ALIGN - Knowledge Hub - Trainings

This module examines the potential impacts of proposed linear infrastructure on biodiversity across Asia and explores how spatial analyses can help practitioners to understand these impacts. The concept of ecological connectivity is also introduced along with an explanation of how linear infrastructure causes habitat fragmentation and impacts species’ ability to adapt to climate change. Finally, the state of the knowledge on the impacts of roads, rails, and power lines on wildlife in Asia is presented. The module concludes with key recommendations for decreasing the impact of linear infrastructure on biodiversity.

Energy and transportation infrastructure such as roads, railways and transmission lines are essential backbones of economic development, increasing access to markets, healthcare, education, and other services. However, traditional large-scale linear infrastructure also fragments ecosystems and induces conversion of habitats, resulting in the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services worth millions of dollars. Without a clear understanding of the full costs, governments can invest in infrastructure projects that generate more costs than benefits for society. This module explains how economic analysis can compare the tradeoffs of proposed infrastructure projects and quantify in monetary terms the cost to society of environmental damage. Case studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America are presented to illustrate how economic information is important for justifying investments and expenditures in safeguards or less damaging linear infrastructure alternatives.

Building capacity to implement wildlife-friendly linear infrastructure is recognized as highly important as Asian countries work to meet the needs of economic development and biodiversity conservation. In this module, the results of capacity assessments at two scales are presented: Asia-wide and in five representative countries (Bangladesh, India, Mongolia, Nepal, and Thailand). Four key constituent groups are introduced with an explanation of their roles and existing capacity to address wildlife safeguards for linear infrastructure and challenges to overcome in order to align goals for wildlife and people across the continent are identified. This module also highlights opportunities for future capacity-building efforts, both constituent-specific and across all groups, that will help Asia implement wildlife-friendly linear infrastructure in the future.

This module reviews the entire spectrum of wildlife crossing mitigation, from a description of the impacts of linear infrastructure to planning, data collection, analyses for informing management, and resources available today to assist practitioners. The module is intended for practitioners with, at minimum, a basic level of ecological studies, impact assessments, and formulation of mitigation recommendations. Case studies are presented to show how these examples of state-of-the-art measures are being deployed in Asia. Key aspects of planning wildlife crossings are discussed, including several misconceptions regarding performance and utility. The module concludes by identifying the five most important principles of wildlife crossing planning and design for practitioners to take with them after the module is completed.

This module covers available tools and best practices to conduct pre- and post-construction wildlife evaluations for transportation infrastructure projects (roads and railways). The experts describe best practices such as study designs, methods, and data collection tools used to understand the impacts of transportation projects on ecosystems that inform planning and design. They describe the types of analyses and modern tools used to collect relevant data and communicate the results. The first part covers wildlife crossing mitigation, focusing on the well-studied understanding of the impacts and solutions for roads. The second part outlines the cycle of data collection, assessment, and communication that is repeated for a project, from pre-construction planning to post-construction monitoring.

Linear infrastructure such as railways and highways are not necessarily barriers to wildlife movement on their own. It is the traffic using them, such as trains and cars, that cause wildlife-vehicle collisions resulting in wildlife mortality. Traffic volumes and their associated sensory disturbances can also sever wildlife corridors by inhibiting animal movement. Fencing, in combination with dedicated, well-designed wildlife crossing structures, is a mitigation strategy to help lessen this environmental impact. This module explores in more detail the engineering considerations for the design of these structures.