FAQ Landscape

Landscape is the physical environment and the way in which people perceive and experience it. Landscape includes the entire area, i.e. both rural and urban areas. Landscapes are constantly changing, whether due to natural processes, human use and intervention or the climate. (Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, WSL, 2022, p. 8)

_{BAFU/WSL (Hrsg.) 2022: Landschaft im Wandel. Ergebnisse aus dem Monitoringprogramm Landschaftsbeobachtung Schweiz (LABES). Bundesamt für Umwelt (BAFU); Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft (WSL). Umwelt-Zustand Nr. 2219: 53 S.}

The quality of a landscape is mani­fested in the way its particular values and characteristics have developed and how it meets the diverse needs of people and the environment. (Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, 2020, p. 51)

The key aspects of landscape quality are:

• Diversity: The landscape comprises a variety of habitats, species and cultural landscapes that are characterized by their natural and cultural characteristics.

• Uniqueness: Regional characteristics of the landscape that make it distinguishable from others contribute significantly to its identity and character.

• Beauty: Aesthetic and visual qualities of a landscape that promote the experience and connection of the population.

There are also functional aspects of landscape quality:

• Ecological functions: Biodiversity is protected and promoted in a high-quality landscape. For example, near-natural landscapes help to store, filter and provide clean drinking water through their forests, wetlands and soils. Intact ecosystems act like natural water treatment plants and thus ensure the supply of high-quality drinking water to the population.

• Cultural values: A high-quality landscape also incorporates historical and cultural elements, such as sites and monuments, into landscape development.

• Economic and social importance: Landscapes that are an attractive location for tourism, recreation and health.

_{Federal Office for the Environment FOEN (ed.). (2020). Landscape Concept Switzerland (vol. 2011). Federal Office for the Environment FOEN.}

The Swiss Landscape Monitoring Program (LABES) records physical and perceived landscape changes using around 30 indicators. It measures both the physical condition of the landscape and the perception of the population at regular intervals (every ten years). The latest data reveal important changes and trends.

Source: LABES, 2022, p. 8

A distinction must be made between physical changes to the landscape and changes perceived by the population. See below.

Landscape change (physical)

The most important data basis for recording physical landscape changes are area statistics, swisstopo data and satellite images.

• The settlement area is growing, albeit at a slower rate than the population.

• The transport network continues to expand.

• The growing settlements and transport infrastructures are leading to urban sprawl and fragmentation of the landscape. Artificial surfaces are sealing the ground and the building area is also increasing outside the building zones. Settlements and infrastructure are expanding in the lowlands at the expense of cultivated land.

• The diversity of agricultural uses is growing.

• The proportion of biodiversity promotion areas with an ecological quality label is also increasing, but falls short of the corresponding environmental objectives for agriculture.

• In mountain regions, forests are expanding into alpine pastures and meadows, while the forest area remains stable on the Central Plateau and in the Jura. With increasing accessibility through transport infrastructure, remoteness can be experienced in fewer and fewer areas.

Perceived landscape from the population's perspective

Source: LABES, 2022, p. 8

• People perceive landscapes as a whole and interpret them according to their social values or based on their personal experience.

• Compared to the last LABES survey in 2011, the perceived beauty and distinctiveness have not changed in 2020, while the other perceived landscape characteristics show a slightly positive development.

• Changes to the landscape are particularly noticeable to respondents in cities and densely populated agglomerations. The population is predominantly critical of this change.

• The renaturation of rivers and streams is perceived by a large proportion of the population and is viewed positively across the board.

• People feel only slightly disturbed by noise, litter or light pollution when relaxing outdoors.

• Overall, the population tends to rate the beauty of the landscape in their own municipality positively to very positively. The assessment is more positive in rural communities than in urban ones.

• People feel strongly connected to their place of residence through the landscape, can establish a connection to the past and attribute a high degree of uniqueness to the landscape.

The Swiss Landscape Concept (SLC) is an instrument of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) aimed at the spatial development of the Swiss landscape and the safeguarding of its diverse functions. It serves as a strategic basis for spatial planning and design at all levels. The SLC defines binding objectives for nature and landscape that are relevant to various federal policy areas. Cooperation between the various federal offices involved and with the cantons and communes is central to the successful implementation of the SLC.

