Environment

Several factors are endangering the Alpine ecosystem, especially the valleys, major passes, and areas bordering urban centers. In recent decades, the Alps have become a magnet for tourism, attracting 100 million visitors a year. Tourism has been an economic boon to many of the 13 million residents of 6,123 Alpine municipalities stretching across seven countries; it also has contributed to congestion, pollution, and over-development in many areas.

While the Alpine passes have always been major transit points for north-south trade, the volume of traffic has grown exponentially since 1970. Transport of goods on Alpine roads has increased from 28 million tons in 1970 to over 110 million in 1996--with a further 50% increase expected by 2005.

Notable progress has been made in recent years to preserve the Alpine environment. Over the last decade, Germany, Austria, France and Italy have created 11 national Alpine parks, 38 regional parks, 17 biospheres, and 122 large conservation areas. But park creation and expansion remains a highly controversial subject, often pitting local, national, and supra-national officials against each other. Two recent examples, one in Austria's Lechtal, the other in Switzerland's Engadine, demonstrate the often tense political dynamics involved.

More difficult to quantify is the impact of climatic changes on what is inherently a fragile and unstable landscape. Several research studies indicate that global warming may have a far-reaching impact the Alpine ecosystem as well as economic activity in the region.

This much is certain--wind, rain, and snow often make the Alpine (and sometimes world) news headlines. Scroll down this page to see a sampling of stories that have appeared since 2000.

Golfers and conservationists square off in Telfs
In a public referendum, almost 40% of the voters in Telfs, a town in the Inn Valley west of Innsbruck, turned out to express their opinion about a planned 27-hole golf course on the Zimmerberg. The result: 82% voted 'no,' a stunning result for the mayor and other elected officials who supported the project. The land in question is private property.

Opponents noted that the Tirol has one of the highest densities of golf courses in Europe. The town council will determine the fate of the project at a June 6th meeting.

Mountains in the spotlight
As reported in Swissinfo, a former Swiss president, Adolf Ogi, kicked off the 2002 International Year of Mountains with an address to the United Nations, in which he stressed that mountains are not barriers but rather unite all the people of the world.

At the same time in Bern, which lies within sight of the majestic peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, the Swiss foreign minister, Joseph Deiss, ushered in the Year at the capital’s Alpine Museum. The UN initiative is aimed primarily at increasing international awareness of mountain ecosystems. The foreign minister also considers the Year of Mountains as an opportunity for Switzerland to play a leading role in preserving those majestic giants.

"I think there is much professionalism in Switzerland concerning mountains. Not only concerning glaciers or snow research but also in the field of sustainable development," he told Swissinfo. He also said he expected this year to show what dangers the Alps are faced with, which, according to Deiss, are not only receding glaciers but also badly managed mountain development.
In Switzerland, the International Year of Mountains is to be marked by a series of events and attractions based on the theme of the sustainable development. Most will focus on how to protect and promote the resources of Alpine areas.
To find out more about the International Year of Mountains, see the official website:

Taking a holistic approach  to the 'Alpine' Rhine
Government officials and experts from Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein agreed, at a meeting in Bregenz on December 3, to take a new approach to the Alpine stretch of the Rhine River from Reichenau in Graubuenden to Lake Constance. For the first time in the history of cross-border policy-making, participants agreed to consider flood control, river ecology, and ground water quality in tandem.

In the past, these aspects of river management and development have been addressed piecemeal. Flood control will be a major focus of the group. Flood control dams, some of which were erected over a 100 years ago, will be examined as part of the initiative.

Swiss "no" to genetically-modified crops
As reported by Swissinfo (November 20, 2001), The Federal Office for the Environment on Tuesday rejected a request from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich to plant genetically modified wheat, saying it was impossible to assess the risks of such an experiment.
Philippe Roch, director of the environment office, said that
“Man and the environment must not be exposed to an unknown product which on the basis of all the evidence we have is not necessary.” Opponents of GM crops say such plants grown outdoors could potentially contaminate other plants through pollination.

The Zurich scientists were hoping to conduct field trials of wheat which had been genetically modified to produce a protein that makes it resistant to a fungal disease. Klaus Amman, a member of Switzerland’s Bio-Safety Commission, criticized the government’s decision not to allow the field trials. “If it’s done in the right way, it’s not risky at all. With their argument, you can kill all research projects in Switzerland, and that is really outrageous.”

Public opinion polls have consistently shown that the Swiss public is widely opposed to GM crops. The strength of public feeling has prompted Switzerland’s two leading supermarket chains, Migros and Coop, to refuse to stock any GM products.

Switzerland launches ambitious biodiversity survey
The Swiss environmental agency is launching a major program to monitor and promote biodiversity, one of the requirements of the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity, according to Vincent Landon in Swissinfo (5/17/01).
Erich Kohli, an environmental agency spokeman, said he hoped the program would identify population trends early on and trigger corrective measures.
"The bigger goal is to have the politics which influence biodiversity - agriculture, forestry, road-building, settlements - working in a way that will preserve or even enrich biodiversity. We must give the decision-makers consistent and reliable data to show them whether they are getting it right or not and how to correct their policies."

Scientists estimate that some 40,000 animal species and 3,000 plant species are found in Switzerland. The programe is monitoring changes at national, regional and habitat level to obtain a comprehensive picture.
“It is important to deal with common and widespread species as well as rare and threatened species,” said ecological consultant, Urs Hintermann.
“If you look at birds, which are one of the few groups where changes in species diversity have been fairly well documented, the figures show that in the last 100 years the number of species of birds has increased in Switzerland whereas population numbers of frequent species have declined. “

The fieldwork will be done in 500 test areas, each consisting of about one square kilometer. These areas have been further sub-divided into 1,600 units where individual species can be most conveniently studied. Some 20 per cent of the sampling units will be examined each year so full results for the whole country will not be known for five years and any meaningful comparison will take at least ten.

