Switzerland

The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Switzerland.

News

Networks, sustainability initiatives and support

• meyrin durable on facebook
• Geneva Environment Network, network of international organizations

International events

Global or International events

2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events

Switzerland video

Food activism

Bio Suisse, federation of Swiss organic farmers (private-sector organization) - Incroyables Comestibles Meyrin on facebook

Community energy

Wikipedia: Renewable energy in Switzerland, Switzerland, Carbon dioxide emissions

Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle

ricardo.ch Schweizerisch Version von Ebay - www.swissrecycling.ch - Entsorgung von elektrischen und elektronischen Geräten - Brockenhäusern im Kanton Zürich

Sharing

Pumpipumpe, a sharing community

Community currencies activism

Le Léman, une monnaie locale complémentaire émanant de la société civile

Maps

• Map of Switzerland with route planner, map.search.ch

Other resources

• Switzerland and the Environment, information from swissworld.org - Switzerland's official information portal
• Swiss Statistics at the Swiss Federal Statistical Office

Climate action

The country pledged to cut GHG emissions by 50% by the year 2030 compared to the level of 1990 and works on a plan to reach zero emissions by 2050.

From Wikipedia:2000-watt society

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Cycling activism

Critical Mass bicycle rides in Switzerland - SwitzerlandMobility, Cycling in Switzerland, with interactive maps for bikers and other information about the national biking network

Urban sustainability

Happy City Lab, designs and markets participatory and interactive installations that transform daily events

Open spaces

From Wikipedia:Swiss National Park

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Trees, woodland and forest

Switzerland contains two terrestrial ecoregions: Western European broadleaf forests and Alps conifer and mixed forests. Switzerland had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 3.53/10, ranking it 150th globally out of 172 countries.

News archive

About Switzerland

Environmental challenges

Switzerland's ecosystems can be particularly fragile, because the many delicate valleys separated by high mountains often form unique ecologies. The mountainous regions themselves are also vulnerable, with a rich range of plants not found at other altitudes, and experience some pressure from visitors and grazing. The climatic, geological and topographical conditions of the alpine region make for a very fragile ecosystem that is particularly sensitive to climate change. Nevertheless, according to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index, Switzerland ranks first among 132 nations in safeguarding the environment, due to its high scores on environmental public health, its heavy reliance on renewable sources of energy (hydropower and geothermal energy), and its control of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2020 it was ranked third out of 180 countries.

Biocapacity deficit

Access to biocapacity in Switzerland is far lower than world average. In 2016, Switzerland had 1.0 global hectares of biocapacity per person within its territory, 40 percent less than world average of 1.6 global hectares per person. In contrast, in 2016, they used 4.6 global hectares of biocapacity – their ecological footprint of consumption. This means they used about 4.6 times as much biocapacity as Switzerland contains. The remainder comes from imports and overusing the global commons (such as the atmosphere through greenhouse gas emissions). As a result, Switzerland is running a biocapacity deficit.

From Wikipedia:Switzerland

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See also

• Swiss Centre for Appropriate Technology