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The cost of living in switzerland going up and Switzerland has already used all of it's resources.

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The cost of living in switzerland going up and Switzerland has already used all of it's resources.

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The cost of living in switzerland is very higher and is getting higher, if everyone lived in Switzerland, humanity would need resources from three planets each year. According to wildlife fund.

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If everyone lived like the Swiss, humanity would need the resources of three planets each year.

(¬© Keystone / Alexandra Wey)

As of Tuesday, Switzerland has exhausted all the natural resources at its disposal for 2019, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The country is now living on credit.

In a statementexternal link , WWF Switzerland said that May 7 marks Swiss Overshoot Day - the symbolic calendar date on which the country's resource consumption for the year exceeds Earth's capacity to regenerate those resources.

The date is based on a calculation of the country's ecological impact prepared by the Global Footprint Network; it also corresponds with findings of a study by the Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN), released last September.

"On average, the Swiss population flies three times more often than European citizens, drives the largest cars in Europe and is one of the largest producers of waste in the world," said the WWF.

The environmental organization finds the Swiss produce on average the equivalent of 600 35-litre garbage bags filled with greenhouse gases per person per day. A sustainable society should produce no more than 30 garbage bags - 20 times less than today, it says.

Globally, humans consume natural resources amounting to the equivalent of 1.7 planets per year. If everyone lived like the Swiss, humanity would need the resources of three planets each year.

The FOEN study found the pressure on biodiversity increased by around 14% per person in Switzerland over the last twenty years.

Threat of extinction

The news comes a day after the release of a major report on biodiversityexternal link by the UN-led Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which found that one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction, many within decades.

It also found that human actions are responsible for "significant" changes to three-quarters of the land-based environment and about 66% of the marine environment.

This is the first intergovernmental report on biodiversity of its kind and builds on the landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005.

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SWI swissinfo.ch on Instagram

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WWF: Switzerland's 2019 natural resource quota already used up

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As of Tuesday, Switzerland has exhausted all the natural resources at its disposal for 2019, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The country is now living on credit. In a statementexternal link , WWF Switzerland said that May 7 marks Swiss Overshoot Day - the symbolic calendar date on which the country's resource consumption for the year exceeds Earth's capacity to regenerate those resources.

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Switzerland consumes 2.9 times the amount of natural resources that are available per capita world wide

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Here's what the FSO has to say on the matter:

Switzerland consumes 2.9 times the amount of natural resources that are available per capita worldwide. We are therefore living at the expense of future generations and of other regions of the world.

The Swiss have been living on credit, as it were, since before 1961 - the first year for which the Global Footprint Network provides figures. Back in 1961 they were already using up 1.28 Earths.

How does it compare?

Switzerland is hardly the worst offender. In 2005 the United States was consuming on the assumption that we had six planets at our disposal; it was down to five by 2014. Sweden also does significantly worse than Switzerland, using up around four Earth's worth of resources. The Swiss could get offended and make this point the next time someone thinks they're from Sweden, but somehow saying, "Hey, I only use up three planets-they use four," doesn't seem a very satisfying retort.

Where does the footprint come from?

Three quarters of Switzerland's triple-earth ecological footprint is due to the consumption of fossil fuels. This is particularly disturbing when you consider that Swiss electrical power comes almost exclusively from hydro and nuclear plants, (59.6 percent hydro, 31.7 percent nuclear); that Switzerland has the most intensively-used railway system in the world (with 90 percent of its energy coming from hydropower); and that its recycling practices were recently ranked fifth internationally by the environmental consultancy firm Eunomia Research: 49.7 percent of the manufacturing and household waste produced in Switzerland gets recycled. (Switzerland is beaten out by Germany, Austria, South Korea and Wales.)

Still, despite the excellent railways, there are 4.5 million cars on Swiss roads-that's three cars for every Swiss cow. Each one of them covers (on average) 34 kilometres per day. And while a popular initiative to ban fossil fuels entirely by 2050 (Glacier initiative) is currently collecting signatures, and even has some moderate politicians on board, the opposition is already making loud noises.

