Switzerland

D

Natural Resources

Waterpower is the chief natural resource of Switzerland. The principal source of water is runoff from the considerable annual precipitation that falls on the Alps. An important complement is melt water from the country’s hundreds of glaciers. The Swiss have long harnessed the energy of falling water for productive uses. Long ago, torrents turned waterwheels that powered preindustrial mills and machinery. Today, the flow is captured by hundreds of hydroelectric power facilities, which provide 54 percent of the country’s domestic electricity.

Mineral resources are not plentiful in Switzerland. Granite, limestone, other building stones, and salt are the only abundant mineral resources with commercial value. Small deposits of iron and manganese ores also are found.

About 11 percent of Switzerland’s land is used for agriculture, while another 31 percent is covered by forests. Steep terrain is the principal obstacle to agricultural expansion. The mountainous landscape is, however, central to the country’s famous tourism industry, one of Switzerland’s most important revenue sources.

E

Plants and Animals

Switzerland’s varied climate supports a great diversity of plants and animals. In the sunny and southerly canton of Ticino, Mediterranean-style scrub vegetation and pines are common. Decorative palms also dot communities along the shores of Lake Lugano and Lake Maggiore. In the cooler, more northerly parts of the country, a mix of deciduous trees and coniferous trees dominates. The most common deciduous trees include oak, beech, maple, and chestnut. Coniferous trees include spruce, pine, and fir.

---

---

Elevation and exposure to sun have a powerful influence on Switzerland’s plant life. A major characteristic of plant geography in Switzerland is vertical zonation, a clustering of species at different elevations according to their ability to tolerate warmer or colder temperatures. The exact elevation at which one community of plants is replaced by another varies significantly in different locations. Sunny south-facing slopes, for example, are warmer and drier than shaded north-facing slopes. As a result, different species may characterize opposing slopes of a single valley.

In general, deciduous forests dominate landscapes below about 1,400 m (about 4,500 ft), while coniferous forests dominate from that elevation to about 2,200 m (about 7,200 ft). Above this elevation begins the alp, the meadow above the tree line. Various grasses and flowering plants are common here, the latter including edelweiss, alpine aster, alpine pansy, and gentianella. The realm of permanent snow and ice—the region above the alp—typically begins at about 3,000 m (about 9,800 ft).

Chamois, marmot, and ibex inhabit the Alpine regions, as do the golden eagle, bearded vulture, and Alpendohle—a relative of the crow. The forests contain deer, fox, and many species of birds, including varieties of woodpecker, pheasant, and jay. Species of wolf and lynx are still found in some areas. Lakes and wetlands provide habitat for the grebe, heron, plover, and numerous duck species. Trout are common in the streams, and salmon are found in some rivers.

F

Environmental Issues

The environmental problems faced by Switzerland stem largely from human impacts due to population growth, consumption of fossil fuels, urbanization, and the steady rise of tourism. One of the most significant threats to the environment is damage to forests from acid rain, a form of air pollution. Acid rain is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, which emit sulfate and nitrate particles into the atmosphere. These compounds, which fall to the earth in the form of rain, snow, and fog, can prove fatal to trees and other plant life. Trees in Switzerland play a critical role in averting landslides and avalanches by preventing soil erosion and holding back snow. In an effort to maintain healthy trees, Switzerland vigorously supports regional, European, and global treaties aimed at reducing emissions that contribute to acid rain. Domestically, Switzerland has sought to reduce damaging emissions by enacting strict vehicle emission standards and by limiting heavy truck traffic on the transalpine routes. To further protect Swiss forests, a federal permit is required to cut trees.

The concern for plant protection extends beyond trees to numerous other species, especially flowering plants. Years of agriculture, livestock grazing, and other land-use practices have imperiled many native plant species. To help prevent extinctions, dozens of plant varieties are protected under federal law—they may not be picked, uprooted, or transplanted. Many other species have more limited protections. The Swiss National Park, located in Graubünden canton, was established mainly to protect and preserve endangered plants. Founded in 1914, it is one of Europe’s first national parks. Hundreds of nature reserves also exist in agricultural, urban, and wilderness areas across Switzerland.

Water pollution is another major environmental concern in Switzerland. Many of the nation’s rivers and lakes have been degraded by agricultural fertilizers, urban sprawl, and pollutants from automobiles and trucks. The expansion of alpine tourist resorts is of special concern because such developments can degrade pristine headwaters. Safe disposal of radioactive wastes from the nation’s nuclear power plants is also a concern.

Major Swiss environmental laws are made at the level of the federal government, although protected areas are usually managed by individual cantons. Nongovernmental organizations, such as the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature, play an important part in conservation, environmental policymaking, and management of protected areas. Internationally, Switzerland is bound by environmental agreements on air pollution, biodiversity, climate change, endangered species, hazardous wastes, and the ozone layer. Regionally, Switzerland participates with its neighbors in agreements to protect the delicate environments of the Alps.

III

People and Society

Over the course of human history many different groups have left their mark on Switzerland, including ancient Etruscans, Celts, Romans, and Germanic peoples. Today, most Swiss can trace their ancestry to Alpine, Nordic, and southern European peoples. The ethnic composition of Switzerland is generally defined by the country’s major language communities: German, French, Italian, and Romansch (Rhaeto-Romanic). Other ethnicities, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish, make up about 6 percent of the population.

A

Population Characteristics

The population of Switzerland (2007 estimate) is 7,554,661, with an overall population density of 190 persons per sq km (492 per sq mi). The population is unevenly distributed, with nearly 90 percent living on the Swiss Plateau. Some 68 percent of the population is classified as urban, but most people live in small towns. Swiss citizens account for about three-quarters of the total population. The remaining people are citizens of other countries, mainly Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France. The vast majority of noncitizens are guest workers and their families.

Switzerland, like many industrialized countries, is experiencing a declining birth rate and an overall slowing of the rate of population growth. The estimated growth rate in 2007 was only 0.38 percent. Current projections suggest Switzerland’s population will begin declining in the first decades of the 21st century. The Swiss people, with an average life expectancy of 80.6 years, are among the world’s longest lived. The country’s infant mortality rate (the number of infants per 1,000 who die before the age of 1) is 4, one of the world’s lowest.

	More from Encarta
	•  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain