Last Binding Forest Prize awarded

The Binding forest price was announced for each year on a specific theme. This year, the focus was on "Less is more - sufficiency as the key to success. The Basadingen-Schlattingen community, which received the award today, practices sufficiency forestry out of conviction and with great success. Sufficiency for the benefit of future generations has long been part of the award winner's program, said Georg Schoop, president of the board of trustees, at the ceremony on June 23, 2016. The award winner relies on individual tree care and only cuts down old trees when they have reached the end of their life. This is ecologically valuable and produces remarkable trees with little investment.

"Less is more" - a forward-looking approach for other industries as well
Keynote speaker Prof. Dr. Mathias Binswanger placed the principle of "less is more" in a larger context of economics and happiness research. "There are various empirical indications that more sufficiency not only promotes sustainable development, but also contributes to a happier or more contented life for many people," Binswanger held. Since our current monetary economy is fundamentally geared toward growth and runs into problems without growth, sufficiency quickly becomes a disruptive factor in further economic development, he continued. This contradiction between the inherent growth dynamics of today's economy and sufficiency is a key challenge for the future, he said.

Binding Forest Award has achieved its effect
With the last annual theme "Less is more - Sufficiency as the key to success", the Sophie and Karl Binding Foundation is now drawing to a close after 30 years. During this time, it has honored 30 forest owners who manage their forests in an exemplary manner in terms of ecological, social and economic sustainability. The Binding Forest Award has succeeded in using concrete exemplary examples to show how long-term forest management strategies can be successfully implemented. The award winners
have managed to further develop the ecological potential of their forests, to meet societal needs and to provide above-average economic services. Biodiversity in the Swiss forest today has reached a high level compared to other habitat types. The Binding Forest Award has given impulses and encouraged forest owners and their forest enterprises to implement innovative ideas.

Over the past 30 years, the Binding Foundation has invested around 10 million Swiss francs in the organization and implementation of the Binding Forest Award. In this way, it has supported many new, forward-looking projects and contributed to their realization. The positive examples of the Binding Forest Award winners have had an encouraging effect. The uncertainty and paralysis that prevailed in the 1980s around the topic of "forest dieback" and gave rise to the establishment of the Binding Forest Award has given way to innovative, diversified forest management that meets today's challenges.

Foundation remains active in the environmental field
After 30 years of the Binding Forest Award, the Foundation Board has decided that it would like to use the money previously used for the Forest Award for other projects within the scope of the Foundation's purpose in the future. The commitment to the environment and the program theme of landscape conservation will remain with the foundation. Which project or projects will take the place of the Forest Prize is currently still open.