MARCH 2024 The magazine for the Swiss Abroad Better to be safe than sorry: Switzerland increases its emergency stockpiles Jangling cow bells and exploding fireworks: Noise pollution or welcome sounds? Keeping an old Swiss tradition alive: The shingle-makers who make an art form out of roofing
© pexels.com Consular services anywhere, conveniently on your mobile devices www.fdfa.admin.ch Kuala Lumpur (2023) For a sustainable future for the Fifth Switzerland With a bequest, you make it possible for the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad to continue to support and represent the rights of the Swiss Abroad. www.swisscommunity.link/bequests Scan the QR code and discover the programme. Secure your place now for festive and authentic moments! Registration open Together across borders Congress of the Swiss Abroad from 11 to 13 July 2024 in Lucerne image : ©Luzern Tourismus Our partners: Read it instead of waiting. Is your printed copy of “Swiss Review” overdue again? You can pick up the magazine on your tablet or smartphone. The app is free of charge and contains no advertising. You can find the app by searching for “Swiss Review” in your App Store. SWISS REVIEW At vero eos et accusamus: dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis Et harum quidem rerum facilis: Mest et expedita distinctio Temporibus autem quibusdam: Autofficiis debitis aut perfere MARCH 2024 The magazine for the Swiss Abroad
Works of literature can come from anywhere. Even government offices. One salient example being the official slogan from the early 1970s: “Kluger Rat – Notvorrat!” (We advise – emergency supplies). This pithy, rhyming official guidance is particularly convincing in the original German: six short syllables that – in the middle of the Cold War – encapsulated the sentiment of the time. Six syllables saying that reserve stocks are needed in case things go wrong. We knew what to do: keep a well-stocked cellar with solid wooden bars. No wonder that many cellars from that time, with their thick concrete walls and massive armoured doors, still resemble a bunker. The slogan “Kluger Rat – Notvorrat” has faded away over time. Globalisation turned it into little more than a joke. Dense supply chains spanning the globe made the emergency stockpile mentality seem obsolete. Stocking reserves was seen as a quirk of those who lived in the past. Storing supplies was for squirrels. Modern consumerism had society firmly in its grip: if you needed something, order it online and it would be delivered to your door “just in time”. The idea of stockpiling returned with the advent of the coronavirus pandemic. People found themselves having to compete for all sorts of things, not just toilet paper. This made the state dust off and bring back its over 50-year-old slogan, prompted this time by wars and crises that have shown us that the completely unimaginable can actually happen. Emergency stockpiling Swiss-style counts the luxury product coffee as one of life’s essentials: the Swiss must not be deprived of their coffee, no matter how bleak the situation. That’s the official line. At the same time, there is some justification for this position, as Switzerland is a leading consumer of the product worldwide. The inhabitants of Switzerland enjoy almost 1,100 cups of coffee per year on average. Talking of which, I think I’ll put the kettle on. MARC LETTAU, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 4 Focus In light of major crises Switzerland checks its emergency stockpiles 9 News To shoot or not to shoot? The wolf is raising tensions in many places 10 Nature and the environment A warning from Swiss ornithologists: the diversity of birdlife is under threat When it comes to noise, the Swiss have plenty to say, and they aren’t quiet about it 14 Report On site with Tristan Ropraz, the shingle-maker with a love of tradition News from your region 17 Politics Switzerland is against nuclear weapons – but ambivalent about a ban 19 Switzerland in figures The Statistical Yearbook of Switzerland is a vast treasure trove of information 22 Society Robots are starting to support nursing staff in Swiss care homes 24 Notes from the Federal Palace Changes to the state pension system – an overview 31 SwissCommunity news How donations from the “Fifth Switzerland” make a difference The return of emergency stockpiling Cover photo: Canned ravioli, ideal for emergency stockpiling. Photo: iStock “Swiss Review”, the information magazine for the “Fifth Switzerland”, is published by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad. Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2 3 Editorial Contents
4 Switzerland’s emergency stocks The availability of goods vital for human life is becoming more of an issue in view of global conflicts and pandemics. Switzerland has kept emergency supplies for its people since the world wars – and aims to be even more well prepared for future crises. Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2 Focus
5 THEODORA PETER Could you go without your morning coffee in the event of a crisis? In Switzerland, you won’t have to, as the government has contingency planning in place: importers have more than 18,000 tonnes of coffee bean stocks in reserve. This mandatory reserve is enough to meet demand from the country’s coffee drinkers for three months should there be an import outage. The real question is whether coffee, which has practically no nutritional value, is really as important to human survival as wheat or rice. The last time the authorities pondered this issue was during a review in 2019, when plans were made to remove coffee from the country’s emergency stockpile. This was met with strong resistance: not only suppliers but also consumers (bearing in mind that the Swiss are among the world’s foremost coffee drinkers) came out against it. The Federal Council ultimately backed down – not least on “psychological grounds”. Food and warmth Defining which goods are important for survival is “not an exact science”, says Peter Lehmann, head of Compulsory Stocks at the Federal Office for National Economic Supply. The key criterion for foodstuffs is the number of calories: the authorities work on the basis of an average energy consumption of about 2,300 calories per person per day. Accordingly, tens of thousands of tonnes of non-perishable foodstuffs such as rice, wheat, cooking oils and fats, sugar and the ingredients needed to make yeast are stockpiled. The compulsory stocks also hold fertilisers and canola seeds for agriculture. These reserves are enough to meet the needs of Switzerland’s population for three to four months. 