The objective of the Biodiversity Monitoring in Switzerland programme (BDM) is to identify changes in Switzerland's biodiversity. These data can help to ensure that the country's nature conservation policy is made more effective and more efficient and to scrutinize the efficacy of national policies affecting biodiversity. The BDM allows Switzerland to meet one of the requirements of the Convention on Biological Diversity signed in Rio.
Although biodiversity means not only species diversity but also genetic diversity and habitat diversity, financial and methodical constraints have forced the BDM to focus on monitoring species diversity.
A comprehensive picture of species diversity can only be obtained if changes are monitored on the three levels of diversity. Different pressures come to bear at each level, and different protective strategies need to be pursued to maintain and promote biodiversity.
The change in the species diversity of a country (y-diversity) depends predominantly on the occurrence of rare (and possibly threatened) species. The a-diversity of defined area types, in contrast, depends on the occurrence of common species, regional Bidiversity on widespread species. The BDM employs a separate indicator for each of these three levels. It thus monitors not only rare and threatened species but also common and widespread species. This is done through two coordinated sampling grids. The presence or absence of all the species in selected species groups is recorded in both grids. These samples will allow conclusions to be drawn for Switzerland as a whole, for specific regions and (for a-diversity) for certain types of land use.
In addition to indicators showing the state of biodiversity, the BDM includes indicators for main factors probably affecting biodiversity and for measures that have been implemented. These indicators are presented using the "'Pressure-State-Response model", which allows hypotheses to be developed about possible cause-effect relationships.
The annual results will be presented in a form, accessible to the various target groups and made available to users who need this information. The most important recipients of this information are nature conservation offices, agriculture and forestry, decision makers in politics, environmental organizations and the media.
Hintermann, U., Weber, D., & Zangger, A., 2000: Biodiversity monitoring in Switzerland. Schriftenreihe für Landschaftspflege und Naturschutz 62: 47-58.