How rural communities can contribute to the protection of natural resources

We have been living “on credit” for months: Swiss Overshoot Day, the day on which Switzerland used up its allocated natural resources, was a long time ago. The planet cannot sustain the consumption that has taken place since then in the long term.

What can rural communities do politically to ensure that their populations consume fewer natural resources? What framework can they create to promote sufficient living and economic activity? Economist Tonja Iten at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL has examined what sufficiency policies might look like in small and medium-sized rural communities.

The aim of these policies is to keep resource consumption within planetary boundaries while still enabling a good quality of life.

Living well in rural communities

The research team visited 46 communities throughout Switzerland and found a wide range of sufficiency measures, with mobility as a focal point. Among other things, the researchers found a free bus connecting three villages and free public transport for tourists, funded by a higher visitor tax.

“There are already a number of studies and programs on sufficiency in cities,” says Iten. These include mixed-use neighborhoods, which reduce commuting distances, or urban agriculture, which shortens supply chains. Sufficiency policies in rural areas, on the other hand, have hardly been studied.

Therefore, the research team surveyed local councilors in rural Switzerland on the importance of sufficiency in their villages, the initiatives in place, and driving forces or barriers encountered. The results have now been published in the journal Environmental Policy and Governance.

Individuals can make a big difference

So far, sufficiency has found little way into politics. This makes personal initiative and committed individuals all the more important. “In one of the surveyed municipalities, a resident had proposed a climate strategy,” says Iten. “This paved the way for numerous sufficiency measures.”

A political mandate can have a similar effect. “Municipalities can give themselves a mandate by, for example, writing the goal of economical resource use into their municipal regulations or participating in a program such as Energy City,” reports Iten.

Pilot projects are also important as they make sufficiency measures, along with their benefits, visible and tangible. If, for example, a 30 km/h zone is initially perceived as a disruptive intervention, practical testing can show that it improves quality of life and safety.

Equally important are the authorities’ exemplary roles, participation and skillful communication: “Presenting a planned cycle path to the population during a public walk, for example, builds trust and ensures that the project meets local needs,” says Iten.

Sufficiency policies are often hampered by limited resources: In small communities, time, personnel and finances are usually scarce and dedicated to other tasks. Financial support from the federal government or canton can help overcome this. Additional obstacles include perceived resistance among the population, lack of interest or higher prioritization of other issues.

Sufficiency as a side effect

The municipalities surveyed were not chosen at random: the research team deliberately sought out those pursuing more ambitious sustainability goals—and documented a total of more than 500 planned or implemented measures.

“Many of these measures were not explicitly about sufficiency,” Iten notes, “but focused primarily on other goals.” For example, strengthening the local economy by purchasing food from local producers for daycare centers or retirement homes. This also shortens transport distances, saves resources and thus makes the municipality more sufficient.

Thus, even though only two of the surveyed municipalities used the term “sufficiency,” rural municipalities already have a whole range of levers at their disposal to pursue sufficiency policies.

Different strategies exist with various sustainability levels

• “Efficiency” means consuming or producing the same amount with fewer resources.
• “Consistency” refers to designing products and services in an environmentally friendly way and closing the resource loop.
• “Sufficiency” means consuming and producing less, using fewer resources, in a slower and more local manner. Examples include cycling instead of driving, buying regional food and setting up repair cafés.

Sufficiency policy creates framework conditions for a sufficient lifestyle and economy. It is based on the concept of planetary boundaries, which describes the extent to which humanity can use natural resources and burden key ecological systems without endangering the stability of Earth and thus our livelihoods.