13 Swiss francs per person The federal government does not hold the stocks itself. They are provided and managed by the relevant sector, for example grain mills, as they make flour out of wheat. “That means the goods are already where they are needed,” explains Lehmann. The 300 companies involved receive compensation for holding the stocks. This compensation is financed by import surcharges and fees: every inhabitant of the country pays 13 Swiss francs a year towards it. Crisis survival involves more than having enough to eat. “A heated apartment is also a basic requirement,” explains Lehmann. The compulsory stores thus include heating oil and fuels, such as petrol, diesel and aviation gasoline. These reserves are released in the event of supply issues or supply chain gaps. In 2015, a strike in Peter Lehmann, head of Compulsory Stocks at the Federal Office for National Economic Supply. Photo supplied Caffeine in a crisis: importers like La Semeuse in La Chaux-de-Fonds store a mandatory stockpile totalling 18,000 tonnes of green coffee. Photo: Sophie Stieger 13Photo France resulted in a shortage of aviation gasoline at Geneva airport. In 2018, a dry summer caused mineral oil supply issues: low water levels on the Rhine meant the ships could only load their holds up to one third of full capacity. In 2021, the country had to dip into its emergency fertiliser stocks due to supply problems on the global market. The Swiss agricultural sector is fully reliant on imports to meet its demand for fertiliser. The pandemic revealed supply shortfalls The country regularly accesses its strategic medical reserve supplies. From 2019 to 2022, there were 416 instances of medicines being taken from emergency stocks to pre-empt shortages, mainly for antibiotics. At the start of 2024, the authorities initiated additional measures. Obligatory storage and reporting were extended to include other substances in order to mitigate supply bottleneck risks. There were major national supply issues during the coronavirus pandemic, with a shortage of face masks, ethanol and disinfectant. The Swiss Alcohol Board had kept ethanol reserves up to 2017 prior to its dissolution in the interests of deregulation, Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2
that they believed the priority should be on doing more to secure complex supply chains. In December 2023, the federal government commissioned a more detailed review. The government does not just want to know whether more products should be included in the compulsory stockpiles but also whether additional instruments are needed to monitor international supply chains of critical goods and services. The conclusions of the review should be published by the end of 2024. Switzerland as a role model By international comparison, Switzerland is something of a role model in its approach to stockpiling foodstuffs. That finding emerges from a country analysis commissioned by the Confederation from research institute Polynomics. The study covered the neighbouring countries of Germany, France, Italy, Austria, as well as Finland and the non-EU state Norway. These countries apply different approaches, ranging from Finland with its extensive national stockpiles to France, where there are no emergency food reserves, which is understandable as the country has a large agricultural sector and does not rely on imports. In any case, Switzerland’s penchant for hoarding coffee makes it a global anomaly: “If disaster strikes, the Swiss want to be caffeinated,” is how the British publication “The Economist” reported on the matter with a hint of irony. Cultivation campaign during the Second World War Harvesting potatoes in front of the Federal Palace: during the 1940s, wheat and potato growing spread to the cities. Switzerland aimed to become more self-sufficient by increasing its amount of arable land. Although the country fell well short of achieving its goal of agricultural autarky, the authorities nonetheless considered the “Wahlen Plan” a success in terms of its morale boost: the cultivation campaign strengthened the people’s resolve during a difficult political and military period. Photo: Keystone Dutti’s underwater supplies Migros founder Gottlieb Duttweiler was also mindful of the need to safeguard food supplies during the war years. On his own initiative, he organised the storage of big underwater tanks filled with wheat in Switzerland’s lakes. He argued that the supplies would be more secure from bombing there than in warehouses. However, the Federal Council declined to take part in the project. “Dutti”, as he was popularly known, went ahead with it anyway under his own steam and continued to store food underwater until the 1950s. Find out more at: www.revue.link/submarine Photo: Keystone which meant no more emergency ethanol stocks. No one suspected at the time how urgently ethanol would be needed just a short time later. The sector has since reestablished its reserve stock of the product. The Ukraine war accentuated Europe’s energy crisis. However, electricity cannot be kept in reserve. The Federal Council approved the construction of a reserve power station last year to ensure the country would be prepared in the event of an acute electricity shortage (see Review 2/2023). Switzerland depends on imports The origins of national economic supply go back to the early 20th century. Many goods were in short supply before the First World War, and the situation only became worse after that. At the start of the 1930s, the federal government obliged private mills to hold a certain volume of grain in reserve. In the Second World War, the authorities launched a veritable cultivation campaign to make Switzerland less dependent on imported foodstuffs. Although this goal was not achieved, the “Wahlen Plan” – named after the agriculture minister and subsequently Federal Councillor Friedrich Traugott Wahlen – did strengthen the people’s resolve. Following the world wars, the emergency stockpile was expanded in the interests of preserving security. Products including cacao, soap, coal, metals and screws were added to the mandatory reserves. During the Cold War, stocks were built up to last 12 months. However, the fall of the Iron Curtain and the advent of globalisation made stockpiling less of a priority, and reserves were scaled back Medicines are one of the country’s essential supplies. The mandatory stockpiles recently played a big part in ensuring those supplies. Photo: Keystone There are enough foodstuffs and commodities stockpiled to provide every person in the country with 2,300 calories per day for three to four months. during the 1990s. Nonetheless, Switzerland remains reliant on functioning supply chains and imports, as the country only produces about half of the food supply needed to meet domestic consumption. Given the uncertain state of the current world, the Federal Council proposed last summer to top up the mandatory reserves again and store more grain and cooking oils. However, during the consultation process, these plans were met with scepticism: the sectors in question considered a oneyear import outage excessive. At the same time, an expert survey showed Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2
