. Implementation of wetland protection at the affected sites is however inadequate. Despite legal protection, the ecological quality of many wetlands, including those covered by the Ramsar convention, has deteriorated.

Implementation of the Bern Convention in Switzerland : Switzerland has adequate legislative foundations to implement the Bern Convention. The most important provisions for the protection of animal and plant species and their habitats are the Law on the Protection of Nature and the National Heritage, the Law on Hunting, the Law on Fisheries, the Environmental Protection Law, the Forest Law, the Agriculture Law, the Water Protection Law and the Law on Land Use Planning. Based on this legal foundation, many activities and projects are now contributing to the implementation of the Bern Convention in Switzerland. For some years, various inventories of ecologically important areas have been prepared, as well as red data books of endangered plant and animal species. The state of the relevant areas and species is constantly monitored. Several programmes have been carried out to re-establish animal species or increase their populations (e.g. lynx and hare). In order to benefit from state subsidies, Swiss farmers must fulfill certain ecological requirements in favor of biological diversity. Finally, it is also planned, in collaboration with the cantons, to establish a national environmental network which could gradually integrate itself into an appropriate network at European level. These are just a few examples of a whole host of national and regional measures.

Switzerland is thus active in many ways in the conservation of animal and plant species and their habitats. Over the last few years there have been numerous successes, for example in the protection of the biotopes, areas and landscapes of national significance, and of rare and endangered species. However, the general development in nature and landscape protection remains worrying: the spread of urban areas and the intensive use of natural areas is leading to a continued loss of valuable, species-rich habitats and biological diversity.

Implementation of the Alpine Convention: The national implementation of the Alpine Convention and the Protocols already signed does not require any additional legislative measures. The existing instruments are adequate to ensure monitoring, recording and provision of information, as stated in the Convention and the Protocols. The goals of the Convention must also become part of day to day politics, so that it becomes an instrument for the further development of an active policy on mountain regions. In doing so, the existing distribution of competencies between confederation and cantons will remain unaffected.

Trade and environment: SAEFL is working in close collaboration on this subject with several other federal offices: in particular with the Federal Office of Foreign Economic Affairs, the Federal Office of Agriculture, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Switzerland's position is thus elaborated jointly.

Switzerland considers that a clarification of commercial rules is to be welcomed. It is expected that new multilateral environmental agreements on trade measures will be negotiated within the coming years, and that there will be an increased risk of new conflicts between rules on trade and the environment. Switzerland believes we should avoid setting up a hierarchy involving the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the environmental agreements. In 1995 Switzerland presented the WTO with a proposition aimed at preventing conflict and regulating possible disputes. The goal is to ensure better coherence between trade and environmental provisions, as well as improving coordination between the WTO and the secretariats of the multilateral environmental agreements. For more information click: http://www.buwal.ch/inter/e/ea_hand3.htm

The Bulgarian Swiss Biodiversity Conservation Program (BSBCP) is an inter-governmental program, financed by the Swiss government and supervised by the Swiss non-governmental organizations Pro Natura and SVS - BirdLife Switzerland. The Bulgarian partners are the Ministry of Environment and Waters (MoEW), scientific institutions, local authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

After seven years of work BSBCP has accumulated great experience in the biodiversity conservation and the management of natural resources in Bulgaria. In July 2001 BSBCP entered a new three-year phase. BSBCP contributes to the fulfillment of the obligations of the Republic of Bulgaria concerning the implementation of the international conventions on biodiversity conservation.

The ongoing disappearance of the varied rural landscape began towards the end of the nineteenth century. The construction of infrastructures (roads, dams, etc.), the extension of residential and industrial zones, and intensive farming, have all affected a great number of natural and near-natural sites, leading to a decline in flora and fauna. Agricultural development has destroyed many biotopes and deprived the landscape of its variety by channeling rivers, draining mires, and removing hedges and copses. The biological diversity of fresh-water ecosystems was considerably affected by eutrophication before wastewater treatment plants were constructed. Uniform forests often replaced natural woodlands containing a variety of ages and species. Agriculture, which has fashioned the landscape over the course of time, has experienced changes in methods of production, leading to the use of a restricted number of cultivated varieties and strains of stock animals. Many species which were once very common and had substantial populations, have now disappeared from the forests and the intensively exploited agricultural landscape, unable to survive except on the margins. These margins are fragmented, further and further separated from each other, and subject to increasing pressure.

Situation of the major Swiss ecosystems

Wetlands: Since 1800, about 90% of Swiss wetlands have disappeared. Only 20% of the remaining flood plains can still be considered active.

Grasslands: The decrease in area of dry and semi-dry grasslands since 1945 is estimated at more than 90%.

Orchards: More than three quarters of all standard orchards have disappeared within the last 40 years.

Streams: In the Canton of Bern, more than half of the small streams have been channeled into underground pipes during the last 100 years.

Forests: The percentage of non-exploited forests on the Plateau has been about 7% for more than 50 years. 81% of the Plateau’s forests are tall trees; spruces make up 39% of woodlands on the Plateau and have often replaced broad-leaved trees.

According to the most recent statistics, one square meter of agricultural or natural land disappears every second in Switzerland, to be replaced by urban development.

Since the middle of the nineteenth century, almost 90 per cent of habitats with a high species diversity have disappeared. This phenomenon continues today: More space is needed for the development of urban zones and infrastructures, while the intensifying exploitation of natural habitats leads to an impoverishment of biological diversity.

Between 33 and 95 % of plant and animal species (depending on the taxonomic group) are considered rare or endangered, or have already become extinct in Switzerland. Recent changes are worrying, with the number of endangered species rising: in 1977 42 per cent of nesting birds were endangered, and this rose to 46 per cent in 1982 and to 58 per cent in 1991. We should note that it is not only that the diversity of species has declined dramatically, but also size and distribution of the populations have been adversely affected.

For cultivated plants, the use of a restricted number of high-yielding varieties has led to the progressive abandonment of ancient traditional varieties and the disappearance of some. This situation applies particularly to domestic animals. While a certain number of varieties are preserved in gene banks or in collections, the conditions of their maintenance and use in situ must be further strengthened. Otherwise, the deliberate or accidental introduction of exotic species, animal or plant, may endanger the genetic basis of wild indigenous species.

People must be made aware of what is at stake in the conservation of biological diversity.

Society still considers natural resources to be available for use at will. Short-term profit is often favored, to the detriment of the general interest in the long term. Because of immediate economic difficulties, priorities are changed, delaying the integration of the Convention’s principles into political action, while budgetary restrictions hinder the implementation of planned programs. Legal provisions are sufficient but their application needs to be improved. It is not enough to have a well-established policy on conservation of biological and landscape diversity if this is confined to its traditional limits. On the contrary, its integration into diverse political sectors should be reinforced; several of these have a considerable influence on biological diversity.