The Canton of Basel-Landschaft currently faces key environmental policy challenges, including climate and water protection, recycling construction materials, and managing contaminated sites.
Recent climate change and summer droughts have severely impacted vegetation and led to growing shortages of surface water, springs, and isolated groundwater sources. To ensure long-term water supply security amid increasingly frequent climate changes, the canton is adapting its water strategy. In close collaboration with municipalities, efforts focus on resolving usage conflicts, designing municipal water supply infrastructure, protecting surface waters, and addressing water scarcity.
Each year, around one million tonnes of construction waste are disposed of in the Basel region. Despite significant reuse potential, construction waste is not recycled locally because sand and gravel remain available at competitive prices. Furthermore, landfill fees do not reflect the limited availability of land for waste disposal sites. To establish a circular economy for construction materials, the governments of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft are developing the “Regio Basel Construction Materials Cycle” strategy. Key elements include increasing demand for recycled construction materials through voluntary cantonal commitment, managing available lanfills more prudently, creating a suitable legal framework for construction waste treatment plants, and establishing legal and planning frameworks to ensure safe disposal.
Due to its high population density and rich industrial history, Basel-Landschaft has a relatively large number of polluted sites. Complex hydrogeological conditions, highly heterogeneous pollution situations, and major sites such as the Auhafen area and the Schweizerhalle industrial zone require stringent examination and assessment standards for contaminated sites. To meet federal government targets and complete all preliminary studies on contaminated sites by 2025, many additional sites must be examined and assessed. Upcoming challenges also include implementing large-scale remediation projects and cleaning up contaminated sites with complex pollution issues.
