There is increasing concern about insufficient consideration of potential ecological effects of roads in project‐specific environmental impact assessment (EIA) and other, more advanced types of EIA that exist in various countries. Local impacts are often treated superficially, and landscape‐scale effects are usually neglected.
EIAs of road projects are generally poor.
Landscape‐scale effects of road networks are neglected in EIAs.
There is a lack of knowledge of thresholds in the cumulative effects of landscape fragmentation and habitat loss on the viability of wildlife populations.
Wildlife populations may have long response times to increases in landscape fragmentation (‘extinction debt’).
There are large uncertainties about many potential ecological effects of roads; they need explicit consideration in EIA, and decision‐makers should more rigorously apply the precautionary principle.
Landscape fragmentation should be monitored because it is a threat to biodiversity and a relevant pressure indicator.
Maintaining ecological corridor networks is less costly than paying for their restoration at a later date.
Limits to control landscape fragmentation are needed.
Caring about the quality of the entire landscape is essential, not just protected areas and wildlife corridors.
Major efforts are necessary to improve the quality of project‐specific EIAs, landscape‐scale cumulative effect assessment (CEA), strategic environmental assessment (SEA), road planning, and land‐use planning. Given that road networks subdivide wildlife populations into a patchwork of sub‐populations, future studies should directly address ecological effects at the landscape scale.
Improving Environmental Impact Assessment and Road Planning at the Landscape Scale
Handbook of Road Ecology ; 32-42
2015-04-01
11 pages
Aufsatz/Kapitel (Buch)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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