Swiss National Park joins exclusive list of protected areas

A sing at the park's entrance in the Romansh language spoken in the region. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Switzerland’s only national park, located in canton Graubünden, has been included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s ‘green list’ of best governed protected areas in the world. 

Only 59 protected areas feature on the green list, which is administered by the Swiss-based IUCN that announced the news on Tuesday.  

“To now belong to the exclusive group of green listed protected areas in the world is a great honour for the Swiss National Park. We hope that we can inspire many other organisations in Switzerland to apply for this valuable label,” said Ruedi Haller, director of the Swiss National Park. 

Established in 1914, the Swiss National Park in southeast Switzerland forms part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Engiadina Val Müstair. According to the IUCN, the park covers 170 km2 of forests, subalpine and alpine meadows, and rocks and screes. It hosts nationally-threatened species such as golden eagles and bearded vultures. Around 120,000 visitors use the hiking trails in the park – which are accessible only on foot and only in the summer months – every year.  

The IUCN praised the park management’s hands-off approach to nature conservation.  

“The focus is on allowing natural processes, not on management to protect single species or communities,” it said in a statement on its website. 

Seven new sites in France and two in Italy were also added to the list on Tuesday. These include the Coloraie du Volcan reserve on Reunion Island, the Contamines-Montjoie national nature reserve (Haute-Savoie), the marshes of the low valleys of the Essonne and Juine rivers (Ile-de-France), the Tour du Valat estate (Bouches-du-Rhône), the Sainte-Victoire national nature reserve (Bouches-du-Rhône), the Haut-Giffre and Aiguilles Rouges national nature reserves (Savoie) and the Natura 2000 site Bassin du Drugeon (Jura). 

The two protected Italian areas joining the list are the Arcipelago Toscano National Park and the Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona and Campigna National Park.