JÜRG STEINER What do the Swiss typically do in their free time? Eat fondue? Go hiking? No, they venture into the forest. According to the results of a monitoring survey published in March 2022 by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), 95 per cent of the Swiss – almost everyone, basically – regularly visit the woods. This is the highest proportion since academics began studying Switzerland’s relationship with its forests in 1997. However, “heading into the woods” in today’s Switzerland is no longer quite the same as it was 25 years ago, when all you had was a Vitaparcours fitness trail. Both people and forests are changing. Forests are playing an increasingly important role in our lives because they provide a natural haven from urban sprawl. Our woods have also become more vulnerable due to climate change and extreme weather – and are arguably no longer the hallowed, tranquil places they once were. Tree-felling controversy Katrin Sedlmayer, a former local politician in the Köniz suburb of Berne, was indignant. “The forest needs our help!” she wrote half a year ago at the bottom of a protest letter signed by some 400 other angry people who were demanding an end to what they saw as the unecological felling of significant swathes of the popular recreational forest on the Könizberg hill overlooking the capital. Könizbergwald, the forest situated on the municipal boundary between Berne and Köniz, is like a green island amid the rising urban tide. In recent years a new housing development for 2,000 inhabitants has been constructed a stone’s throw from the edge of Könizbergwald. The increase in the number of people seeking out the forest shows no sign of abating. Berne council, Switzerland’s third-largest forest owner, owns Könizbergwald. In response to criticism of its forestry policy, the council obtained the backing of the supervisory authority of the canton of Berne. It presented a report at the beginning of May, certifying that the tree felling was lawful in view of the challenges posed by climate change. Winter storms, drought and the bark beetle were taking a toll on the forest, said the experts. Major intervention was therefore necessary, legitimate and even environmentally far-sighted. The advisable approach My best friend, the forest In Switzerland, more of us than ever regularly head into the woods. But other people more frequently dampen our enjoyment of the experience than they used to. Our relationship with the forest has become a little complicated. was to plant new species of tree that could cope with rising temperatures better than spruce forests, which are prone to the heat. Conflicts of interest The controversy surrounding Könizbergwald is a local example of the growing pressure on all forests in Switzerland’s densely populated Central Plateau region. Switzerland’s national ban on deforestation, applicable since 1876 and probably the most radical and effective environmental law the country has ever seen, acts as a safeguard against dwindling forests. But not against conflicts of interest. Berne council owns other recreational forests near the city, where it has made space for bike trails, wood chip trails, and child day-care facilities. However, it has also Learning and exploring at a ‘forest kindergarten'. The woods surrounding Switzerland’s towns and cities are also a popular playground for children. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / July 2022 / No.3 10 Nature and the environment
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