This web portal of the Swiss Biodiversity Forum offers scientifically sound answers to questions about biodiversity and shows what we can do to protect it.more
Over 160 subsidies are damaging biodiversity in Switzerland
Over 160 subsidies in different areas not only support a variety of political goals but at the same time damage biodiversity, as researchers from the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL and the Biodiversity Forum of the Swiss Academy of Sciences demonstrate in a study published on Monday. This is despite the fact that Switzerland has committed itself under the Convention on Biological Diversity to adapting or abolishing biodiversity-damaging subsidies by 2020.
Image: Hansjakob Fehr, 1kilo
The earmarking of transport charges for further transport investment, support for small hydroelectric power stations, reduced tax rates on mineral oil, tax deductions for the under-use of residential property, and many more: the Confederation, the cantons and the municipalities between them administer over 160 subsidies which, while promoting their intended objectives, at the same time damage biodiversity. In addition to direct payments from the public purse, the subsidies also encompass foregone revenues, e.g. through tax reductions, and non-internalised external costs. The subsidies mainly relate to transport, agriculture, energy production and settlement development policy. "The biodiversity crisis could be alleviated if subsidies were only granted when it can be demonstrated that they do not impair biodiversity," says Irmi Seidl (WSL). One third of all animal and plant species and almost half of all habitat types in Switzerland are now endangered.
The subsidies identified are not only ecologically problematic, but also economically inefficient: subsidies can cause initial damage which then often requires further public funding to remedy - as well as further funding for biodiversity support in many instances. And the costs are increasing: in 30 years' time, according to the Federal Office for the Environment BAFU, the decline in ecosystem services such as fertile soil or clean water is expected to cost around four percent of GDP.
In order to slow down the decline in biodiversity and to comply with the Swiss Biodiversity Strategy, the government has to reconfigure or abolish harmful subsidies, the researchers write. And they have drawn up concrete recommendations. "Biodiversity" should be included as a new evaluation criterion in the regular review of subsidies provided for in the Subsidies Act. This applies not only to the Confederation, but also to the cantons and municipalities. Furthermore, the earmarking of transport charges for further transport investment should be abolished, or at least relaxed, so that some of the funds can be used elsewhere. Agricultural basic payments should be made conditional on requirements that promote biodiversity. In line with the Swiss Energy Strategy, subsidies for small hydropower plants should be used more effectively than hitherto, and tax deductions for mineral oil use should only be granted in exceptional cases. The tax deduction for under-use of residential property should be abolished, which would reduce the demand for land and with it the pressure for further zoning and construction - thus benefiting near-natural habitats.
The researchers, based at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL and the Biodiversity Forum of the Swiss Academy of Sciences, have identified and quantified biodiversity-damaging subsidies, assessed the degree of damage they cause, and estimated how easy it would be to change them in each case. The study was supported by Pro Natura and BirdLife Switzerland.
The study and the accompanying fact sheet can be found here.
Number of biodiversity damaging subsidies in each of the eight sectors examined, their effects, and the proportion to which they are damaging. (number in circle designates number of subsidies)Image: Hansjakob Fehr, 1kilo1/7
Settlement areas permanently seal over increasing areas of land and thus contribute to the loss of habitats. There are many tax breaks that serve to make home ownership cheaper and thus drive such sealing-over.Image: Alfred Krebs, Entomologie/Botanik, ETH Zürich2/7
Due to the subsidised use of hydroelectric power, water is now being diverted from many mountain streams for power stations. This impairs the passability of water courses and disturbs the flow dynamics. As a result, biodiversity is reduced.Image: Lena Gubler3/7
The dense transport network in the Swiss Plateau leaves increasingly less room for large continuous habitats. Subsidies for the expansion of transport contribute to the further erosion of habitats and the displacement of animal and plant species.Image: Lena Gubler4/7
The development of new plots of land fragments and seals over previously undisturbed habitats. New developments are subsidised through the partial funding of development costs and low taxation of land value gains.Image: Lena Gubler5/7
Forest roads and paths fragment previously continuous habitats and open up areas that were relatively undisturbed for leisure activities.Image: Lena Gubler6/7
The removal of small structures (cairns, walls, hedges) homogenises the landscape. Various subsidies promote intensive agricultural cultivation, including at higher altitudes.Image: Lena Gubler7/7
