Biodiversity - the variety of life on Earth - is the very foundation of our livelihood. Its economic, ecological, social and aesthetic value cannot be overstated. In 2002, the heads of states and governments met at the Earth Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg) and called for "the achievement by 2010 of a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biological diversity". The Ministers of Environment and Heads of Delegations from 51 countries from Europe went a step further: at the 5^th "Environment for Europe" Ministerial Conference held in May 2003 in Kiev, they reinforced their objective to halt the loss of biodiversity at all levels by the year 2010. Have we achieved these targets? The present study provides well-documented answers to this question for Switzerland, based on scientific facts.
The overall analysis shows that Switzerland suffered heavy biodiversity losses from 1900 to 1990. During the last 20 years programmes and activities for the conservation of biodiversity have succeeded in reducing or even halting the loss of elements of biodiversity, some of them even showing signs of recovery. However, especially in the lowlands, e.g. the Central Plateau and the densely populated alpine valleys, these welcome signs of recovery take place from a low baseline level of biodiversity in contrast to mountain areas where a biodiversity baseline is ascertained. [...]