Biodiversity in Switzerland

Switzerland is home to over fifty thousand species of plants and animals. A

whopping thirty thousand of them are insects. The others are bats and small species
and only eighty three of them are mammals. Between 1997 and 2005, the number of
animal species was not very constant at all. While some are becoming established
or re-established, a lot of them are disappearing. Some of the newest species have
arrived in Switzerland all on their own and others were just re-introduced. It is
thought that the species diversity had reached its highest point in the middle or end
of the 19th century because there were considerable fluctuations in the diversity of
species in the past (Swissworld.org).

Ecological compensation areas such as hedges, wildflower strips, or

extensively farmed grassland are very valuable habitats. These areas have such a
wide variety of plant and animal species. These areas of growth and decay are to be
conserved and enlarged (Biodiversitymonitoring).

One reason that the biodiversity is threatened and therefore decreasing in

Switzerland is the threat of climate change. The mountains are covered in snow and
ice and this is the immediate impact of the temperature drops. The temperature in
the higher mountain ranges has increased by one degree Celcius. Also, landslides
and floods will ruin the growth of biodiversity in Switzerland. The leading reinsurance
company, Swissre, has called for strategies to implemented now to tackle climate
change before it is too late (Swissworld.org).

In 2007, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

reported that they found more animal and plant species were threatened or had
disappeared in Switzerland more than anywhere else in Europe. The Swiss
environment ministry and various other non-governmental organizations teamed up
to boost public understanding of what biodiversity means and how it can be
enhanced in Switzerland. Also, a national strategy is being produced to protect
biodiversity (Swiss).

Switzerland is doing something to try to preserve the biodiversity that they

have and restore the biodiversity that they lost. In 1994, Switzerland signed the UN

convention on biodiversity. This aims to reverse the world-wide decline in the number
of different species of animals, plants and other organisms (Swissworld.org).

Switzerland also has come up with something called Biodiversity Monitoring

Switzerlnad. This is a long-term program launched by Switzerlands federal
government to record the countrys biodiversity. Biodiversity is impossible to record
in its entirety. So, this program uses its thirty three indicators to get the job done
(Biodiversity).

Sources
Biodiversitymonitoring - M4. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2014.
Biodiversity Monitoring Switzerland. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2014.
Swiss seek to improve biodiversity reputation - SWI swissinfo.ch. (n.d.). Retrieved
November 7, 2014.
Swissworld.org - Switzerland's official information portal. (n.d.). Retrieved
November 7, 2014.