Bunker mentality during the Cold War Civil defence shelters arose in many places during the 1970s to offer refuge to the Swiss in a state of emergency – pictured here is the now-decommissioned shelter in the Sonnenberg Tunnel, designed to accommodate 20,000 people. Besides the threat of nuclear conflict, the Cold War between the major powers also raised concerns over possible supply shortages. The mandatory reserves were kept well stocked – with adequate provisions for 12 months. Photo: Keystone Precarious supply chains Switzerland depends on imports for its needs. Besides pandemics and wars, climate change also impacts supply chains and logistics. During the 2018 summer drought, water levels in the Rhine (pictured here near Düsseldorf) were so low that ships were only able to transport part of their normal load. Switzerland responded by releasing some of its mineral oil reserves to ensure there was enough petrol and heating oil. Photo: Keystone What to store in your own cellar “We advise – emergency supplies”: this over-50-year-old slogan has received a new lease of life since the coronavirus pandemic. Empty pasta shelves, and a run on toilet paper in the supermarket: the coronavirus-induced lockdown in 2020 triggered supply fears and panic buying. The shelves emptied more quickly than retailers could fill them, which only stoked anxieties further. The authorities recommend that people keep personal supplies at home to last for about a week. “That way, people can respond more calmly to difficult situations and avoid becoming nervous or panicking,” states an official brochure available in French, German and Italian, the title of which translates into English as “We advise – emergency supplies”. The slogan is over 50 years old – and it has been revived by the global crises. The first thing to stockpile is non-perishable foodstuffs, for example rice, pasta products, oil, ready-made meals, salt, sugar, coffee, tea, dried fruit, muesli, rusks, chocolate, UHT milk, hard cheese, dried meat and preserves. Drinks are equally if not more important: every household should store nine litres of water per person. That is enough to provide three days of drinking and cooking water in the event of an emergency. Although Switzerland has an almost unlimited supply of drinking water, supply interruptions could still happen due to broken pipes or contamination. In such a case, water companies are obliged to provide people with a minimum amount of drinking water from the fourth day. Spare batteries and cash You should also keep items at home that can be of use in the event of an electricity outage: battery-operated radios, torches, spare batteries, candles, matches and a gas cooker. Medicine, toiletries, pet food and small cash sums should also be kept at hand. It is advisable to use your food reserves for everyday cooking, i.e. keep using them and replacing any used items. The contents of the freezer also count as emergency supplies: you can still consume frozen foods after an electricity outage. Once thawed, however, food should not be refrozen. Offers from private companies for “complete solutions” with canned food for one month or longer far exceed the government recommendations. Their customers include preppers, who want to be well prepared with everything they need to keep going in the event of a crisis – tents, radio devices, tools etc. There are detailed checklists for crisis survival online. (TP) Link to the brochure (in German): revue.link/notvorrat Photo: Keystone Your personal supplies should contain enough food for a week – it’s even more important to have drinking water for at least three days. 7
Switzerland prepares Ukraine peace summit Switzerland plans to host a Ukraine peace summit this year, announced President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following a joint meeting in January. Amherd said all countries that respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine are eligible to attend the conference. Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be particularly happy to see countries from the Global South at the event: “It’s important for us to show that the whole world opposes the Russian aggression and that the whole world supports a just peace.” Moscow immediately questioned the rationale behind a Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, saying that Switzerland is not the neutral intermediary it claims to be. Nonetheless, there was an initial meeting in New York shortly afterwards between Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. According to Cassis, they discussed “war and peace”. Cassis described the exchange as a first major step towards dialogue. (MUL) Old Swiss trams bound for Ukraine Berne and Zurich are renewing their tram fleets. Both cities will send their old but still fully roadworthy trams to Ukraine. The trams will be used in Lviv and Vinnytsia. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs will organise transport to the war-torn country and training for the staff of the Ukrainian transport companies. Switzerland has a tradition of exporting its old but well-maintained Swiss trams to partner countries. For example, trams from Berne have been running in Iași (Romania) and green Basel trams in Belgrade (Serbia) since 2003. (MUL) No more visa requirement for Kosovo As of 1 January 2024, Kosovars no longer need a visa to enter the Schengen zone, which includes Switzerland. Kosovars can now stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days without a visa. This waiving of the visa requirement is especially helpful for those visiting family. And that means something in Switzerland, where so many people have Kosovan roots. (MUL) ETH Zurich strengthens its focus on AI ETH Zurich has received possibly the biggest donation ever made to a Swiss university: German entrepreneur Dieter Schwarz, former boss of the retail chain Lidl, is financing 20 professorships over the next 30 years at the ETH, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI). This also entails expanding the ETH to Germany, where the university is establishing a teaching and research hub in Heilbronn. Heilbronn is Dieter Schwarz’s hometown. The exact amount of the donation has not been disclosed but is thought to be in the region of several hundred million Swiss francs. (MUL) Carole Durussel How many Swiss can say they have had the privilege of setting foot in Antarctica, the continent of land and ice? At least one: Carole Durussel, from the canton of Vaud. Last November, she reached the South Pole by sea together with 67 other woman