"We are less interested in the absolute figures than the relative figures,” said Hintermann. “We want to know how things change over time because this is a program designed for 50 or 100 years time.”

Exotic flora "invade" Ticino
In the January bulletin of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, geobotanist Gian-Reto Walther describes a surprising side effect of climate change: the encroachment of exotic flora in the forests of Ticino.

As temperatures have moderated in the last 30 years, plants imported in the 17th and 18th centuries from South Asia, Florida, and the Mediterranean for gardens and parks in Ticino have adapted to conditions "in the wild." On a walk through woodlands adjoining Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano (and even further north), one may encounter evergreen exotics like bay laurel, camphor tree laurel, cherrry laurel, thorny silverberry, and Chinese fan palms.
While the exotics do not seem to be endangering indigenous flora, their impact on the Ticinese ecology needs to be carefully studied.

Study Warns of Transportation Collapse in Switzerland
In a study entitled "Transportation and the Environment," the Nationalfond warns that dramatic increases in air travel and recreational travel over the next 20 years will place tremendous strains on the Swiss environment. Recreational travel by auto now accounts for 60% of miles traveled by car and is expected to increase between 13% and 30% by 2020. A 250% increase in airplane traffic by 2020 will account for a third of CO2 emissions by 2020.

The study makes a number of recommendations, including expansion of public transportation and car-sharing, and suggests that the true cost of air and car travel must be accounted for. It also recognizes that there are no simple or cost-free solutions for the problem. (tages-anzeiger 1/29/01)

Too Much Ski-lift Capacity Chasing Too Little Snow and Too Few Skiers?

In a recent article in the NZZ Online (2/5/01), Hans Weiss, an official with the Fonds Landschaftsschutz Schweiz, argues that an "arms race" is underway among ski resort developers that poses a serious threat to the Alpine environment.

Between 1989 and 1997, he notes, ski facilities have been expanded, especially in areas with predictable snow conditions, even as tourist demand has stagnated. As a result, two-thirds of existing ski resorts in Switzerland are unprofitable. At the same time, 24 plans for expansion of ski facilities at higher elevations are under discussion or at some stage of development in Switzerland alone.

The example Weiss cites is the government approval (on an exception basis) of a cableway on the 3100 meter high ridge of the Hockenhorn in the Loetschental in Valais, despite the fact that it is a natural area of 'national significance.' The 15-gondola cableway will transport 1600 people per hour, turning the landscape into a "ski circus" and detracting from the qualities that attract hikers to the area.

Weiss argues that this is a short-sighted approach; instead, the focus should be on sustainable tourism that is compatible with environmental protection. An example is the current campaign sponsored by the Fonds Landschaft Schweiz and the Swiss Tourist Association, which funded the renovation of the Alpine hamlet of Kuemahd in the Loetschental.

An Alpine Disneyland in Disentis?
Located in the upper Vorderrhein Valley, the town of Disentis, famous for its cloister, is considering the construction of a Parc Alpin to draw tourists, revive the local economy, and boost employment with 50 new job opportunities.
At a projected cost of about $25 million, the amusement park would create an artifical mountain world of water, ice, crystals, Alpine meadows and lakes, and even a small mountain hamlet with barns, farmhouses, and a chapel. Proponents expect to draw 300,000 visitors a year, a thousand a day, mostly families on day trips.

Not everyone thinks the Parc Alpin is such a great idea. Raimund Rodewald of the Stiftung Landschaftschutz Schweiz, an environmental group, argues that the facility would "kitschify" the culture and history of Disentis. "Such a park might make sense in a large city, but not in an Alpine tourist region which is concerned about preserving its culture, landscape, and independence." In addition, the Parc Alpin would be an environmental burden, especially the pollution caused by increased traffic.

Promoters of the project are still seeking funding, but hope to see the Parc Alpin up-and-running in 2003. (eBund, 2/13/01)

Fear and loathing in the Muotatal; Opposition to protecting a 500-year old spruce forest in Schwyz
October 2001 Update: A proposal to expand a preserve of Europe's largest primeval spruce forest in the Muotatal in canton Schwyz "went up in flames" on October 21st. The occasion was a meeting of 800 members of a cantonal organization that "owns" and manages a quarter of the canton's land area, including Alpine meadows, forests, and most of the primeval spruce forest.
Despite the fact that the organization's own executive group supported the proposal to expand the area of the Urwaldreservat Boedmeren from 70 to 450 hectares, the majority of members were clearly opposed.

The very first speaker, Blaesi Abegg, was greeted with applause as he denounced the proposal as merely a Trojan horse for creating a national park in the Muotatal. Fear of outside influences and a conviction that no change in the status quo was necessary swayed the majority.

Those in favor of the proposal argued in vain that no sale of the land was envisioned and that a local foundation would compensate owners for the loss of logging privileges in the nature preserve.

As in other Alpine areas, including the Upper Engadine and the Val de Bagnes, vocal opposition to sinister "external influences" has often derailed efforts to expand nature preserves. (based on a report in the tages-anzeiger)

Summer 2001: The "primeval" forest preserve of Boedmeren in the Muotatal in the canton of Schwyz was established in the 1970's. The preserve includes an ancient stand of spruces. Plans are underway to expand the preserve from its current 70 hectares to 450.

A special foundation, supported financially by the cantonal government and private foundations, will pay landowners an annual timber harvesting fee (approximately 80,000 Swiss francs a year) in order to keep the forest undisturbed. In keeping with national guidelines, the canton plans to protect 10% of its forest land by 2005.