Birdlife criticizes delay in insect protection
Published: Tuesday, Aug 27th 2024, 12:41
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Five years after the National Council's Environment Committee voted Yes and other initiatives for more insect protection, the environmental organization Birdlife criticizes the Federal Council's hesitant action against insect extinction. The loss of valuable habitats for insects is continuing unabated.
Exactly five years ago on Tuesday, the Environment Committee of the National Council (Urek-N) submitted a motion to save insect diversity, wrote Birdlife. The Federal Council recognized the need for action. The National Council and Council of States approved this and other motions in favor of insects.
The Urek-N also approved a petition against insect mortality signed by 165,000 people. According to Birdlife, Parliament called on the Federal Council to tackle the problem. Nevertheless, nothing has happened.
The national government has repeatedly referred to other political issues, first to the agricultural policy from 2022 (AP22+) and later to the indirect counter-proposal to the biodiversity initiative, which was rejected by Parliament. Now the AP30+ and the Biodiversity Action Plan should fix it.
The insect population would be dependent on a rapid and concentrated rescue plan, as science has proven, Birdlife wrote. The diversity and size of insect populations have declined sharply, especially on the Central Plateau.
This decline is continuing in the Jura and the Alps. Overall, almost 60 percent of insect species in Switzerland are endangered or potentially endangered. Among wild bees, 59 species (9.6 percent) are already extinct, as the 2024 Red List shows.
©Keystone/SDA
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