scientists. “Antarctica’s different shades of white and blue will remain etched in my memory forever,” she declared on returning to Argentina on 2 December. This three-week expedition was organised under the aegis of the Homeward Bound foundation, which aims to increase the visibility of women in natural sciences. This NGO, founded by four women, believes that gender equality is good for the environment. Why the South Pole? Because its virgin territory lies at the heart of the concerns about the climate and pollution. The voyage to the end of the earth included a number of meetings, notably about leadership. Carole Durussel fell in love with the sea when whale watching as a little girl. She studied marine environment sciences and holds a doctorate in international environmental law. Based in London, she is Deputy Secretary of the OSPAR Commission for the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, an area impacted by overfishing and industrial waste. She contributed her expertise to the drafting of a treaty designed to protect marine biological diversity in areas of the high seas. Her voyage to Antarctica brought together women in highly visible positions. “You need role models if you are to get to those high-level positions,” argues Durussel. The contacts made during this expedition will be “an invaluable asset” for her future work, she says. STÉPHANE HERZOG Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2 8 Top pick News
9 MARC LETTAU In 1871, a shot rang out through the woods near Iragna (canton of Ticino) – and Switzerland’s last known wolf was dead. That was the end of them; at least until 1995 when wolves returned to the Swiss Alps. They made themselves at home, formed packs and extended their living space. In November 2023, Switzerland had 30 packs or about 300 wolves. Most Swiss welcome the return of the predator. That was confirmed by the popular vote in 2020 on a new hunting law opposed by nature conservation organisations. One of its provisions had been the culling of the wolf population. The people said no. Although there was widespread agreement with shooting wolves who were attacking sheep and causing damage, killing the protected animal as a pre-emptive measure was deemed a step too far by a majority of the electorate. However, ‘proactive population control’ has since been passed into law. In 2022, the parliament approved a revised hunting law allowing the culling of wolves as a pre-emptive measure. So, the paradigm shift that the people didn’t want has nonetheless occurred. At the end of 2023, the Federal Council furthermore decided, in spectacular haste, to fast-track and implement specific provisions of the revised law. New Environment Minister Albert Rösti (SVP) spelled out what this meant in practice: from 1 December 2023 to 31 January 2024, the cantons with a wolf population were allowed to kill a total of 12 packs and partially cull six more. The other 12 packs were to be left untouched. The response was immediate, with 800 hunters in Valais requesting further instructions on how to proceed with the wolf hunt. The courts throw a spanner in the works The start of the hunt shook three nature conservation organisations out of their shock-induced paralysis. They launched objections to some of the pack culling authorisations granted by the Federal Council and met with a measure of success: on 3 January 2024, the Federal Administrative Court confirmed, halfway through the big wolf hunt, that the objections would postpone the cull. The hunt, or part of it at least, was suspended. The legal argument on which the ruling is based centres on irreversibility: if a wolf is shot, the wolf is dead; if the court subsequently decides the shooting was not legal, the wolf cannot be brought back to life. Death is final. The interim ruling by the Federal Administrative Court applied the brake to the hasty measures adopted by the Federal Council. At time of publication, the court’s final decision was still pending. Still, whatever the judges decide, one thing is for sure. During the December/January window, over 50 of Switzerland’s 300 wolves were killed, or one sixth of the population. As the final ruling is awaited, the debate remains heated due to the new measures introduced by Environment Minister Rösti. Previously it had been up to the scientists and wildlife biologists to give guidance on these matters. They maintain that 20 packs must be left untouched to ensure the wolf’s survival in Switzerland. Reinhard Schnidrig, who heads the wildlife conservation section at the Federal Office for the Environment has consistently held that position. He first told “Swiss Review” in 2015 that 20 packs were needed for survival of the species; 60 packs were ecologically sustainable; and “somewhere in between” lay “what is socio-economically feasible”. Federal Councillor Rösti now finds that 12 packs are enough. The nature conservation organisations aren’t the only ones scratching their heads wondering what lies behind this much lower threshold. Is the environment minister prepared to accept the extinction of this protected species in Switzerland? Going forward, is politics to be the sole arbiter of Swiss environmental questions instead of science? And, if so, how does that translate into managing the huge environmental challenges facing us: climate change and species extinction? Urban versus rural Switzerland Social tensions are also simmering following these recent events. Switzerland’s urban population, which is detached from nature, is accused of having a romanticised view, seeing the wolf as evidence that a real Alpine wilderness is still out there, conveniently glossing over the fact that the urban Swiss are overexploiting the Alpine region for leisure purposes and changing its very nature. At the same time, sympathy is also thin on the ground for Switzerland’s mountain folk, for whom letting sheep roam the Alps during summer is a cherished tradition. The Federal Administrative Court sees it thus: federal authorities have authorised the hunting of entire wolf packs in areas where measures to protect the sheep would have been entirely feasible but were not taken. Choosing to shoot the wolves instead when the federal government has earmarked millions of Swiss francs every year for the purpose of protecting flocks (2024: 7.7 million) is what is causing friction between urban and rural Switzerland. This dispute also helps demonstrate why nature conservation in Switzerland is under pressure right now. It has to do with the urban-rural balance of power in the Federal Council. Albert Rösti’s proximity to the farmers explains his wolf policy. His department is also riven by conflicting objectives: it is responsible for building roads, railways, dams and power plants – all potentially environmentally harmful constructions – but at the same time is also responsible for protecting the environment. These conflicting interests are a legacy: through the decades, Swiss environmental policy has primarily been about exploiting the natural environment, with conservation coming second. Whether conservation or exploitation has the upper hand depends on who leads the department. Rösti’s predecessor, Simonetta Sommaruga, preferred the former; Rösti leans more towards the latter. Be that as it may, the last chapter of the wolf saga has yet to be written. The big wolf hunt in the Swiss mountains The wolf is under strict protection in Switzerland. Yet, last December and January, hunters shot about one sixth of the country’s wolf population with official authorisation. It’s a long story. An extended version of the article can be found at revue.ch Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2 News
