News and updates (archive)

ALIGN supports the FIDIC Asia Pacific Conference 2024

The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Asia Pacific Conference 2024, "Governance for Climate Shocks," took place in Kathmandu from November 18 to 20, bringing together experts from more than 20 countries to discuss strategies for developing climate-resilient infrastructure. The conference covered governance, engineering innovations, and climate adaptation strategies, emphasizing the need for sustainable practices that balance economic growth with environmental preservation.

ALIGN Organizes National Dialogue on Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Infrastructure Development

ALIGN partnered with Nepal PhD Association to organize a national dialogue on green, resilient, and inclusive infrastructure development on December 12, 2024. The event brought together key stakeholders, including government officials, conservation experts, academics, and private sector representatives, all emphasizing the importance of a balanced approach that integrates both development and conservation.

ALIGN Event Brings Together Academic Institutions to Share Knowledge on Developing Natural Resources

ALIGN collaborated with Green Governance Nepal to organize a knowledge-sharing event titled, "Knowledge Sharing for Academic Institutions on Mainstreaming Natural Resources Safeguarding Into Academic Curriculum." Representatives from universities and academic institutions nationwide gathered to share learnings and explore new curriculum opportunities to incorporate natural resource safeguards into infrastructure development.

Mongolian saiga antelope killed by vehicle in western Mongolia

On 30 September 2024, an unfortunate incident has raised renewed concern for wildlife protection in Mongolia. Specialists from WWF-Mongolia, during a field trip in Mankhan soum, Khovd province Altai-Sayan ecoregion, discovered a Mongolian saiga antelope that had been killed by a vehicle on a nearby highway.

ALIGN and the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists Host a Program for the Media on the Importance of Wildlife-Friendly Infrastructure

The ALIGN Project in Nepal partnered with the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) to organize a two-day program for the media to learn about the importance of natural resource safeguarding in linear infrastructure development. The event took place from July 10 to 11, 2024, in Chitwan—Nepal’s biodiversity hot spot—and included an orientation workshop and field visits. Thirty journalists from across the country, representing four provinces, attended the program.

Following an ALIGN Workshop, Journalists Write About the Importance of Wildlife-Friendly Infrastructure in Nepal

From July 10 to 11, 2024, the ALIGN Project in Nepal conducted a media sensitization event in collaboration with the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists. The program included an orientation workshop and field visits highlighting the importance of natural resources safeguarding in linear infrastructure development. Journalists visited wildlife-friendly infrastructure on the Muglin-Narayanghat highway and a section of the Narayanghat-Butwal road under construction. They also visited Parsa National Park and had conversations with the park’s warden to understand the impact of roads and linear infrastructure on the park’s biodiversity. Following the event, participating journalists have started to write independently about the importance of wildlife-friendly infrastructure in Nepal:

• Multimedia journalist Ms. Barsha Shah from Deshsanchar News highlighted the need for wildlife-friendly infrastructure like underpasses and assessed the current state of these structures in her article (in English and Nepali).
• Long-running TV program Aakhijhyal, which airs on 14 different channels across Nepal, devoted an episode (in Nepali) to exploring the issues discussed at the event and featured coverage of the event itself.
• Nepal’s first English language, government-owned daily newspaper The Rising Nepal featured an article by participant journalist Ms. Indira Aryal.
• Mongabay published an article written by Mr. Abhaya Raj Joshi that featured learnings from the program.

Paving the Future: Enhancing Linear Infrastructure in Mongolia

A survey from 2018 revealed that around 8,000 Mongolian gazelles died that year alone as a result of entanglement in barbed-wire fences along the railroad in the Gobi region. The fencing of the railway lines are carried out to protect the livestock from collision. This finding underscores the significant threats that infrastructure projects can pose to wildlife, particularly species that migrate across large distances.

To address these issues, Mongolia is making significant strides in improving LI standards through comprehensive training and workshops for stakeholders and government bodies. These initiatives, spearheaded by WWF-Mongolia through the USAID-funded ALIGN project, aims to mitigate the adverse impacts of poorly planned infrastructure development on wildlife and ecosystems.

ALIGN Team Members Reflect, Strategize at Annual Meeting in Mongolia

ALIGN team members met in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in June 2024 for the project’s annual meeting. Attendees included staff from WWF-US, WWF-Nepal, WWF-India, WWF-Mongolia, and the Center for Large Landscape Conservation. The team’s main objectives were to reflect on ALIGN’s achievements and challenges in its third year and strategize for the project’s upcoming fourth and final year.

New National Standard for Wildlife-Friendly Fencing in Mongolia Gains Media Coverage

WWF-Mongolia, with support from the ALIGN Project, contributed to the recent passage of a new national standard for railway and highway barrier fences in Mongolia. The standard will reduce the risk of hundreds of species being caught in barbed fences and keep these fences from restricting wildlife movement.

