On the Amden alp the water arrives by helicopter, and the alp farmer pays

Drought is putting eastern Switzerland’s alp farmers under severe strain. On the Oberchäseren alp, in the municipality of Amden in the canton of St Gallen, water is brought in by helicopter. The costs fall entirely on the farm.

The cause is the intense heat of recent weeks and the resulting water shortage. Despite rainfall in the past few days the situation remains critical. Pius Jöhl, 52, is spending his fifty-first summer on this alp this year and recalls summers as dry as this only in 2003, 2015 and 2018. There is still fodder for the grazing animals, but the springs are drying up and rainwater is scarce.

Three to five flights a day are made to the alp. Each flight carries a single tank holding a thousand litres. Jöhl draws the water from his own springs or from his farm down in the valley. «Lo faccio per il bene degli altri contadini e degli animali» (I do it for the good of the other farmers and of the animals), he told the Keystone-ATS agency: on other alps conditions are said to be even worse. Transport costs, all borne by him, already exceed 10,000 francs.

Who pays for prevention

The canton confirms that the flights carried out so far were organised by the alp farmers themselves. The authorities’ strategy, however, is different. Climate projections suggest that periods of low rainfall may recur more often, and alp operations should therefore equip themselves in advance with appropriate measures.

In principle, the canton states, responsibility for management, animal health and any preventive measures lies with the person in charge of the alp, who can draw on support from the civil protection service. If a shortage occurs anyway, the canton can rapidly issue permits to draw water from suitable surface watercourses. In recent years, it adds, work has been done to make the alps more resilient in terms of water supply.

Meanwhile Jöhl had to send the first animals back down to the valley as early as last week, where the situation is no better. The quality of fodder and water is poor overall, and in some cases winter rations have already been brought forward. That makes planning livestock feeding harder. «Potrebbero volerci mesi prima che la situazione si stabilizzi» (it could take months before the situation stabilises), the alp farmer says, seeing no viable alternatives for farms at present. For his cows he intends to decide day by day, keeping an eye on the Oberchäseren cistern. He is hoping for rain and moderate storms: «La grandine non ci è infatti d’aiuto» (hail is no help to us).