GENEVA, Sept 22, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Switzerland may be associated with
pristine natural landscapes, but environmentalists sounding the alarm over
its endangered ecosystems are urging voters to back broader biodiversity
protections in a referendum Sunday.

That proposal appears set to fail, according to opinion polls, while the
Swiss are also set to reject a planned reform of the financing of the wealthy
Alpine nation's pension system slammed by unions as a "scam".

Most people cast their ballots in advance in the popular votes held every
couple of months under Switzerland's direct democratic system and polling
stations will only open a few hours Sunday morning.

Early results are expected by mid-afternoon.

The first proposal, entitled "For the future of our nature and our
landscape", has the backing of a number of environmental protection
organisations, including Pro Natura and BirdLife.

These warn that Switzerland's biodiversity "has declined".

"Switzerland has one of the highest levels of threatened species and
environments among the European countries in the OECD (Organization for
Economic Cooperation)", Sarah Pearson Perret, a Pro Natura director, told
AFP, citing a report by the European Environmental Agency.

Published in 2020, that study shows that the percentage of protected zones
compared to the national territory is lower in Switzerland than anywhere else
in Europe.

- 'Alarming' -

Switzerland's federal government currently invests around 600 million Swiss
francs ($700 million) each year towards the preservation of biodiversity.

But the organisations behind Sunday's referendum say that is not enough.

While they have not said exactly how much more should be spent, they are
asking voters to approve boosting the biodiversity budget and to expand the
number of protected areas.

A landmark biodiversity agreement reached in Montreal in 2022 called for at
least 30 percent of the planet's lands and oceans to be protected by 2030.

But last year, Switzerland's Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) said
just 13.4 percent of the Alpine country's territory was dedicated to
biodiversity conservation.

The FOEN acknowledges that Swiss biodiversity protection is insufficient,
with half of all natural environments and a third of natural spaces
threatened.

Aquatic environments and marshes are among the most threatened.

The organisations backing the referendum deem the situation "alarming",
stressing that "the mass extinction of species directly affects us humans".

Both the government and parliament have come out against the proposal,
insisting Switzerland is already doing enough and warning that the measures
would severely impact the economy, agriculture, construction and energy
production.

- 'Scam' -

Swiss voters also appeared set Sunday to reject a government-backed reform of
pension financing.

Today's Swiss pensions are split into three so-called pillars: the basic
state pension, a compulsory pension fund into which employers and employees
must pay and voluntary top-ups into private funds and investments.

According to the government, low financial market returns and rising life
expectancy have left the second pillar underfinanced.

Bern's proposed reform would require employers and workers to raise their
pensions contributions into the obligatory occupational funds.

But the unions who demanded the reform be put to a referendum charge that it
would force people to contribute more even as they would see their pension
payments shrink.

The Swiss Trade Union Federation, an umbrella group of 20 unions, has slammed
the reform as a "scam".