Environment in Switzerland Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Officially named the Swiss Confederation, Switzerland has traditionally been known for its neutrality and only became an official member of the United Nations (UN) in 2002. While maintaining its neutral position, Switzerland has continued to take an active role in international politics and economics. Although the country is landlocked, it has 569 square miles (1,520 square kilometers) of inland water. With the Alps in the south and the Jura in the northwest, much of Switzerland’s terrain is mountainous. The central plateau is made up of rolling hills interspersed with plains and large lakes. The temperate climate produces variations according to altitude, varying between the highest point at Dufourspitze (15,203 feet [4,634 meters]) and the lowest point at Lake Maggiore (640 feet [195 meters]). Generally, winters are cold in Switzerland with both rain and snow, and summers are cool to warm with intermittent showers. Switzerland is vulnerable to avalanches, landslides, and flash floods.

With a per capita income of $35,000, Switzerland is the 10th-richest country in the world, chiefly due to the prosperous, stable market economy combined with a highly skilled labor force and low unemployment. Switzerland’s only natural resources are timber, salt, and hydropower potential, but liberal banking laws have made the country a haven for domestic and international investors. The UN Development Programme Human Development Reports rank Switzerland seventh in the world in overall quality-of-life issues.

In industrial areas, air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air burning creates a major environmental dilemma. Nearly 68 percent of the population of 7,489,370 live in urban areas. With 507 cars per 1,000 people, Switzerland produces 0.2 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Acid rain threatens the forests and agricultural runoff pollutes the waters. Consequently, Switzerland is experiencing significant ecological damage. In 2006 a study by scientists at Yale University ranked Switzerland 16th of 132 countries in environmental performance, in line with the relevant income and geographic groups. Switzerland’s ranking on biodiversity and habitat protection was abysmally low (28.6). Despite this poor showing, the Swiss government has protected 30 percent of the land area. Of 199 bird species endemic to Switzerland, only two are threatened; and five of 75 endemic mammal species are threatened.

Responsibility for implementing environmental laws and regulations in Switzerland resides with the Department of the Environment, the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL), and the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). Since the 1970s, the Federal Assembly has passed a body of environmental laws. On the principle that industries and individuals are more likely to comply with flexible standards that are easily understood, the Swiss government has adopted a policy of promoting sectoral agreements designed to meet specific targets. Research and development and international cooperation are also key tools in Switzerland’s environmental policies.

Air pollution is a significant threat to the Swiss because of high concentrations of fine dust particles, nitrogen oxides, and ozone depletion. The government estimates that 3,000 deaths occur each year from air pollution, which also costs billions of francs annually. Likewise, water pollution drains the country of both human and economic resources. Swiss soil has been polluted from overfertilization and past indiscriminate use of pesticides and damaging fertilizers that remain in the soil.

Over the last three decades, extensive development and agricultural expansion and modernization have led to significant depletion of wetlands, hedgerows, copses, and orchards. Switzerland has paid a heavy price for its economic prosperity, with a legacy of 50,000 contaminated sites. In November 1986, for instance, a fire at the Sandoz chemical company in Schweizerhalle produced a cloud of toxic gases that polluted the surrounding area for miles. Additionally, the runoff from the water used by firefighters polluted the Rhine River, leading to a ban on drinking water and to the loss of large numbers of marine life. Residue from the accident remains in the soil and cleanup costs over the coming decades will be astronomical.

Switzerland’s commitment to the global climate is evidenced by participation in the following international agreements: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, and Whaling. The Swiss government has signed, but not ratified, the Law of the Sea agreement.

Bibliography:

Central Intelligence Agency, “Switzerland,” The World Factbook, www.cia.gov;
Department of the Environment, Environment Switzerland 2002 (SAEFL, 2002);
Winston Harrington et , Choosing Environmental Policy: Comparing Instruments and Outcomes in the United States and Europe (RFF Press, 2004);
Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom, Europe: A Continental Overview of Environmental Issues (ABC-CLIO, 2003);
United Nations (UN) Development Programme, “Human Development Reports: Switzerland,” hdr.undp.org;
UN Environment Programme, Europe Regional Report: Chemicals (Global Environment Facility, 2002).