The Binntal Landscape Park is committed to keeping the landscape open

In cooperation with the municipalities, the forest districts and the cantonal office for forest, nature and landscape, the Binntal Landscape Park is committed to combating forest encroachment. In the first stage, 40 particularly valuable areas were identified, which are to be kept open in the future. The project was generously supported by the Swiss Landscape Fund.

According to the Swiss National Forest Inventory, the forest area in Valais is increasing by around 1000 hectares every year. Former agricultural land is usually no longer farmed for economic reasons, there are no tenants or the ownership situation is unclear. In some places, forest expansion can have positive effects such as increased protection against natural hazards, the storage of CO2 or the filtering of drinking water. However, it also leads to a change in the traditional landscape of our valleys, the loss of agricultural land and a reduction in the biodiversity typical of an open landscape.

Measures against the expansion of the forest
This development does not stop at the Binntal Landscape Park. As in other areas, it is neither possible nor sensible to stop forest encroachment everywhere or to reclaim areas that are already overgrown as agricultural land. However, where this is particularly important for biodiversity, agriculture or the landscape and management can be regulated in the long term, measures should be taken to minimise the impact of forest encroachment.

For this reason, a project was launched in the park in 2023 with financial support from the Swiss Landscape Fund to tackle the issue of forest encroachment holistically and across the entire perimeter of the park. The first stage, which was completed this year, analysed where forest is encroaching and where there are valuable areas that should be kept open from a landscape, agricultural or ecological perspective.

40 key areas in the park identified
Using the guidelines for municipalities with forest encroachment from the canton of Valais, technical aids (LiDAR data, aerial image comparisons) were first used to identify the areas in the park that had been particularly affected by forest encroachment in the last ten years or so. The areas were discussed with the forestry districts and the affected municipalities so that practical knowledge and local expertise could be incorporated. This resulted in a good 40 key areas in the Binntal Landscape Park, which are to be kept open for various reasons.

he challenges were discussed in several meetings and inspections with representatives of the relevant stakeholder groups such as forestry, farmers, municipalities and cantonal representatives. How can direct payments be used effectively? What happens to areas for which no more farmers can be found? What options are there for long-term protection? What is the role of the municipalities, the park, the farmers and the forest?

This first stage of the forest ingrowth project has laid important foundations for systematically tackling the challenges. The next step will be to prioritise the key areas so that the first concrete implementation projects can be planned.

Contact: Moritz Clausen, Binntal Landscape Park, 027 971 50 52, 079 299 20 28.

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