Mongabay Covers ALIGN Project Collaboration With Engineering, Forestry Colleges in Nepal

On June 17, 2024, Mongabay published the article, “Nepal’s top engineering, forestry colleges to align on development and conservation.” It focused on how leading civil engineering and forestry organizations are collaborating to bring new courses on infrastructure development and biodiversity conservation to university students. The piece specifically mentioned ALIGN’s work in developing the “Natural Resources Safeguards in Infrastructure” course. “Cross-disciplinary studies will create more opportunities for collaboration between employers and graduates,” said Sandesh Hamal, Chief of Party at ALIGN, in the article.

WWF-India Writes About Importance of Vulture Conservation

Raptors play a key role in keeping ecosystems healthy. In this piece on the WWF-India website, Dr. Ridhima Solanki, Coordinator for ALIGN, gives her insights into the vulture’s importance as a scavenger, the threats they face from transmission lines, and approaches to their conservation.

Reaching Out Through Community Radio: Information and knowledge sharing about linear infrastructure development and natural resource safeguarding

The ALIGN project in Nepal collaborated with Radio Sagarmatha to produce four episodes on the need for natural resource safeguards in LI development. The radio program series was produced to raise awareness, provide correct and relevant information to a wide audience. The program was titled "Digo Bikash ra Prakritik Shrot ko Samrakshyan" (Sustainable Development and Natural Resource safeguarding) and provided information on Nepal’s wildlife-friendly infrastructure directives to the audiences.

Join the Practitioners’ Network!

The Linear Infrastructure Practitioners in Asia (LIPA) Network’s listserv is organized by the ALIGN Project. Its purpose is to facilitate the free exchange of information among practitioners, professionals, and academics interested in safeguarding natural resources and promoting resilient communities during the development of linear infrastructure.

Mongabay-India Covers Handbook to Mitigate Impacts of Roads and Railways on Asian Elephants

On May 9, 2024, Mongabay-India posted the article “A new handbook recommends how to avoid elephant deaths on roads, rail tracks.” The piece covered the Handbook to Mitigate the Impacts of Roads and Railways of Asian Elephants published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Asian Elephant Transport Working Group with support from the ALIGN Project. “Since elephants are wide-ranging and large-bodied animals, any mitigation measures or safeguards designed for them will benefit many co-occurring species,” said WWF-India Conservation Ecologist Aritra Kshettry in the article.

National Standard for Railway and Highway Barrier Fences Approved in Mongolia

A new national standard for railway and highway barrier fences in Mongolia will reduce the risk of hundreds of species being caught in barbed fences and keep these fences from restricting wildlife movement. WWF-Mongolia, with support from the USAID-funded ALIGN Project, contributed to this milestone by highlighting the importance of wildlife-friendly fencing in social media campaigns, engagements with public and private sector experts, and a series of meetings and workshops with the Mongolian Agency for Standardization and Metrology. The country’s Ministry of Road and Transport Development and Ministry of Environment and Tourism also played an important role in the national standard's approval.

ALIGN Project Participates in a Seminar With the Consulting Engineers Association of India

Dr. Ridhima Solanki, team member from the ALIGN Project in India, presented at a seminar titled “Quality of DPR and Construction of Highway Projects” organized by the Consulting Engineers Association of India (CEAI), an apex body of consulting engineers in India. The seminar took place on January 9–10, 2024, in New Delhi. It was supported by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), National Highways Builders Federation, and Indian Road Congress. Dr. Solanki presented ecological considerations to make while preparing a detailed project report (DPR) and discussed the ALIGN Project’s perspective and vision to help raise awareness of wildlife-friendly linear infrastructure among engineers.

Learning Visit: Nepal Government Officials Participate in an Enriching Experience in India

WWF-Nepal organized a visit to India for government officials from Nepal in December 2023. The delegates visited several important sites in Haridwar and Dehradun and interacted with experts and officials from India. They also observed sites with successful examples of wildlife-friendly infrastructure and safeguard measures. This was the second visit of this kind, after the first visit to the same site by federal-level stakeholders in August 2023.

The visit’s main objective was to facilitate cross-learning, best practices sharing, and field observation to broaden and enhance participants’ knowledge and understanding of natural resource safeguards in linear infrastructure. Fifteen government officials from federal and provincial ministries related to forestry, environment, physical infrastructure development, and province policy and planning commissions participated in the visit.

EcoWatch Covers Handbook to Mitigate Impacts of Roads and Railways on Asian Elephants

On March 19, EcoWatch posted the article “First-of-Its-Kind Handbook Helps Protect Endangered Asian Elephants From Roads and Railways.” The piece covered the Handbook to Mitigate the Impacts of Roads and Railways on Asian Elephants, published by the Asian Elephant Transport Working Group (AsETWG) with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC), and WWF under the ALIGN Project.

