Adjustments to the border due to glacier melt and renaturation
Published: Friday, Sep 27th 2024, 11:10
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Due to the melting glaciers, the Swiss border with Italy in the high mountains in the Zermatt VS area has to be adjusted. And in the canton of Geneva, the border with France has to be adjusted slightly due to the renaturation of water bodies and the construction of a streetcar line.
Around 50 kilometers of the 103-kilometer-long border between the canton of Geneva and France runs through bodies of water, as the Federal Council wrote on Friday's decisions. Adjustments were initially necessary due to the renaturation of the Hermance and Foron rivers.
An adjustment is also required between the municipalities of Perly-Certoux GE and Bardonnex GE. The reason for this is the laying of tracks for a new cross-border streetcar line between Perly-Certoux and Saint-Julien-en-Genevois in France.
The joint French-Swiss commission drew up three border adjustment agreements in the three Geneva regions. International law provides for the possibility of an exchange of equivalent areas in the event of border changes.
Along the border with Italy, the melting glaciers are the reason for adjustments. Significant sections in the Zermatt VS area are determined by the watershed or the ridge lines of glaciers, firn or perpetual snow, wrote the Federal Council. Because glaciers are melting, these formations are changing.
Switzerland and Italy agreed on a border adjustment agreement in May 2023, in line with the economic interests of both sides.
As these are all minor adjustments, the Federal Council can conclude the agreements independently and has approved the signing of the border adjustment agreement. The approval processes are underway in Italy and France.
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