Hub Bern

Designing our world for sustainability

We work to promote sustainable human activities and people–nature interactions in ecologically sensitive areas, enable a transformation to sustainable energy systems in urban and rural regions , including carbon-neutral tourism, and encourage steps toward a more sustainable food system.

Location/region:

Canton of Bern, Switzerland

Population:

Over 1 million

Biodiversity:

Biodiversity in the Canton of Bern is under multifaceted pressure. The status of aquatic biodiversity is significantly worse than that of terrestrial biodiversity. As a mountainous, agricultural canton, Bern is heavily affected by global climate change. It is experiencing an increase in dry summers, heavy precipitation, high-temperature days, and snow-poor winters.

Region

Switzerland faces numerous challenges that threaten its diverse natural and cultural landscapes. These challenges are wide-ranging and include both specific practices and the general lifestyles of local society. Most of the Swiss population’s environmental impact originates from transport, housing, and food. The Wyss Academy intends the Hub Bern to be a source of inspiration for other European regions that will also one day need to redefine the relationship between their people and nature. The Hub Bern’s incubators focus on a range of different but interconnected topics, such as carbon reduction and renewable energy, the circular economy and regional value chains, ecological infrastructure and functional ecosystem services, and the restoration of biodiversity in water bodies and on land. All of these issues have an impact on nature and on the people living in Switzerland’s cultural landscapes.

Stopping biodiversity loss in water bodies – despite climate change

This year the Wyss Academy has focused on a project to stop biodiversity loss in water bodies, despite the challenges posed by climate change. The project involves the development and implementation of new strategies together with the relevant actors to protect and restore aquatic ecosystems in Switzerland and beyond.

The project focuses on freshwater habitats, which are among the most threatened ecosystems globally. Climate change, pollution, and other human activities have had a severe impact on these habitats, causing biodiversity loss and water quality degradation.

In the first project phase, which will be concluded at the end of 2023, the project partners are collecting high-resolution data on fish diversity and ecological needs in the Aare catchment. The effects of human-made factors on fish distribution were statistically analyzed alongside climate models. A participatory process with stakeholders was launched to jointly prioritize measures and define pilot projects for implementation in the Canton of Bern and throughout Switzerland.

The project is expected to have a significant impact on freshwater conservation and to help mitigate the effects of climate change on aquatic ecosystems.