Surfbirds News

The IBAs presented in the report cover 13% of Switzerland’s total area. Nearly half (48%) of the IBAs are located in the Alpine habitat which dominates Switzerland. Indeed, many bird species identified as important in the new publication are limited to the Eurasian alpine habitat. Three sites are in the Jura Mountains, two are in the cultivated landscapes of the Central Plateau, and 11 sites were selected for wintering waterbirds and are along the most important Swiss lakes and rivers.

Alpine Accentor © Christopher Plummer, from the surfbirds galleries

At present, many IBAs in Switzerland don’t have any special protection status. However, a current objective is to integrate them into the Emerald-Network. This is non-EU equivalent of the Natura 2000 network. Some IBAs are partly protected because they have been designated as Ramsar sites, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, or federal protected areas. However, a lot of work remains to be done to ensure a more complete protection of Swiss IBAs. Werner Müller, Director at SVS added: "the publication is an important step in biodiversity conservation, but much more work will be needed to achieve the official protection of the sites under the Emerald Network".

The main threats to Swiss IBAs presented in the book are from lowland agricultural intensification, the abandonment of agriculture in the less accessible Alpine meadows, and the increasing disturbances caused by sports activities in more remote areas.

Boris Barov, European Conservation Manager at BirdLife European Division, added: “Switzerland is well known for its magnificent mountains. We hope that this new publication will make it easier for the Swiss authorities to focus on the best of the best of Alpine biodiversity”

The publishing of this book takes place after a long series of activities related to the IBA Programme in Switzerland: The first Swiss IBAs were designed in 1989 for the Inventory “Important Bird Areas in Europe”. They contained only areas for wintering waterbirds. The criteria were revised in 1995, leading to the designation in 2000 of other IBAs for breeding bird species in the Alps, the Jura Mountains and the Central Plateau. The new book now presents all the 31 IBAs of Switzerland in detail and will be used to convince the Swiss authorities of the importance of protecting IBAs to stop biodiversity loss.