Integrating biodiversity into intergovernmental fiscal transfers based on cantonal benchmarking:: a Swiss case study

Biodiversity is under major pressure, as are the substantial services it provides to society. Although the protection of biodiversity must be encouraged at different political and spatial levels, a particularly appropriate starting point is the regional level. In order to provide incentives for the relevant political bodies, it is proposed that biodiversity Should be considered in intergovernmental fiscal transfers. It is further suggested that these transfers are measured in line with the results of a biodiversity benchmarking exercise on plant species diversity in the various cantons. This biodiversity benchmarking is based on the species rarefaction method and a fitted power function. For the purpose of illustration, financial transfers are calculated. In this way, a Swiss transfer scheme that is currently under discussion is extended, and a biodiversity index that determines the transfer is introduced as an additional factor. It is shown that financial transfers change according to 1) the weighting of biodiversity and the minimum requirement for eligibility, 2) the size of the cantons, and 3) the influence of other structural particularities relevant to biodiversity. Hence, there is no single optimal solution; the way biodiversity is integrated into fiscal transfer will call for political and scientific deliberation. Such deliberation will also offer opportunities to better understand the role of fiscal policy in conservation policy.