SUSANNE WENGER This winter, the evening skies above Langenthal in the canton of Berne were the showcase for hundreds of thousands of bramblings descending on the fir trees to spend the night. Every winter, the bramblings come from Scandinavia to Switzerland, explains Livio Rey, a biologist at Sempach Ornithological Institute: “However, you will only see a mass migration every few years, when the conditions are right.” They need enough beech nuts and there can’t be any snow; the conditions also have to be worse further up north. That’s when the birds move south. Sempach Ornithological Institute is considered something of an authority on all things bird-related. Founded by the Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Vogelkunde und Vogelschutz (Swiss society for ornithology and trust and affection in which it is held by the general public. Although it is not funded by the public sector, it does perform assignments for the Confederation and cantons. Early conservationists The founders, including the first head of the institute, Alfred Schifferli from Sempach, an accountant and ornithologist, wanted to support research into bird life, which was an upand-coming discipline at the time. Schifferli and his assistants ringed many birds to find out more about bird migration. The institute became the main reporting centre for ring recoveries and it provided specimens and eggs for studies. Its foundation is also connected with early nature conservation movements at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries in Switzerland. The institute’s purpose has always been to apply its learnings about bird life to benefit the birds. “We have to understand birds in order to protect them and preserve their diversity for future generations,” says Rey, who is based at the headquarters at Lake Sempach, which is just outside the town and comprises a treatment centre for injured birds and a visitors’ centre. On this particular winter day, if you look out at the right time you can see a brightly coloured common kingfisher. Understanding, protection and preservation underpin the work of the institute and, according to Rey, its mission is now more urgent than ever. One of the longest red lists Although birds hold a certain fascination for many people through their song, general visibility and ability to fly, most people do not realise just “Birds are a reflection of the environment” Sempach Ornithological Institute in the canton of Lucerne celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024. This charitable institution is a highly regarded centre of competence in Switzerland and very popular among the population. It also has a warning for us: the diversity of domestic bird life is under threat. how bad their general situation is: 40 per cent of Switzerland’s roughly 200 bird species are currently under threat. The red list of endangered bird species is one of the longest in Europe, according to Rey. And the situation has failed to improve over the past ten years: the number of ‘potentially endangered’ birds on a type of prewarning list has increased. “Contrary to general opinion, Switzerland does not set a good example in terms of bird protection,” stresses the biologist. However, some types of bird are faring better than others, as Rey points out. The birds that live in the forest are prospering, thanks to Switzerland’s relatively stringent forest conservation. The fortunes of herons and birds of prey are also improving. There is a ban on hunting these birds, so their numbers have picked up as a result. Examples include the golden eagle, the reintroduced bearded vulture and the red kite. The red kite was on the verge of extinction, says Rey, but “today we have ten per cent of the global population here in Switzerland”. Cultivated land is bad for birds Many bird species suffer a lot on cultivated land, where intensified crop cultivation has interfered with their habitat. Frequent mowing destroys broods. Extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides is affecting their food supply, i.e. insects. There is also a dearth of small structures, such as hedges or cairns. As a result, some types of bird have disappeared. Bird species that used to frequent the Swiss Plateau have died out, from the grey partridge to the ortolan bunting, a type of songbird. The bright song of the eurasian skylark has become something of a rarity. Sempach Ornitholo- gical Institute on 6 April 1924. Archive photo: Sempach Ornithological Institute bird protection) in April 1924, it is a longstanding institution in Switzerland. The foundation employs almost 160 people and advises the authorities and professional groups, responds to enquiries from the general public and provides information on all things avian. The fact that 75 per cent of its funding comes from donations and legacies testifies to the Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2 10 Nature and the environment