The article quoted CLLC’s Rob Ament, who coauthored the report and serves as a cochair on the AsETWG, “Elephants need to move to survive—to find food, water, and mates. In some cases, new roads and railways are being built right across ancient Asian elephant migration routes.”

ALIGN Project Brings Together Stakeholders to Discuss the Future of Green Financing in Nepal

October 9, 2023

WWF-Nepal organized an interactive program on the status of green financing modality in Nepal under the ALIGN Project. Representatives from the Nepal banking and financing sectors came together to discuss green financing policies, green financing taxonomy, capacity gaps, and how ALIGN can support these institutions in overcoming their challenges.

Bringing Together Infrastructure Stakeholders from Nepal and India: An Insightful Knowledge-Sharing Experience

August 2023

A knowledge-sharing visit brought together government, private sector, and financial institution representatives from Nepal and India in August 2023 under the ALIGN Project. The weeklong event held in Delhi and Dehradun in India, brought together key stakeholders to identify challenges and limitations in implementing linear infrastructure safeguards; share insights and experiences; problem-solve; and enhance participants’ understanding of safeguard-related policies and best practices.

Workshops Support Roll Out of the Wildlife-friendly Infrastructure Construction Directives: A Step Toward a Hopeful Future for Sustainable Development in Nepal

Nepal’s expanding linear infrastructure can pose a significant threat to its diverse wildlife and biodiversity by fragmenting habitats and causing other adverse effects, such as depleting natural resources. Nepal’s Cabinet of Ministers achieved a significant milestone when it endorsed the Wildlife-friendly Infrastructure Construction Directives on March 10, 2022, followed by the directives’ official gazetting on April 18. In collaboration with various government ministries and stakeholders, WWF-Nepal—through the ALIGN Project funded by the US Agency for International Development—played a vital role in advocating for the directives and promoting wildlife-friendly practices.

MoU with WWF-Nepal and SCAEF Nepal to Promote Environment Friendly Infrastructure Development

WWF-Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Society of Consulting Architectural and Engineering Firms (SCAEF) on September 7, 2023. WWF-Nepal and SCAEF will partner together to create a single platform that brings together the conservation and development communities to discuss global trends, policy needs, and issues regarding natural resource safeguards in Nepal.

Living Safe Together

Mongolia has become the first country in Asia to adopt two national standards for highway and railway wildlife crossings for large migratory ungulates (species with hooves). These national standards are helping to reduce the risks to wildlife caused by linear infrastructure.

Unfortunately, developers of linear infrastructure still have an inadequate understanding of these requirements, and thus standards have not been properly implemented. Read more about the issue and what WWF-Mongolia and the ALIGN Project, in coordination with the Government of Mongolia, are doing about it.

MoU with WWF Nepal and the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University

WWF Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Engineering (IoE), Tribhuvan University on May 04, 2023. This MoU will help IoE develop a curriculum on "Natural Resource Safeguards in Infrastructure", which will be embedded in the course of the Bachelor's Degree for IoE (TU). Dr. Ghana Shyam Gurung, Country Representative of WWF Nepal, and Professor Dr. Shashidhar Ram Joshi, Dean of IoE shared their commitment to promoting natural resource safeguard through academia.

Podcast: Infrastructure & Nature: A Sustainable Approach

Three-quarters of the infrastructure expected to exist by 2050 hasn’t even been built yet. That means that the way we build infrastructure – where it goes, what it’s made of, and which energy sources it facilitates – will have a huge impact on the world’s ability to meet global climate and biodiversity goals.

In this episode, Kate Newman, WWF’s vice president for sustainable infrastructure, breaks down the challenges and opportunities that infrastructure development will bring in the coming decades, how the UN’s new Global Biodiversity Framework could help incentivize sustainable infrastructure, WWF's involvement in the USAID-funded Asia’s Linear Infrastructure safeGuarding Nature (ALIGN) Project, and how the expansion of clean energy intersects with these issues.

USAID Launches Project to Strengthen Infrastructure Safeguards That Conserve Natural Resources and Support Livelihoods in Asia

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on December 15, 2022, that it is funding a four-year project to increase implementation of effective natural resource safeguards for linear infrastructure — which includes roads, railroads, power lines, fences, and canals — to support people and nature and conserve Asia’s extraordinary biodiversity.

The Asia’s Linear Infrastructure safeGuarding Nature (ALIGN) Project will be implemented by WWF, the global conservation organization, in partnership with the Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC), a nonprofit with expertise in reducing the impacts of linear infrastructure on biodiversity. ALIGN will support efforts in three focal countries — India, Mongolia and Nepal — and share lessons learned, guidance and training materials on best practices throughout Asia. Read the press release on CLLC’s website to learn more.