Wie viel Wildnis für die Schweiz? Ein Diskussionsbeitrag (Essay)

Abstract

How much wilderness in Switzerland? A contribution to the debate (essay) In national biodiversity strategies, various goals are proposed for how much wilderness there should be, and how much forest should be left to develop according to natural ecosystem processes. This article aims to quantify these objectives. It presents and discusses the state of knowledge about the need for wilderness, the potential to satisfy this need, and the necessary minimum size for wilderness areas. On this basis, it calculates how much wilderness is desirable and possible in Switzerland. For wilderness areas in category Ib of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), a minimum size of 1,000 ha in the Alpine region and 500 ha in the rest of the country is proposed. These areas should be distributed according to ecosystem type and cover about 8% of the land area.