Mit dem Biber leben - Schweizer Informationssystem Biodiversität

Summary
power stations, reactivate bedload management and re-establish the continuity of
watercourses for fish.
This measure will give the cantons practical tools for use in the restoration of watercourses
to a natural state. However, they will have to designate zones for watercourses
and ensure that they are taken into account in structural and land-use planning. These
zones must be landscaped and managed on an extensive basis in the future. The cantons
are also obliged to develop and implement rehabilitation programmes. They are
required by the Confederation to rehabilitate around 4000 km of watercourses over the
next 80 years. Up to 65 % (approximately CHF 40 million annually) of the funding for
these measures will be provided from regular federal resources on the basis of fouryear
programme agreements between the Confederation and cantons.
The measures may help to resolve numerous possible future conflicts through the
creation of new habitats for the beaver.
It is essential that the beaver be incorporated into these rehabilitation programmes and
general water protection measures from the outset. In fact, the species constitutes an
ideal partner when it comes to the designation of watercourse zones and the development
of rehabilitation programmes: as an indicator species, it shows us where our
activities extend too close to the water’s edge and where our watercourses need greater
species diversity. As a flagship species, it can canvass for the restoration of naturally
flowing watercourses, as a keystone species it helps to create new habitats for many
species of animals, fungi and plants, and as a landscape architect it helps rehabilitate
watercourses free of charge.
The beaver will spread further and populate watercourses which, in their current state,
do not yet allow its conflict-free presence. Because the rehabilitation of our watercourses
is a task that extends across several generations and the necessary space cannot
always be guaranteed for watercourses, other short-term solutions are also required.
The Konzept Biber Schweiz (Swiss Beaver Strategy) is an implementation guide created
for the cantonal authorities. However past experience has shown that many processes
and areas of responsibility vary from canton to canton.
With the current development of the beaver population and the probable increase of the
number of conflicts with the species, we must shift the focus from its strict protection
to its management. The cantons should draw up cantonal action plans or strategies for
this purpose. These are also indispensable tools to regulate beaver management at
cantonal level. The strategies must provide a sound basis for the promotion of the
beaver, the avoidance of conflicts and eventual control measures at population level.
Because the beaver does not know the meaning of cantonal borders, cooperation
between the cantons based on catchment areas is recommended.
In the event of conflicts with the beaver, long-term solutions implemented on the
watercourses and based on rehabilitation should always be sought. Such solutions offer
the best and most-cost effective protection in the long term. Moreover, they not only
benefit the beaver from them, but many other animal and plant species too. Finally, our
society also profits in that naturally flowing watercourses can provide important ecosystem
services.
19
The beaver: an important partner
Cantonal action plans
and concepts