The Division is responsible for dealing with the risks to human life, the environment and major assets arising from avalanches, floods, debris flows, landslides, rockfall processes, earthquakes and major accidents.
It oversees the cantonal implementation of the Federal Hydraulic Engineering and parts of the Forest Acts and Water Protection act and carries out the tasks directly assigned to it by the legislation. The Division provides financial and expert support to the cantons for:
- the compilation of hazard documentation;
- protective forest maintenance;
- in measures to limit and reduce the risks from floods, landslides, fall processes and avalanches in the long term;
- the planning and implementation of sustainable renaturation measures.
As the federal earthquake office, the division is responsible for the coordination of earthquake mitigation and for ensuring that construction projects carried out in the sphere of influence of the federal authorities are earthquake resistant. It promotes the implementation of preventive measures by the cantons, communes and individuals.
In addition, the Division oversees the implementation of the Major Accidents Ordinance and supports the responsible bodies within the federal authorities and the cantons in its implementation.
The division is responsible for the topics:
Management:
Josef Eberli
Position: head of division
Gian Reto Bezzola
Position: head of section Risk management, deputy head of division
Stéphane Losey
Position: head of section Landslides, Avalanches and Protection Forest
Martin Merkofer
Position: head of section Prevention of Major Accidents and Earthquake Mitigation
Adrian Schertenleib
Position: head of section Flood protection
Dorothea Wabbels
Position: head of staff unit
Last modification 22.12.2022
Contact
Federal Office for the Environment FOEN
Hazard Prevention Division
Postal address:
CH-3003 Bern
Location of our offices :
Papiermühlestrasse 172, 3063 Ittigen
Tel.: +41 58 464 23 80