In Switzerland, voters reject plan to better protect country's biodiversity

Geneva — 

Switzerland, known for earthy quality similar pristine lakes and majestic Alpine peaks, ranks among the world's richest countries whose works and carnal beingness is nether the top threat. Environmentalists were seeking amended protections for the country's biodiversity successful a nationwide ballot that culminated Sunday.

Final authoritative results showed much than 63% of voters casting ballots had rejected the inaugural that aimed to boost nationalist backing to promote farmers and others to acceptable speech lands and waterways to fto the chaotic make more, and summation the full country allocated for greenish spaces that indispensable stay untouched by quality development.

The contention was decided by mail-in ballots followed by a greeting of in-person voting Sunday.

Factors down the weakening biodiversity successful the state of rivers, lakes, valleys and mountains see intensified agriculture, ungraded alteration, a fragmentation of the scenery — specified arsenic the gathering of roads and lodging that chopped done wildlife habitats — and contamination and clime change, proponents of the measurement said.

The national authorities — parliament and the enforcement subdivision — opposed the plan, arsenic did galore agrarian voters and the country's main right-wing party, according to polls. They called it excessively costly, saying 600 cardinal Swiss francs (over $700 million) is already spent connected biodiversity extortion each year, and fearfulness economical improvement volition suffer.

Passage was estimated to outgo astatine slightest different 400 cardinal francs for nationalist and section governments, the Federal Council estimates. The inaugural would also, for example, prohibit the operation of caller railway lines done protected adust meadows — adjacent if specified meadow is acceptable speech and developed elsewhere, it says.

"Passage of the biodiversity inaugural would severely bounds (sustainable) vigor and nutrient production, restrict the usage of forests and agrarian areas for tourism, and marque operation much expensive," argued the run for a "no" ballot connected its website. "YES to biodiversity, but NO to the utmost biodiversity initiative."

Proponents, meanwhile, pointed to dwindling earthy resources successful Switzerland and threats to bees, frogs, birds, mosses and different wildlife. They argued that protected greenish spaces are "the main superior for tourism" and much of them would enactment section economies.

"Diversified quality guarantees aerial purity, drinkable water, pollination, fertility of the soil, and our nutrient supply," said a committee that backed the idea. "But successful Switzerland, biodiversity is suffering. One-third of each our works and carnal taxon are threatened oregon person already disappeared."

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a deliberation vessel that counts 38 mostly affluent countries arsenic members, has produced a comparative look astatine threats to works and carnal life. Switzerland ranks among the apical 4 countries with the highest rates of threatened taxon successful each 8 categories of wildlife.

The voting was portion of the latest Swiss referendums, which instrumentality spot 4 times a twelvemonth to springiness voters a nonstop accidental successful policymaking successful the state of astir 9 cardinal people. The lone different nationwide contented up for information this clip was a pension betterment program backed by the government.

More than two-thirds of voters turned down the pension betterment plan, the last results showed.