Trees: the City of Geneva undertakes to comply with the wishes of the Municipal Council and the population as a whole

Henceforth, for each tree felled, three new trees will be planted. The City also undertakes to improve its communication concerning the reasons for cutting trees down. It will put these commitments into practice from the very next felling operations scheduled for late June/early July.

The City of Geneva is home to almost 40,000 trees, not to mention those in the 70 hectares of woodland of the Bois-de-Frères, Bois-de-la-Bâtie and Nant-de-Châtillon. Wherever you go in Geneva, trees enhance the quality of life in the different districts while increasing local resilience to climate change. The municipal authorities are fully aware of this, just as they know that in light of the climate emergency, re-vegetating the city is no longer an option but a necessity. To this end, the City adopted the Strategic Re-vegetation Plan 2030 in 2019 and intends to implement an ambitious tree-planting policy within the different districts.

Day-to-day tree management: constant care and exceptional felling  

At the same time, it is important to take care of the existing trees within the municipality. In urban areas, trees primarily suffer from pollution, but are also subject to wounds caused by vehicles, land overuse and vandalism. Furthermore, certain species – such as beech trees – are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. These factors naturally affect their lifespan. With this in mind, the Parks and Gardens Service (SEVE) identified 813 trees in 2019 which required a more in-depth examination. In August, it commissioned an independent expert to evaluate the threat level to these trees using the “Tree Health Diagnostic” method, recognised throughout Europe.

The results of this expertise, presented in February 2020, made it possible to launch rescue work on numerous trees. At the same time, the evaluation served to identify 29 seriously damaged trees which had to be cut down due to the impossibility of providing care and the major safety risks they represented. Tasked with examining the issue in March 2020, the Cantonal Office of Agriculture and Nature (OCAN) confirmed the serious condition of these 29 trees. On 27 May, it authorised the SEVE to cut the trees down, granting it a period of thirty days to complete the work.  

Respect for the wishes of the people 

The Finance, Environment and Housing Department (DFEL) has taken note of the legitimate demands of the population and the Municipal Council (MC) concerning the felling of trees. In light of the MC’s adoption of the “Arbres abattus en Ville de Genève stop au massacre” motion (M-1458) and the submission to the Administrative Council of the petition entitled “Arbres abattus en Ville de Genève: Halte au massacre! Pour un moratoire sur toute nouvelle coupe d’arbre!” (P-413), the decision was taken to plant three similar development trees for each tree cut down. The 29 trees soon to be felled will therefore be replaced, either on the same site or in a different location, by 87 trees during the next planting season between November 2020 and March 2021.

According to Mr Alfonso Gomez, Administrative Councillor responsible for the DFEL, “the City’s trees must not only be maintained but reinforced, with the aim of expanding the proportion of wooded areas from 21% to 30% by 2030. This means planting trees, removing tarmac and working on the elements and conditions affecting the health of the trees by implementing a rapid transition towards a sustainable model of society”.  

Increased information 

Ultimately, Mr Alfonso Gomez undertakes to improve communication and enhance awareness on this key issue. For example, explanatory notices will now systematically be placed near diseased trees. At the same time, the City of Geneva has decided to organise a guided visit of three representative sites concerned by the forthcoming felling operations on Monday 22 June, according to the following programme: 

• 11.30 a.m.: Place Dorcière (bus station)
• 12.30 p.m.: Parc des Cropettes (corner of rue du Fort-Barreau and rue de Montbrillant)
• 1.30 p.m.: Parc Mon Repos (in front of the SEVE administrative building at 116 rue de Lausanne)

Anyone interested can register for the visit until 8 a.m. on Monday 22 June by sending their surname and first name to @email