Around a third of the Swiss electorate (63 percent) rejected the biodiversity initiative – a clear no. Markus Ritter, President of the Swiss Farmers’ Association, is pleased. He fought the initiative with his association and is of the opinion that the requirements for agriculture in terms of nature conservation should be scaled back. Enough is being done, he says in Radio SRF’s “Tagesgespräch”.
After yesterday’s vote and the victory against the biodiversity initiative, we can congratulate them. But can we also congratulate nature?
Yes, I think so. Even the opponents of the initiative want us to pursue a sustainable policy. I think we should continue on the path we took 25 years ago.
It was a clear no. That could now help the forces that want to roll back biodiversity protection. Where do you want to relax now?
The initiative has simply gone too far. It is not about making compromises when it comes to biodiversity, but the demands regarding spatial planning and the towns that are to be preserved according to the initiative have caused fear in many people.
However, the failure of the initiative could also be interpreted as meaning that nature conservation is no longer as important for many people and can now be handled more loosely.
The path we have taken over the last 25 years, which has also brought about a turnaround, should continue in this way without us making any compromises now.
We say the same thing before the vote as we do after the vote. We said from the beginning that with Article 78 of the Federal Constitution we already have a precise and comprehensive constitutional article on nature and homeland protection and that we are also pursuing an action plan.
The path we have taken over the last 25 years, which has also brought about a turnaround, should continue in this way without us making any compromises now. But even from a sustainability perspective, the path called for by the initiative would not have been suitable.
Do you think that the demands on agriculture need to be scaled back?
Yes. We could be left alone now. Today we have three times as many biodiversity promotion areas as are actually required. We would like to continue down this path with our quality and the networking projects that we have.
It would be important for those cities in particular that have agreed to the initiative to now take concrete measures to create more green spaces.
I still see a lot of opportunities, especially in the big cities. In many cities there are hardly any green spaces and it would be important for those cities that have agreed to the initiative to take concrete measures to create more green spaces.
Do you now see the cities as having a responsibility?
Yes, because there are many asphalt and concrete deserts there and because this population in particular expects more in terms of biodiversity. It would be a great fit to develop strategies at this level too.
Federal Councillor and Environment Minister Rösti said after the vote that nature conservation was important to the Federal Council. What exactly is the Farmers’ Association doing to protect flora and fauna?
Farmers work on this every day. They manage around 150,000 hectares of biodiversity-promoting land in Switzerland. I do too, personally. My farm is in a nature reserve. We have many nature reserves, some of which are managed by farmers under difficult conditions.
From the daily conversation with David Karasek, with the collaboration of Géraldine Jäggi.