The landscape in Switzerland has many important functions that are to be protected and promoted by the landscape concept (SLC). These include:

• Habitat for plants and animals: Switzerland is home to a great diversity of species that should be preserved through an intact landscape.

• Recreational space for people: The landscape offers space for recreation and leisure activities and thus contributes to the quality of life.

• Production area for agriculture and forestry: The landscape provides important resources such as food and wood.

• Protection from natural hazards: Intact ecosystems can help to minimize natural hazards such as floods or avalanches.

• Creator of identity and cultural asset: The landscape shapes the identity of Switzerland and its regions and is a valuable cultural asset.

The Swiss landscape is threatened by various factors, which are addressed in the Swiss Landscape Concept (SLC):

• Urban sprawl and urbanization: The expansion of settlement and traffic areas leads to a fragmentation of the landscape.

• Intensification of agriculture: Intensive agricultural use can lead to a decline in biodiversity and to soil and water pollution.

• Climate change: Climate change has an impact on flora and fauna as well as on the availability of resources.

• Increasing conflicts of use: The various demands on the landscape lead to conflicts that need to be resolved.

The SLC formulates various objectives for the protection and sustainable development of the Swiss landscape:

• Preservation and promotion of biodiversity: The biodiversity of the landscape should be preserved and promoted.

• Safeguarding the landscape as a recreational area: The recreational function of the landscape should be safeguarded in the long term.

• Careful use of natural resources: The natural resources of the landscape should be used sustainably.

• Adaptation to climate change: The landscape should be adapted to the effects of climate change.

• Promoting settlement development that is compatible with the landscape: urban sprawl should be curbed and a compact settlement structure should be aimed for.

The objectives of the SLC are implemented at various levels:

Confederation: The Confederation sets the framework conditions for sustainable landscape development and promotes corresponding projects. The various federal offices are responsible for taking account of the binding objectives of the SLC in their respective policy areas and for taking appropriate measures.

Cantons: The cantons are responsible for implementing the SLC in their spatial planning.

Municipalities: The municipalities implement the requirements of the SLC at local level.

Private actors: Private actors such as farmers or landowners also bear responsibility for landscape quality.

The participation of the population is an important component of the SLC. The various stakeholders and the population should be involved in the planning and implementation of landscape-related projects. In the Höfe district of Schwyz, for example, an annual landscape walk is organized for the population so that they can get to know the scenic beauty of their communities better. During these walks, measures that have been implemented as part of the landscape development concept are presented. Here are further examples of how the population can be involved:

State actors:

Confederation: The Confederation sets the legal and strategic framework through laws (e.g. Spatial Planning Act, Nature and Cultural Heritage Protection Act), the Swiss Landscape Concept (SLC) and programs such as the Swiss Biodiversity Strategy.

Cantons: They specify the federal legal requirements in cantonal structure plans and landscape concepts. They are also responsible for the protection and maintenance of regional landscapes.

Municipalities: Local planning and implementation of measures, e.g. through building and utilization plans as well as through the design of local recreation areas and the approval of planning applications.

Private actors:

Agriculturists and forestry enterprises: They shape cultural landscapes through their agricultural and forestry use.

Companies: Companies in sectors such as tourism or energy influence the landscape through construction and economic activities.

Civil society:

Citizens and local communities: Their perception and use of the landscape shapes its development. They are often directly affected by changes.

Associations and NGOs: Organizations such as Pro Natura and the Swiss Foundation for Landscape Conservation are committed to the protection, sustainable use and cultural significance of the landscape.

Science and experts:

Landscape architects, spatial planners and environmental scientists contribute to the design and further development of the landscape through their specialist knowledge and planning.

Further information on the SLC is available on the FOEN website. The document “Landscape Concept Switzerland” can be downloaded there.

The SLC concerns all inhabitants of Switzerland, as it forms the basis for a livable and sustainable design of our living space. Every individual can contribute to sustainable landscape development through their behavior.

Would you like to share your own connection to the landscape? Fill in our questionnaire here (DE/FR/IT) and let us know which landscape (whether urban, rural, wild, industrial) is close to your heart. Your answers could soon be published on our website and inspire others! Respond with our questionnaire: