A “people’s initiative” aimed at saving Switzerland’s forests has been submitted to the country’s federal government.
The initiative, which has 115,000 signatures, was started by environmentalist Franz Weber after the government unveiled plans to ease forest restrictions for the timber industry.
Mr Weber’s proposal aims to anchor forest protection in the Swiss constitution.
He says economic and social aspects of forests, as well as biodiversity, have to be addressed.
The initiative, which is backed by the Association of Swiss Forestry Workers, comes as two Austrian companies plan to build major sawmills in Switzerland.
