Locarnese National Park will not happen

«It is good for nature and the environment, but also for the villages and valleys, because it gives them a future», said Elvio Della Giacoma, mayor of Brissago, ahead of the vote.

Editorial team Wild beim Wild — 10 June 2018

After militant recreational hunter gangs from Ticino had massively campaigned against the project ahead of the vote on 10 June 2018 for a second national park in Switzerland, common sense was unable to prevail.

At the end of November 2016, voters in the cantons of Graubünden and Ticino had already rejected a national park around the Rheinwaldhorn, the Adula Park, at the ballot box. Even then, the short-sighted recreational hunters were largely opposed and stirred up negative sentiment with fear-mongering and propaganda lies accordingly.

National Councillor Fabio Regazzi (CVP) and president of the Ticino hunter gangs (FCTI), with around 3’100 active hunters in the canton, of whom 700 reside within the national park area, were now also virtually unanimously opposed to a «Locarnese National Park» and thus opposed to innovation, future prospects for young people, and the common good.

These militant recreational hunter gangs set an aggressive and hostile tone in the run-up to the vote, dividing an entire region and community with their vague ideology.

Switzerland will therefore not receive a second national park, at least not in the near future: in the canton of Ticino, voters from eight municipalities rejected the creation of the «Locarnese National Park» with 4’279 votes against compared to 4’170 votes in favor.

Of the eight municipalities in the Centovalli and Valle Maggia region, only two voted in favor of the national park, while six voted against it. In doing so, they left the municipal councils involved out in the cold, given that all eight municipal authorities had previously declared their support for the creation of a national park. Ascona and Bosco Gurin voted in favor of the park. Brissago, Centovalli, Losone, Onsernone, Ronco sopra Ascona and Terre di Pedemonte voted against it.

Already during the extremely heated referendum campaign, it had become clear that the project would have a difficult time at the ballot box. With this, the hobby hunters have claimed a victory. They had feared an expansion of the hunting ban and other restrictions.

Which once again proves that meaningful animal and nature conservation work on a large scale is incompatible with hobby hunters. – IG Wild beim Wild

The Locarnese National Park would have been roughly the same size as the canton of Zug. For various reasons, mass tourism will never take hold in the region. The area appeals to people who enjoy hiking and respect nature and wildlife.

In addition to boosting the region's tourism image, the National Park's directorate estimated that 250 to 300 million francs could have been generated over the next 10 years through the creation of around 200 direct and indirect jobs.

«It is good for nature and the environment, but also for the villages and valleys, because it gives them a future», said Elvio Della Giacoma, mayor of Brissago, ahead of the vote. The territory would be enhanced, and the rural exodus from the valleys could potentially be halted. Once again, the hobby hunters have spoiled this for the collective. And this, despite the fact that a further vote on the park and its success story could have been held in 10 years' time.

The Locarnese region is distinguished by a remarkable diversity of landscapes and cultural spaces. Nature is shaped by a wide variety of climate zones that succeed one another over short distances. Between the Brissago Islands, the lowest point of the planned national park at 193 metres above sea level, and the Wandfluhhorn (Pizzo Biela) at 2,864 metres above sea level above Bosco Gurin, there are only 35 kilometres. Such a rich landscape and natural environment, paired with a vibrant and tradition-steeped culture, is rarely found in Switzerland, let alone within a comparatively small area. The park would have united regional development and nature conservation under one roof.

Italy has 24 national parks, Germany has 16. In Switzerland there is only one – the Swiss National Park established in 1914 in the Engadin.