With the Wyss Academy for Nature, a globally leading research and implementation center in the field of nature and people is being set up at the University of Bern. 

The entrepreneur and patron, Hansjörg Wyss, the President of the Government of the Canton of Bern, Christoph Ammann, and the Rector of the University of Bern, Christian Leumann, ceremoniously signed the contract today. 

Over the next 10 years, 200 million francs are going to be invested.

Rapid biodiversity losses, accelerated climate change, and a growing demand for land resources – these developments and their consequences are closely interrelated. Where this is concerned, the following question is becoming increasingly pressing: How can the necessary nature conservation be reconciled with human well-being? The coming decade will be decisive in terms of whether and how we come up with forward-looking solutions on a global scale.

This is exactly the area in which the Wyss Academy for Nature tackles this issue: teams of scientists will join forces with experienced experts and representatives from the fields of policy, business and civil society on four continents to develop innovations aimed at protecting nature and ensuring the sustainable use thereof. 

The implementation-oriented applications, strategies and policy guidelines are tested at the hubs of the Wyss Academy and extended to other regions. The way the different stakeholders cooperate is also new: it breaks up the conventional silos of science, nature conservation, development cooperation and policy making. In this way, scientific findings are applied quickly and can take effect.

Cantonal Government President, Christoph Ammann, is convinced that "founding the Wyss Academy for Nature at the university presents a unique opportunity for the Canton of Bern," adding that the University could become the world’s leading authority on transformational research. In his opinion, its close proximity to the Swiss Government and various federal administrative bodies facilitates cooperation at a national level and ensures its nationwide appeal. He goes on to say that apart from the benefit of gaining a reputation as an excellent location for higher education institutions, the Canton of Bern will also profit financially because establishing the Wyss Academy will lead to the creation of about 50 high-skilled jobs in the Bern region.