Voters in Switzerland rejected on Sunday a proposal to enhance nature protection in the country, with opponents claiming the reform would be too costly and jeopardise business development.

Dubbed “For the future of our nature and our landscape” and backed by conservation organisations Pro Natura, Patrimoine Suisse, and BirdLife, the initiative aimed to raise national expenditure towards nature preservation and expand the network of protected areas.

Over 63% of the voters said no to the plan, which the Swiss government had already opposed, criticising the excessive restrictions on federal and cantonal activity.

The government, which currently invests around CHF600 million ($705 mln) a year in biodiversity preservation, also highlighted the high implementation costs of the initiative, estimated at over CHF215 mln.

It then produced a counter-project, but the parliament blocked it.

In the lead-up to the vote, a broad alliance of political parties and lobby groups formed to stand against the referendum, including the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party and The Centre, and the Swiss Farmer’s Union.

They argued that the proposed measures would restrict food and renewable energy production, contradicting a previous vote this year in favour of the new federal electricity law, which seeks to promote green energy.

Expanding forest areas would also negatively impact tourism and the timber industry, they said.

LACK OF SUPPORT

With the centrist Liberal Green Party largely divided on the referendum, only the left-wing Social Democratic Party and Green Party supported it.

The latter expressed disappointment at the results, calling for urgently ramping up efforts to protect the country’s biodiversity, which has come under increasing pressure over the past decades.

A third of all species and half of all habitat types in Switzerland are threatened, mainly due to land use change, the fragmentation of habitats by infrastructure, and excessive use of nitrogen and pesticides, according to the government.

National agency the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEV) estimated that costs linked to species extinctions in Switzerland could reach up to CHF16 billion ($18 bln) per year by 2050.

Following the vote, Swiss Environment Minister Albert Rosti said the government would take steps to strengthen existing protected areas, as it expects to submit its national biodiversity action plan by the end of the year.

The country is lagging behind on the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) target of protecting at least 30% of its land by 2030, with areas designated for biodiversity conservation currently covering only 13.6% of its territory.

By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com

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