Environmental organizations and parliamentary groups in Switzerland have launched a popular initiative to include bees, essential pollinators whose populations are in alarming decline around the world, in the federal Constitution.
The initiative needs to collect 100,000 signatures in 18 months for a referendum to be held, following standard procedure in a country where referendums of this type are held three or four times a year.
Green Party deputy Delphine Klopfenstein, one of the organizers of the initiative, highlighted that The protection of bees and the pollination they provide is essential for the production of fruits, vegetables and certain grainsbeing vital to guarantee food security.
The commission, which he presides over, also noted that almost 60 species of wild bees in Switzerland have already become extinct, while half of the remaining approximately 600 species in the country are threatened.
The bee population has declined by more than three-quarters in the country over the past 30 years, the committee added.
The committee also includes representatives from parties such as the PLR (radical liberals) and the Center Party (center-right).
The text of the proposal does not include specific measures to protect bees and pollination (to which other animals, as well as the wind, also contribute), but highlights that these measures would be the responsibility of the State and the cantons.
