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In Geneva, a border river is being renatured – with consequences reaching as far as Paris.
Large parts of the Swiss national borders run through rivers. But what happens to the border if the course of the river changes? In Geneva, the Foron is currently being renatured – a small border river between Switzerland and France. This not only affects the neighboring properties, but also has consequences at the highest diplomatic level.
More nature on the border
The Foron is one of the many rivers that have been straightened in Switzerland. “Waterfalls were made about every 200 meters to slow down the energy of the river – but that meant the fish could no longer pass through,” explains Francis Delavy, project manager for renaturation at the canton of Geneva.
Legend:
The river has been widened to provide more space in the event of a flood.
SRF
In order to give nature more space again, the banks of the Foron were flattened and the river widened. “So the water level is lower. Even during high tide, there is now space that can be flooded,” explains Delavy. The days of flooded cellars should be over for the neighboring communities on both sides of the border.
loss of land for the river
Where the river needs more space, Delavy had to consult with the landowners. Serge Gonin from Puplinge (GE) is a vegetable farmer and resident on the Swiss side. He ceded a few square meters of his land. “I lost some ground, but the overriding goal was to save our village from the floods,” he says. But not all residents tick like him.
We try to sell the river as something alive.
“Some negotiations are tough,” says Francis Delavy. He always tries to emphasize the personal benefit of renaturation: “Natural rivers are places where you can linger and put your feet in the water, where you can play with your grandchildren or swear loyalty to your great love. We’re trying to sell the river as something alive.”
The soil changes nationality
But the river doesn’t just need more space. Where the water redraws the boundary line, whole areas of land emerge that practically change their nationality. This is precisely recorded by the Geneva canton surveyor, Laurent Niggeler. Meter by meter you have to compensate for such areas: “Neither Switzerland nor France is allowed to conquer anything,” says Niggeler. As far as possible, one tries to create the balance locally on the river, otherwise at least within the canton. “We don’t want the canton area to change.”
Since Switzerland gains some land through the renaturation of the Foron, it is now to cede two other parcels to France. It is not expropriation for those affected, but their soil is new in France. Nobody will be compensated. In total, almost one hectare of land changes nationality.
At the end, Bern and Paris sign
However, it will be years before the swap of territories is formally confirmed and completed. It has already been approved by the mixed Swiss-French border commission. “Now the national authorities still have to give their approval – in Switzerland the Federal Council, and also the French state,” says Laurent Niggeler. The dossier is in Switzerland with the Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA). “It can easily take 10 to 15 years,” says Niggeler. Only when the diplomats have done their work will the change be definitively recorded on the maps.