Protecting pollinators enshrined in the Constitution
Keystone-SDA
Beekeeping and environmental organisations want to enshrine the protection of bees and other pollinating insects in the constitution. They consider current measures to be insufficient in the face of the decline in these essential species.
BienenSchweiz, the Société Romande d’Apiculture, the Federazione Ticinese di Apicoltura, the Future 3.0 Foundation and Friends of Nature Switzerland announced the launch of a people’s initiative in a press release published on Sunday. The collection of signatures is due to start on World Bees Day on May 20. The initiative, which is currently being examined by the Federal Chancellery, aims to enshrine the objective of guaranteeing pollination in the Swiss Constitution.
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According to the initiators, almost half of the 600 or so species of wild bee in Switzerland are threatened and 59 are already extinct. Insect biomass is estimated to have fallen by more than three-quarters in three decades. Yet around 84% of agricultural crops in Europe depend on insect pollination. In Switzerland, the economic value of this contribution is estimated at up to CHF479 million a year.
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The initiative does not set out any specific requirements, but does require the government and cantons to guarantee the pollination of cultivated and wild plants and to promote the diversity of pollinators. The organisations believe that, despite several parliamentary interventions in recent years, federal measures remain insufficient.
Adapted from French by AI/ac
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