Key facts
The Confederation pays around CHF 450 million annually with the aim of preserving and promoting biodiversity in agriculture. Firstly, farmers receive quality contributions if they comply with certain requirements, such as the time of cutting grass or if there is a certain amount of biodiversity on their land. Secondly, there are networking contributions: the cantons define measures in projects to specifically promote important species and to improve connectivity between the areas. The Confederation fully funds the quality contributions and the cantons contribute 10% of the funding for networking. The Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) exercises overall supervision.
The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) conducted a performance audit of the biodiversity contributions. It focussed on the economic use of financial resources. According to federal surveys, the various types of biodiversity contributions have an overall positive effect on biodiversity. However, the use of funds is not efficient in various areas. Various efforts by the FOAG to increase the effectiveness of biodiversity promotion areas, for example by providing more advice or targeted measures in arable areas, failed in Parliament.