Although the ornithological station has been working more closely on the living conditions of birds for about 50 years, it stays out of politics. The institute wants to focus on providing information, explains the biologist. The biodiversity initiative is an exception, however. It goes to the vote in 2024. The institute agrees with the popular initiative calling for more space and resources to cultivate diversity. To improve the birds’ living environment, the institute works mainly on site by cooperating with farmers that work in close harmony with nature. …to the benefit of the birds and hares In Champagne (canton of Geneva) and Klettgau (canton of Schaffhausen), the institute has contributed to establishing award-winning ecological areas for the birds on agricultural land. Eurasian skylark numbers are on the rise in these areas and the hare has also made a comeback, says Rey. The 33-year-old Bernese native has been working at the institute for eight years. His favourite is the attractive peregrine falcon, a speed record-holder in the animal kingdom: it can dive at 200 kilometres per hour. It can be seen almost anywhere in the world: “It’s a unifying force.” The peregrine falcon is also an example of successful species preservation. In the 1960s, the widespread use of the insecticide DDT brought it to the brink of extinction. An international environmental movement campaigned against the product, leading to it being banned in 1972. The peregrine falcon has since recovered. “It is living proof of what can be achieved if you try hard enough,” says Rey. Bird species in wetlands, bodies of water or marshes, are also suffering. Leisure activities as well as other things are impacting their livelihood. “Birds are a reflection of the environment,” concludes the expert. “They are a very accurate indicator of how we treat the environment.” Knowledge of how things are developing is also based on the extensive data held by the institute. Monitoring, i.e. counting numbers, has been one of their top priorities for decades. They have more than 2,000 volunteers supporting them all over the country, from retired natural scientists to track layers. Teaming up with agriculture… Researching bird migration is another cornerstone of the institute’s mandate. The nature of this work has changed in line with technological advances. Migratory birds aren’t just ringed anymore; they also carry extremely light data storage devices known as geolocators that are attached to the birds like a rucksack. They deliver “impressive findings”, says Rey. For example, the alpine swift remains airborne for 200 consecutive days. The small great reed warbler reaches heights of up to 6,000 metres during migration. The peregrine falcon – seen here diving at speed – is an example of successful species conservation. In the 1960s, it stood on the brink of extinction due to the use of a particular insecticide. A measure taken in 1972 ensured the species’ survival. Photo: Keystone www.vogelwarte.ch www.ornitho.ch Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2 11
DÖLF BARBEN Don’t say it out loud, but in purely subjective terms, Switzerland seems to have grown quieter in the past few decades. And it seems set to go quieter still: last November, a fireworks initiative was submitted. It calls for a nationwide ban on private individuals setting off loud fireworks and bangers. Many nature conservation and animal welfare organisations are backing the initiative, including Pro Natura and Zoo Zurich. It may go through. A survey at the end of 2023 revealed a 76 per cent approval rate. Animal welfare is the main driver of the ban. The rival camp has been rather subdued thus far. In an interview with “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”, the head of a firework company lamented the emergence of a “banning culture”. Granted, a firework ban for private individuals would make Switzerland quieter, especially on 1 August (Swiss national day) and New Year’s Eve. These bans are actuQuiet, please! The calls for quiet can be quite deafening No more loud fireworks, less ringing of church bells, more whisper tyres and noise-reducing roads: is Switzerland becoming quieter? One thing is for sure: the dispute over noise levels is as loud as ever. It will soon be time for the people to vote: an initiative to contain the noise from fireworks will go before the people. Photo: Keystone ally already in force in some municipalities, such as St. Moritz and inner-city Berne. However, there is a lot more to noise than things that go pop or hiss. Top of the list is traffic and, in many instances, there are also cow or church bells. More people affected by noise Objectively speaking, Switzerland has not really grown quieter over the years. The latest environmental report by the Federal Council even states that many more persons are now affected by harmful and sustained noise than over 30 years ago, when the Noise Abatement Ordinance came into force. Noise pollution on the whole has not receded despite technical improvements to cars, trains and planes, states the report. The reasons include traffic growth and especially cars’ increased weight and broader tyres. Population growth and residential development is another factor. People in cities and agglomerations are particularly affected by noise. The report also says that technical innovations and all the money spent on noise mitigation have definitely had an effect. “Local communities have made great strides in reducing noise exposure.” Buzzing instead of clanking Granted, for those who don’t live on a busy road or in Haslital, where the very loud F/A-19 jet fighters blast off from Meiringen military airfield, Switzerland may indeed be quieter and really loud noises consigned to memory. Who remembers the old goods trains with their relentless screeching and clanking that could be heard for miles around? Noisy freight trains are now banned and the modern intercity trains seem to merely buzz as they speed along at 200 kilometres per hour. 12 Nature and the environment
Then there were the cars, lorries and tractors 50 years ago. They used to really rattle and roar. That is also history. The noise now comes from rolling wheels; engines are practically silent. The sound comes from the compressed air between the tyres and road surface hissing as it tries to escape. Broad wheels compress more air, which is why they are louder than narrow ones. There is even a solution to that: whisper tyres equipped with special grooves and quiet asphalt with broad pores where the air can disappear with barely a sound. Young drivers with souped-up cars ironically bring back the old, noisy days. They convert the exhaust systems of their flashy motors to make them sound as powerful and noisy as possible. It is of course forbidden to drive a car like that through a low traffic inner-city zone, which only makes it all the more tempting. Dangerously quiet vehicles Contrary to popular opinion, sometimes the problem is not too much noise, but not enough of it. When electric cars travel slowly, they are so quiet as to be practically inaudible, and that is dangerous. That is why they must be equipped with electric vehicle warning sounds. There are two distinct types of noise. The sound of lawnmowers or concrete mixers, for example, is just a side effect. If this type of noise can be reduced, most people will approve. On the other hand, there are also sounds and noises that are meant to be heard. Examples include church bells, cow bells and the alphorn. Calling these sounds noise pollution and demanding quiet is likely to attract some protesting noises from other residents. The authorities have to decide on each individual case. The cowbell classic It can be difficult to resolve such conflicts. They often end up before