Swiss government criticised for delay in insect protection

Birdlife criticises postponement of insect protection. Keystone-SDA

Five years after the House of Representative's Environment Committee voted in favour of better protection for insects, Swiss NGO Birdlife has criticised the government's hesitant action. The loss of valuable habitats continues, it says.

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Five years ago, the House of Representative’s Environment Committee tabled a motion to preserve the diversity of insect populations, recalls Birdlife. The government recognised the need for action in this area. The House of Representative and the Senate approved this and other insect-friendly motions.

The Environment Committee also acted on a petition signed by 165,000 people against the disappearance of these animals. According to Birdlife, parliament has asked the government to tackle the problem. However, nothing has been done, says the bird protection organisation.

+ Insect life suffering in Switzerland

The government kept referring to other political dossiers, first to the agricultural policy from 2022 (PA22+), then to the indirect counter-proposal to the biodiversity initiative, rejected by parliament. Now it’s the PA30+ and the Biodiversity Action Plan that should remedy the problem.

However, according to scientists, the insect population depends on a rapid and targeted rescue plan, points out Birdlife. The situation is critical: the diversity and size of insect populations have declined sharply, especially on the plateau.

+ Biodiversity loss in Switzerland in six graphs

The decline is also continuing in the Jura and Alps. Overall, almost 60% of insect species are threatened or potentially threatened in Switzerland; 59 wild bee species (9.6%) have already disappeared, according to the 2024 red list.

Translated from French by DeepL/ts

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