Not that the Glacier initiative will save the glaciers. As glaciologist Matthias Huss of Zurich's ETH technology institute says, "There's no rescuing Swiss glaciers. Any slowdown in global warming will come too late."

"I only hope," says Samuel Nussbaumer of the University of Zurich, "that we will be able to preserve at least a few small pieces of the very highest glaciers."

By 2100, 80 to 90 percent of Swiss ice will be gone.

Ecosystems and biodiversity

It gets worse. The ecological footprint doesn't take into account the destruction of ecosystems or the loss of biodiversity. And behind the pristine picture of Swiss alpine agriculture, and behind all that "clean" hydropower, lurk more demons. Hydropower (also known as "white coal") involves the large-scale destruction of ecosystems: the displacement and straightening of streams and the construction of the artificial lakes, dams and transmission lines which have come to dominate the Alpine landscape.

Animal Agriculture

And speaking of cows-those lush green meadows that you see during the summer months are so lush and green because they have been sprayed with slurry, a heady mix of manure and urine that ages in tanks under most Swiss barns. Slurry fumes are toxic enough to kill both cattle and humans (for example, the Irish rugby star Nevin Spence in 2012, and a group of seven cows on a Swiss farm in 2013).

The picture postcard side of Swiss agriculture has a dark side. Photo: AFP

When slurry is sprayed on fields, significant quantities of ammonia, a powerful air pollutant, are released, as well as two of the most potent greenhouse gases - methane and nitrous oxide. (85 percent of the ammonia and 80 percent of the methane released into Swiss air comes from animal agriculture, 80 percent of nitrous oxide from the use of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture.)

The richly fertilised grass significantly ups milk production, but other forms of plant and animal life don't fare so well - the rich alpine flora gets killed off by the overwhelming power of the slurry. And with the flowers go the insects, and with the insects the small vertebrates and birds. Slurry is thus responsible for a terrible loss of biodiversity in Swiss meadows - so much so that the government pays farmers not to spray it.

But we're not finished yet. All that slurry deposits far too much nitrogen in the soil - 60 percent more than it can handle, according to Swiss government studies - and from the ground the nitrogen ends up in the water. Some 45 percent of streams and ponds on Swiss agricultural land contain more than the permitted maximum level of nitrates, and this kills both water life and birds.

Slurry, regular manure, and the flatulence and belching of cows together make up the number one source of methane and nitrous oxide released into Swiss air, and Swiss agriculture overall produces - again according to government studies - around 14 percent of the greenhouse gases released in the entire country.

Hard hit by climate change

Switzerland is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Climate physicist Reto Knutti of ETH notes that: "Seen historically, the temperature increase in Switzerland has been about double the world average-worldwide one degree since pre-industrial times, but in Switzerland two."

This is partly due to the melting of glaciers and the earlier melting of snow in the spring. The snow and ice melt because the air is warmer and the air then gets warmer because it's not cooled (and the sunlight is not reflected) by the snow and ice-a vicious loop.

Switzerland's Aletsch Glacier is the largest in the Alps. File photo: AFP

Of course, this doesn't bode well for the ski industry. Knutti points out that by the end of the century, assuming a "moderate emissions scenario", the snow season will be shorter by four to eight weeks, and the snow level will lie some 500 to 700 metres higher than it does today. "For all ski areas at intermediate altitudes-that is, between 1000 and 2000 metres-things will become very problematic."

Very problematic indeed. And yet another incentive to cut down on the number of Earths that Switzerland is using up.

Ashley Curtis is the author "Why Do The Swiss Have Such Great Sex: Extraordinary Answers to 66 Improbable Questions about Switzerland", published by Bergli Books.

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Here's what the FSO has to say on the matter: Switzerland consumes 2.9 times the amount of natural resources that are available per capita worldwide. We are therefore living at the expense of future generations and of other regions of the world.

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Andora's Natural resources , industry and agriculture 

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Andora's Natural resources , industry and agriculture 

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Climate of the country allows to cultivate tobacco  — a major crop of Andorra. There are small food industry enterprises (mostly, cheese producers) and also furniture factory. The rural dwellers are mostly occupied with sheep breeding.  Barley, rye, wheat,  oats, potatoes and grapes are cropped at the valleys and lower parts of the hills. The development of agricultural sector is limited because only 2% of the territory can be used as ploughed fields. The majority of agricultural products are imported.

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Andorra: industry, agriculture, natural resources
Climate of the country allows to cultivate tobacco - a major crop of Andorra. There are small food industry enterprises (mostly, cheese producers) and also furniture factory. The rural dwellers are mostly occupied with sheep breeding. Barley, rye, wheat, oats, potatoes and grapes are cropped at the valleys and lower parts of the hills. The development of agricultural sector is limited because only 2% of the territory can be used as ploughed fields. The majority of agricultural products are imported.

There are small deposits of iron ore, lead and marble. Thermal spring waters at Escaldes area could also be attributed to natural resources. The only hydro plant in the country was built in that area. The self-production of electric power supplies only 30% of the needs, the rest is substituted by the import from Spain and France.

The article "Consumption rates for electric energy in Andorra" can be found

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Andorra: industry, agriculture, natural resources Climate of the country allows to cultivate tobacco -- a major crop of Andorra. There are small food industry enterprises (mostly, cheese producers) and also furniture factory. The rural dwellers are mostly occupied with sheep breeding. Barley, rye

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so basically,the project is about a bout testing the minerals found in  Serbia in the main case diamonds.
This means that more people in the country are going to get jobs and it is going to increase the countries economy.

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Overview

Through an aggregate C$3.3 million equity investment in Medgold Resources Corp. (TSX.V: MED), Fortuna funded a Strategic Alliance with Medgold and entered into an option agreement in respect of the Tlamino Project (see Medgold news releases dated January 9, 2017, February 9, 2017, and March 7, 2017).

Exploration work on the Tlamino Project in 2019 will consist of maiden metallurgical testing on the mineralized material intersected in the 2018 Barje Project drill program and approximately 4,000 meters of diamond drilling on the Barje and Karamanaica Targets (see Medgold news releases dated June 11, 2018, June 18, 2018, July 5, 2018, July 18, 2018, September 20, 2018 and November 19, 2018). Fortuna retains the right to earn a 51% interest in the Tlamino Project by spending $3.0 million by March 2020, and gain an additional 19% interest by spending a further $5.0 million and completing a preliminary economic assessment by March 2023.

The following jurisdictional and exploration summary is taken verbatim from the Medgold Resources website (effective 7 September 2016):

"Serbia is a relatively small land-locked country in southern Europe, approximately one third the size of the UK with a population of just over 7 million people. It borders Bulgaria and Romania to the east, Hungary to the north; Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro to the west. After the political turmoil that swept the Balkans following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1980s and 1990s, the country has finally stabilized and Serbia officially applied for membership of the EU in 2009.

Mining has always been an important part of the Serbian economy. In 2013, mining and quarrying accounted for 2% of the GDP and employed over 22,000 people. The industry produces primarily copper, iron and steel with significant production of gold, lead, coal, salt and selenium. For many decades the largest mining operation in the country has been the State-owned Rudarsko Topionicki Bazen Bor ("Bor") copper-gold mine.

In the last few years, there's been a huge increase in interest in Serbia's mineral potential following Reservoir Minerals discovery of high sulphidation copper-gold mineralization at Cukaru just south of Bor. Medgold joins at least six other companies which were engaged in gold and copper exploration in Serbia, including Canadian companies Avala Resources Ltd., Euromax Resources Ltd., Mundoro Capital Inc., First Quantum Minerals Ltd., and Reservoir Minerals Inc., as well as Orogen Gold plc of the United Kingdom. In addition, the major miners Rio Tinto and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold are working in the country under JV's with third parties.