the judge. Almost 50 years ago, the Federal Supreme Court had to rule on a dispute over cow bells. Its ruling was that the ringing of cowbells in a residential area at night went beyond what could reasonably be considered tolerable. However, the farmers do not always lose these cases. In Aarwangen, an attractive municipality in Berne’s Oberaargau where the cowbell classic recently flared up, there was a surprising reversal: the inhabitants collected signatures – this time in favour of the farmer. And, as a precautionary measure, they also signed in favour of the ringing of the church bells. Suddenly the issue became much bigger than the sound of bells on damp pastures: “the culture and tradition of our country” were at stake. The probell camp won a resounding victory at the Communal Assembly in December 2023. It is now forbidden to call for a ban on cowbells in Aarwangen. Intermission in the church tower Arguments over church bells are the other perennial issue. However, these disputes only seem to be going one way. As the numbers of churchgoers decrease, the ringing of the bells from the church towers is also abating. In many places, the bells already ring a lot less than they used to. Sometimes they don’t ring at all. And when a flash of lightning hits the church tower, as happened last summer in Menziken (canton of Aargau), sympathy is in short supply. Opponents of the bells claimed, unsurprisingly, that God had made His feelings on the matter clear by calling for an intermission. Snoring trains Sometimes the arguments over noise border on the surreal. In Rapperswil-Jona (canton of St. Gallen), for example, the residents complained about trains that were just parked on the tracks. As it was not practical to shut down the electronics and air-conditioning overnight, the trains kept emitting noises; it was as if they were “snoring”, as reported in the “Tages-Anzeiger”. Snoring trains preventing people from snoring – how about that. The SBB was ultimately obliged to take remedial action. Although the problem did also resolve itself over time: the new trains are quieter when in use, they also snore more quietly. So quietly in fact, that hardly anyone hears them. Ringing church bells – and very often jangling cow bells too – are a particular noise irritation for many people in Switzerland. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2 13
MARTINE BROCARD* From a distance, the pastel-hued chalet roofs seem to blend into their gently undulating surroundings. They stand out more close up, their rounded forms consisting of tightly packed rows of overlapping, small, thin wooden boards. This, the tradition of tavillonnage (wood-shingled roofs), is particularly strong in the Alpine foothills of Fribourg and Vaud. But it can also be found in other parts of Switzerland. Shingle-making is an ancient Swiss craft that has been kept alive, although very few now practise the art. There are around a dozen shingle-makers in French-speaking Switzerland. Most of them originally worked as carpenters or joiners before catching the tavillonnage bug. It is a niche profession, and the shingle-makers are keen to pass on their knowledge and expertise every so often. To people like qualified carpenter Tristan Ropraz, who picked up the skill six years ago. “We are like marmots” We meet Ropraz on a slightly chilly morning at his workshop in Sorens (canton of Fribourg). From his window he can see Moléson, a wellknown mountain in the Fribourg Alps. Ropraz, 26, surveys his next task. He has a pile of wood in front of him. Using a wooden mallet and a froe, he will split the logs to make six-millimetre-thick tavillons, or shingles. He will tie these in the exact order in which he cut them, then start over. All day long. And all week long, from mid-November to mid-April. This is the time to make shingles. “My body and soul recover in winter – I no longer have to think,” he says. “You split the wood, tie the pieces together and stack them outside.” For him, none of this work is boring or laborious. It is a monotonous procedure, but every shingle is different. “My teacher says you need to have eyes in your fingers.” Splitting the wood along the grain without damaging the fibres is the tricky bit. If you get that right, the wood – and the future roof – will remain leak-free. Every strike with the mallet has to be perfect. Shingle-makers live according to the rhythms of the seasons. “We are like marmots,” he laughs. “We retreat to our dens when it gets cold, and reemerge when it gets warm.” Topaz “Working with 150-year-old wood is an honour” The tradition of tavillonnage, or wood-shingled roofs, can be found in some of the French-speaking foothills of the Swiss Alps. A small number of passionate artisans are keeping this tradition alive. One of them is Tristan Ropraz from the western canton of Fribourg. has a tanned complexion. He spends winter making shingles, spring and autumn putting the shingles on roofs down in the valleys, and summer layTristan Ropraz at work. His skill lies in splitting the wood along the grain without damaging the fibres. That makes it leakproof. All Photos: Pierre-Yves Massot 14 Report “I have great respect for these trees. They were here long before us and will remain on roofs long after we have gone.” Tristan Ropraz
A shingle roof will last for 35 to 40 years, which more or less corresponds to the length of a career in tavillonnage. This is why it is rare for a shingle-maker to still be working when one of their roofs needs to be re-laid. Tristan Ropraz ing them on roofs up in the mountains. “We nail them non-stop during the warmer months.” A shingle-maker will knock in between 150 and 200 kg of nails every year, or around 1,000 nails on every three square metres of roof. “But I would go crazy if I kept count.” One out of every thousand The shingle-maker’s year begins in autumn, when they select the trees that they need to make the tavillons. They only chop spruces in the canton of Fribourg. “This is the best moment, when the whole process begins.” The search for suitable trees starts at 1,000 metres. “At higher altitudes, there are fewer nutrients available to the trees – and the trees grow more slowly. This provides shinOnce Ropraz has split a log, he ties the shingles together in the order in which he cut them. That way, there are no irregularities on the roof. 15
