Unique CH beech forests are Unesco jewel
Why go far afield - Switzerland has places to offer that are included on Unesco's World Heritage List. The ancient beech forests in three Ticino valleys and on the Bettlachstock in Solothurn have just been included.
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As the most common tree species in Central Europe, beech is characterized by its adaptability to different climatic and geographical conditions. However, human intervention is exerting strong pressure on virgin and ancient beech forests, leaving only a few remnants. For this reason, Switzerland has proposed the inscription of two beech forest reserves on the World Heritage List. The World Heritage Committee approved this proposal on July 28, 2021, after a detailed inspection, and inscribed the ancient beech forests in the valleys of Lodano, Busai and Soladino (TI) and on the Bettlachstock (SO) on the World Heritage List (World Heritage List CH, Swiss Unesco Commission).
Over 170 years old trees
With trees over 170 years old and a total area of more than 1,000 hectares, these two Swiss forest reserves are a valuable genetic reservoir not only for beech, but also for numerous associated animal and plant species dependent on these habitats. The natural forest reserves are open to the public and allow the preservation of biodiversity by limiting forestry interventions, as emphasized by the Federal Office for the Environment (Bafu). The Swiss forest reserves included in the Unesco World Heritage List are part of a transnational ensemble: 94 beech forests in 18 countries form a single World Heritage Site, it said. Protection and management of this natural heritage requires cooperation and coordination between these countries.
"The decision recognizes Switzerland's commitment to ecosystem protection at the global level and acknowledges the quality of its policy for the promotion of biodiversity in forests," explains Bafu Director Katrin Schneeberger.
Source: Bafu
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Places in Switzerland on the World Heritage List
The World Heritage List is an instrument of the Unesco Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention). It contains the objects whose outstanding universal value has been recognized by the World Heritage Committee. In Switzerland, 13 objects are included in the World Heritage List listed, four of them as natural heritage sites:
- Ancient beech forests in the cantons of Ticino and Solothurn
- Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch
- the Monte San Giorgio
- the Tectonic Arena Sardona
The other nine objects are cultural heritage sites.
