Switzerland

…the Alps have clearly got wilder, particularly in the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons).

There are still too many trucks on Swiss roads, says the Swiss Federal Council in its transport shift report. Instead of planning concrete measures to shift goods onto rail, it now wants a new political discussion - which has prompted resistance.

The referendum decisions against "Munich 2022" and "Graubünden 2022" prove that the Olympic spirit is dead. Simply not everyone has yet noticed.

From the Atlantic to the Alps: by 2020 the Rhine will once again be a home to salmon. These migratory fish will then be able to swim unhindered all the way to Basel -short-term by unconventional means where necessary.

… The Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) is this year celebrating its 150th anniversary and has got Mother Nature to build it a table of snow and ice at an altitude of 2,700 metres.

Supporting the implementation of an ecological network continues to be a major issue in the Swiss region of the Lower Engadine. The new "Colliar" project intends to improve co-operation on regional initiatives by different sectors.

The Federal Council has drawn positive conclusions as regards the status of ecological corridors in Switzerland. A pilot project has tested how to successfully reduce collisions between animals and cars. The upcoming research field of landscape genetics provides new insights for the planning and implementation of ecological networks.

... Honesty pays off in the end. This must have been the thought of a 90-year old inhabitant of the Canton of Wallis who had spent his entire life blasting away at animals against the law.