gles that are drier and will last longer.” Shingle-makers prefer to source trees from mountain dells or shady, sheltered spots conducive to straight growth. Only one spruce out of every thousand is suitable for tavillonnage, according to Ropraz, who will need 25 to 30 trees during the course of every year. “I have great respect for these trees. They were here long before us and will remain on roofs long after we have gone,” he says. “I feel honoured and humbled to work with 150-year-old wood.” The trees are felled in mid-November during the last quarter of the waning moon, when it is believed that the sap is at its lowest and the wood is dormant. are going to lay out the wood to dry as quickly as possible.” “It is always a poignant moment when I lay my shingles,” the young man says. Ropraz also gets emotional after he nails the final shingle on any chalet roof. “I sit down, look towards the horizon and think of these little tiles of wood, each and every one of which I made and laid.” But let us not romanticise the profession. “Many people only see these chalets, the tranquility and the surrounding landscape. They never think of the work we put in. These bundles of shingles don’t end up on the roofs by magic. It’s hard work.” Ropraz used to be a talented Swiss wrestler who threw opponents into the sawdust. He says that making a healthy living from tavillonnage is not easy either. The price for one square metre is approximately 175 Swiss francs, which covers sourcing, transporting, preparing and laying the wood. A carefully laid shingle roof will last for an average of 35 to 40 years. Ropraz, whom friends used to rib for doing this old-fashioned job, believes that tavillonnage still has a future. “Everyone talks about sustainability nowadays. Wood is an eco-friendly building material, and our trees come from the nearby forests of Gruyère. It does not get much better.” Have the shingles been laid properly? Tristan Ropraz checks the surface he has just laid, which will keep out the wind and weather for 35-40 years. A job defined by the seasons: the shingle-maker lays the shingles made during the winter in the summer months. This protects the trees from any wood pests. From tree to roof The scent of wood fills the air. Ropraz is in the process of splitting logs. He looks up and points to a forest up on the slopes of Moléson. “This wood comes from over there,” he says. “A swathe of trees in the forest was cut down to make space for a new ski piste. The trees were good for making shingles. The master tavillonneur and I were anxious, so we drove up the hill. At least we rescued six trunks.” The trees were felled at the wrong time and are full of sap. “We revue.link/shingles *Martine Brocard is editor of the Swiss Alpine Club magazine “Die Alpen”, in which the original version of this article appeared. Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2 Report 16
17 CHRISTOF FORSTER Switzerland is defined, among other things, by its commitment to conflict resolution, nuclear disarmament, and world peace. The Federal Council applied for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council with these very goals in mind. Switzerland will remain at the high table of UN diplomacy alongside the world’s major powers until the end of 2025, debating political crises, sanctions and peace missions. Which is why signing the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) immediately would seem to be a no-brainer for the Federal Council. Switzerland was one of the 122 UN member states to negotiate and adopt the TPNW in 2017. But it is yet to ratify it. The TPNW goes way beyond other existing treaties. It prohibits the production, possession, transfer, testing, use, and threat of use of nuclear weapons. The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), meanwhile, is the cornerstone of today’s nuclear world order, defining the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China as nuclear-weapon states. The new treaty is hard to swallow for Switzerland’s policymakers. On the one hand, the Federal Council believes that the TPNW fills a gap in international law, with nuclear weapons the only weapons of mass destruction never to have been subject to a comprehensive prohibition treaty until now – unlike biological and chemical weapons, for example. To ratify the TPNW would also be in keeping with Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition. And yet the same Federal Council has hit the brakes. After the TPNW was adopted, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said that the treaty was not the way to achieve these objectives. This has been the government’s view ever since. Yet pressure is coming from parliament, which has already urged the government to sign the treaty on several occasions. Members of all the political parties have called for a nuclear ban, albeit for different reasons. The leftwing parties are committed to pacifist principles, whereas representatives of the SVP want ratification of the TPNW because this would make it harder for Switzerland to move closer to NATO – probably the very issue that explains why the Federal Council is stalling in the first place. Since the war in Ukraine began, the Western defence alliance NATO has taken on greater importance for Berne. By signalling its intention to join the Sky Shield air defence system (see Review 5/2023), the government has made its latest step towards NATO. Switzerland has been a NATO partner country under the Partnership for Peace programme since 1996. But NATO also cooperates with countries like Austria that have already signed on the dotted line, say advocates of the treaty. Accession to the TPNW would not jeopardise Swiss security interests, in their opinion. Nevertheless, Western countries are exerting pressure on Switzerland to ditch the treaty for good. Once-neutral Sweden recently went through a similar process. NATO wants more in return for its friendship. A federal government report published in 2018 already goes some way to allaying doubts, saying that Switzerland would probably cooperate with nuclear-weapon states or their allies, in the extreme case of self-defence against an armed attack. As a party to the TPNW, Switzerland would abandon the option of explicitly placing itself under a nuclear umbrella within the framework of such alliances. Commentators in Berne agree that Switzerland would be ill-advised from a foreign and security policy perspective to sign a treaty that not only questions the security doctrine of our most important partners but also attacks it directly by stigmatising nuclear weapons. Ban nuclear weapons? Yes, but ... Switzerland wants a world without nuclear weapons. Yet the Federal Council has not yet signed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This has something to do with Swiss-NATO rapprochement. Closer ties – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd met at the 2022 World Economic Forum in Davos. Photo: Keystone Immediately after the Second World War, Switzerland made plans to build atomic bombs of its own. Read the Swiss National Museum’s blog post for more details: revue.link/bomb Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2 Politics
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