National significance of natural history collections in Switzerland

Natural history collections housed and managed by public museums, botanical gardens and universities are increasingly referred to as natural science collections because they are not just records of the natural world but have great scientific value for understanding our world. This report uses the term ‘natural history collections’ as a synonym for ‘natural science collections’ to emphasise the importance of such collections for understanding our planet’s natural history. They enable not only descriptions of nature in space and time but also the long-term conservation of specimens so that evolutionary processes can be studied and changes quantified.