The Swiss Biodiversity Strategy is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. The goals of the Strategy are (i) sustainable use of natural resources, (ii) development of ecological infrastructure, (iii) conservation of national priority species, (iv) conservation of genetic diversity, (v) registration of ecosystem services, (vi) data collection and dissemination, (vii) strengthened international commitment, and (viii) monitoring. The conservation of ecosystems and their services and of species and their genetic diversity will be ensured through sustainable use of natural resources in compliance with the international standards. Biodiversity conservation will be integrated into the most affected sectors such as spatial planning, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, sport and leisure, transport, energy, settlement area, and trade. The legal obligation for the restoration and compensation of degraded habitats will be strengthened to guarantee the conservation and improvement of the biological and landscape values and functions, and to ensure the ecological balance. Measures will be implemented in locations suitable for biodiversity in a way that they replace the degraded habitats qualitatively and quantitatively, eliminate separation effects and improve ecological connectivity. The sustainable use of the forest resources will be ensured with near-natural silviculture principle to make a crucial contribution to the productive and performance capacity of the forest, the resilience of the forest ecosystem, and the provision of sufficient habitat space and tranquillity for wild animals. The connection of forests with each other and with the ecosystems will be ensured for the long-term conservation of biodiversity and in terms of establishing an ecological infrastructure. The adverse impact of invasive species on the national priority species will be reduced to improve the conservation status of their populations. The conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources of animal and plants will be ensured. Agricultural production will be increased in an environmentally sustainable manner taking into consideration fertilization, soil protection, plant protection and ecological compensation. To this end, a major contribution will be made to the conservation of biodiversity in agriculturally used areas through agricultural consultancy services and research. The pressure on lands used for agricultural, residential and commercial activities will be reduced. Hunting will be regulated in accordance with natural forest regeneration and the most important wildlife habitats. Species protection and population regulation will be guaranteed to minimize damage. The habitats of fish will be improved by applying stocking measures for young fish. Priority habitats for fish reproduction will be defined and incorporated into the ecological infrastructure. Tourism, sport and leisure activities will be controlled particularly in ecologically sensitive areas. New wildlife passages or improvement of existing structures will be constructed to eliminate separation effects and to improve the passage of transport infrastructure for fauna. The ecological infrastructure consisting of protected and connected areas will be developed and moreover the state of threatened habitats will be improved. The use of renewable energy resources will be promoted. Sustainable economic growth will be based on green economy. Market-based instruments and incentives will be promoted including the abolition of environmentally harmful subsidies, the reinforcement of the precautionary principle, incentives for investments through communication and information about best practice, the promotion of sustainability standards for the conservation and promotion of biodiversity, the evaluation of risks for biodiversity, and the evaluation of innovative systems for the remuneration of ecosystem services. To this end, ecosystem services will be recorded quantitatively to consider the measurement of welfare as complementary indicators to gross domestic product and in regulatory impact assessments. The negative influence of economic activity on biodiversity will be reduced and the business risk arising from biodiversity loss will be tackled by identifying the opportunities and risks associated with biodiversity in good time by the private sector and react suitably to them. Public awareness will be raised through sufficient information about biodiversity. The collection and dissemination of biodiversity data will be developed through monitoring of ecosystems, species and genetic diversity.
Switzerland · 2012-04-25