Switzerland Essay
by Melanie Wo
Current Environmental Issues in Switzerland
According to the 2012 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Switzerland is the world leader in taking steps to overcome pollution control and nonrenewable/renewable resource management obstacles. Throughout the past 25 years, the nation has been progressively launching plans to manage their limited natural resources and control their ecological footprint more carefully (Yale). However, the steady increase in population, urbanization, and tourism has brought about higher emission levels and much more intense use of renewable water supply. As of now, Switzerland's top three environmental concerns are water pollution, air pollution, and soil degradation.
With only 40 cubic kilometers of renewable water for the whole nation, water pollution is one of the top priorities of Switzerland's Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). More than half of the water supply is used for industrial purposes, while the rest is used for many other purposes like drinking, irrigation, power generation, navigation, etc. Water use is stretched so widely and thinly across all these uses that it poses risks for the quality and quantity of waterbodies. Besides providing the renewable water supply, the waterbodies also serve the environment by sustaining natural habitats and maintaining the balance of ecosystems. However, these benefits are significantly reduced by man-made structures, hydration generation, and the high industrial use mentioned before (Freshwater, EEA).
For example, about 15% of Switzerland's water network has been altered because of construction work, while another 6% runs through numerous pipe systems (Freshwater, EEA). Certain industrial procedures like steam control measures and gravel extraction have changed the surrounding natural habitats, and hydropower facilities prevent proper drainage and recycling of groundwater. Though the National Groundwork Monitoring conclude that groundwater quality is good, pollutant levels have exceeded national limits at agricultural areas, where high concentrations of chemicals, plant protection products (PPPs), and nitrate are found (Freshwater, EEA). Another emerging concern is the current improper and inefficient treatment of micro-pollutants, which usually consist of pesticide residues, medicines, and cleaning solutions. After the FOEN launched investigations on water treatment plants in 2006, it was decided that about 100 plants needed to upgrade their systems in order to eliminate micro-pollutants (EAWAG). As of now, Switzerland's water treatment systems do not remove sufficient quantities of micro-pollutants from wastewater, and since even small quantities can greatly harm environments by ending up in lakes and groundwater, the FOEN presented the MicroPoll project in September 2009 (EAWAG). The project focuses on designing more sustainable urban waste management systems by centralizing waste treatment in order to improve the cost-effectiveness ratio.
Air pollution is a major concern for the Swiss, especially since it causes respiratory and cardiovascular disorders that lead to around 3000 to 4000 premature deaths per year (ARE/FOEN, 2008). Emissions of particulate matter have increased to alarming levels, and most air pollutants originate from households, industries, and transportation; in fact, a study from 2000 showed that about 31% of the nation's greenhouse gases come from transport (FDFA). In Switzerland's traffic and intricate topography, the people who are at most risk of being severely affected are those who live near busy roads, along with young children, elderly people, and chronically ill patients (Air Pollution, EEA). Though technological advancements like regulatory air models helped reduce industrial emissions over the years, the increase in the road transport sector has unfortunately negated any gains through technology (FDFA). Transportation has also created an unforeseen side effect: the results of a 2002 survey conducted by the Swiss National Science Foundation showed that the fog in forest ecosystems contained twice as much nitrogen as they had previously thought. The amount of nitrogen in this acid fog had the potential to cause more damage to forests, so more pollution laws were passed in order to help decrease nitrogen emissions from automobiles and other transport vehicles.
Soil degradation has finally been recognized as a growing environmental issue for Switzerland, because prior to the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) of 1983, there were no laws that specifically focused on soil protection. Consequently, human actions have made some harmful impacts on soil, and they can be divided into 4 main categories: land consumption, pollutant and chemical pressures, physical and mechanical pressures, and biological pressures (Our Vision, FOEN). The burning of fossil fuels leads to acid rain that damages forests; as the compounds enter the soil through rain, snow or fog, sulfate and nitrate particles damage many trees and plant life. As a result, the soil erosion changes the soil composition around tree roots and loosens/harms them, causing more landslides and avalanches. Soil removed by mechanical diggers cannot be reenter the natural cycle, and soil that is contaminated by chemicals and pollutants will ultimately end up harming the people by transferring into food and drinking water. Soil contamination has gotten so bad that Switzerland no longer has any completely uncontaminated soil (our Vision, FOEN). Due to inadequate soil management, soil erosion also affects agriculture, sewage systems, and transport networks. Lastly, goods that are transported around the world for trade can also carry foreign organisms that hurt and disrupt Switzerland's ecosystems.
With this nation developing rapidly in economic and societal terms, more and more environmental issues must be brought up in order to preserve the little that the Swiss have left. Even though Switzerland has been progressing towards sustainable urban management systems and clean water treatments, the fact remains that water pollution is the most important priority for everyone, because everyone uses the same water, so everyone is responsible for what they put in it and how they treat it. Air pollution is the next main issue because emissions from automobiles and other transportation need to be more tightly controlled and strictly followed, or else Switzerland's greenhouse gas emissions will have even more harmful consequences on the environment. Soil degradation comes third because it is a newly recognized issue compared to the first two; however, soil is a vital part of the natural cycles in ecosystems, and Swiss authorities must take action to spread public awareness of the careful and effective use of soil, along with establishing soil protection laws.
One of the greatest factors that allowed Switzerland to effectively address its environmental challenges is information technology. IT by itself is a broad field and can provide many different functions for environmentalists to help monitor fluctuations in natural habitats and design better techniques that can combat negative changes using the data they have gathered. For example, advances in long-term soil pollution monitoring are due to the Swiss soil monitoring network NABO (Nationale Bodenbeobachtung) that was launched in 1984. It consists of 105 observation sites that cover all major land-use types in Switzerland (Desaules). The goal of NABO is to monitor and record the long-term patterns of soil pollutant concentrations from chemicals that come from human production and waste. The network process went like this: soil samples were collected and stored in glass containers so that they can be mechanically mixed. Afterwards, each sample was analyzed for detecting concentrations of 8 trace metals, and later stored for comparison with future samples. The baseline concentrations showed that trace metals like lead, copper, and cadmium exceeded guide values, and it was inferred that these values were because of traffic and urbanization (Desaules). After 10 years, it was concluded that soil monitoring is a time-series environmental problem and needs to be taken seriously by the public. In this sense, IT advancements were able to help Switzerland's top environmentalists focus on growing issues like soil pollution so they will know how to write laws that best help Switzerland maintain and improve its environmental sustainability.
Works Cited
Air Pollution. Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Switzerland. Web.
Air Pollution: Switzerland. European Environmental Agency. Copenhagen K, Denmark. 26 Nov, 2010. Web.
Desaules, AndrŽ. Advances in long-term soil-pollution monitoring of Switzerland. Wiley Interscience. Weinheim. 2008. Web.
Freshwater Pollution: Switzerland. European Environmental Agency. Copenhagen K, Denmark. 26 Nov, 2010. Web.
Peter, Martina. Information Technology Ð the key to sustainability? Empa Academic Science Forum. 29 Oct, 2002. Web.
Swiss strategy against Micropollutants. EAWAG Aquatic Research. 1 Oct. 2009. Web.
Switzerland Ranks at Top of 2012 Environmental Performance Index. Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. 26 Jan, 2012. Web.
References:
1. Switzerland's Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy, and Communications
Federal office for the Environment FOEN
2. Switzerland - Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OECD Report
3. European Environmental Agency
Switzerland: Country profile
4. Environmental Impact Assessment Review
A comparison of electronic waste recycling in Switzerland and in India
5. Soil-Pollution Monitoring Report
Advances in long-term soil-pollution monitoring of Switzerland