Swiss Stories

Swiss environment

Swiss environmental protection

Environment
Lakes, mountains and clean air are associated with Switzerland's quality of life. Beyond its picture postcard image, the natural environment is an integral part of Switzerland's identity and has forged the national spirit.
Lake Rotsee © Eawag

The bacteria that could beat climate change

Environment
Lakes emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases, in particular methane, a greenhouse gas more that twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2). One square kilometre of lake can emit 800 times more methane than the same area of ocean.
monte rosa

Amazing Swiss buildings

Environment
Switzerland reflects its architecture: it is a diverse and bold mixture of tradition and high-tech innovation that is constantly striving to adapt to the landscape and to environmental constraints.
Matterhorn © Ivo Scholz/ Switzerland Tourism

The fascinating Matterhorn

Environment
The Matterhorn attracts tourists from all over the world. This mythical summit with the iconic shape exudes such a special aura that its image has even been used to sell a variety of consumer products – some of them quite extraordinary.

by Tatiana Tissot

The fork, Vevey

Swiss outdoor art

Environment
Once you start paying attention to outdoor art in Switzerland, your mind will start bubbling over as you imagine just what kind of masterpieces might be hiding around the corner...

by Kristīne Strazdiņa

Törbel

Sharing water the Swiss way

Environment
A small Swiss mountain village in the beautiful Upper-Valais region near the Matterhorn enjoys the unique distinction of having helped changed ecology - twice. It's all down to its good record-keeping and clever management of its scarce water resources.
gottardo

A green tunnel

Environment
With UNESCO World Heritage sites, nature reserves, an arboretum and a highly active Swiss league for nature protection, wildlife conservation is of concern to the Swiss. The plans for the Gotthard Base Tunnel were drawn up with this in mind. 152 kilometers of shafts and passages were excavated with minimal environmental damage.