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Through an aggregate C$3.3 million equity investment in Medgold Resources Corp. (TSX.V: MED), Fortuna funded a Strategic Alliance with Medgold and entered into an option agreement in respect of the Tlamino Project (see Medgold news releases dated January 9, 2017, February 9, 2017, and March 7, 2017).

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serbia exploits less natural resources in the region.

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serbia exploits less natural resources in the region.

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Serbia exploits the least amount of natural resources in the western Balkans, where the biggest demand on environment comes from Slovenia, the world wide fund of nature(WWF) says in it's latest report.

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Serbia exploits the least amount of natural resources in the Western Balkans, where the biggest demand on the environment comes from Slovenia.

Serbia exploits the least amount of natural resources in the Western Balkans, where the biggest demand on the environment comes from Slovenia, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says in its latest report.

Using a benchmark system of per capita 'ecological footprints', showing the impact of human demand on nature, WWF lists Croatia as having the least sustainable footprint in the Balkans (1.86) - which means that it consumes almost twice what the eco-system can provide.

The 'Living Planet' report for 2014 says that Bosnia-Herzegovina's footprint is 1.46 and only Serbia, whose footprint is 1.43, exploits fewer natural resources, but still too much to make Earth's eco-system sustainable.

While Serbia's demand on the environment is identical to the global average, Slovenia's is much higher, a footprint of 2.64, and Macedonia's footprint is 1.7.

The survey, conducted every two years, shows that the world's 'ecological footprint' continues to grow and that the Humanity currently needs the regenerative capacity of 1.5 Earths to provide the ecological goods and services it uses each year.

The report lists Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore, the United States, Bahrain and Sweden as 10 countries with the greatest per capita ecological footprint.

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Serbia exploits least natural resources in region

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Serbia exploits the least amount of natural resources in the Western Balkans, where the biggest demand on the environment comes from Slovenia. Serbia exploits the least amount of natural resources in the Western Balkans, where the biggest demand on the environment comes from Slovenia, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says in its latest report.

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Uganda uses its Uranium deposits for nuclear power.

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Uganda uses its Uranium deposits for nuclear power.

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Russia and Uganda agreed to work together in the field of nuclear energy, this comes as Moscow seeks to strengthen its influence in Africa.

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By AFP
More by this Author

Russia and Uganda have agreed to work together in the field of nuclear energy, the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said Wednesday.

This comes as Moscow seeks to strengthen its influence in Africa.

State-owned Russian companies have been key part of the strategy to bolster Moscow's presence in Africa.

President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to use Uganda's uranium deposits to develop nuclear power.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday by a Rosatom representative and Ugandan Energy Minister Irene Muloni on the side-lines of the International Atomic Energy Agency's general conference in Vienna.

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The deal "lays the foundation for specific cooperation between Russia and Uganda" in the field of nuclear energy, Rosatom said.

It also paves way for working together in "the creation of nuclear energy infrastructure, the production of radioisotopes for industry, medicine, agriculture, as well as the training of personnel".

Rosatom said the parties had agreed to organise visits by specialists in the "near future".

Moscow first signed a memorandum of understanding with Kampala on nuclear energy in 2017, ahead of Beijing, which signed a similar agreement in 2018.

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By AFP More by this Author Russia and Uganda have agreed to work together in the field of nuclear energy, the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said Wednesday. This comes as Moscow seeks to strengthen its influence in Africa. State-owned Russian companies have been key part of the strategy to bolster Moscow's presence in Africa.

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A focus on Environmental and natural resources.

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A focus on Environmental and natural resources.

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There is an organisation in the eastern Caribbean states who have a project to prepare National Land policy which is intended to help and guide help develop the present and future of the country