Mainstreaming ecological connectivity in road environmental impact assessments: a long way to go

IF 1.8 4区社会学 Q3 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal Pub Date : 2022-07-21 DOI:10.1080/14615517.2022.2099727

Larissa Oliveira Gonçalves, A. Kindel, Vinicius Augusto Galvão Bastazini, Fernanda Zimmermann Teixeira

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引用次数: 5

Abstract

ABSTRACT Road networks affect ecological connectivity, which has implications across different levels of biological organization. There are compelling reasons and sufficient approaches and tools to mainstream ecological connectivity into environmental impact assessments (EIAs) of road projects. In this letter, we discuss ways of overcoming the existing gaps and obstacles in the consideration of connectivity loss in EIAs and how to improve mitigation. The selection of target species, shifting from single to multispecies approaches, and the evaluation of scale optimization are challenges that need to be overcome. We also discuss that the mitigation hierarchy, no net loss targets, and the principles of adaptive management should be applied to increase the effectiveness of mitigation measures. We propose to increase the cooperation between stakeholders and practitioners to enhance co-production and build capacity to conduct evidence-based EIAs for assessing ecological connectivity. Finally, we identify directions for future research that can contribute to integrating connectivity into EIA practice.

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将生态连通性纳入道路环境影响评估主流：任重道远

摘要道路网络影响生态连通性，这对不同层次的生物组织都有影响。将生态连通性纳入道路项目环境影响评估（EIA）的主流有令人信服的理由和充分的方法和工具。在这封信中，我们讨论了克服EIA中连接损失方面现有差距和障碍的方法，以及如何改进缓解措施。目标物种的选择、从单一物种方法向多物种方法的转变以及规模优化的评估都是需要克服的挑战。我们还讨论了缓解层级、无净损失目标和适应性管理原则应用于提高缓解措施的有效性。我们建议加强利益相关者和从业者之间的合作，以加强合作生产，并建设进行基于证据的环境影响评估以评估生态连通性的能力。最后，我们确定了未来研究的方向，这些方向有助于将连通性纳入环评实践。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES-

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

22.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： This is the international, peer-reviewed journal of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA). It covers environmental, social, health and other impact assessments, cost-benefit analysis, technology assessment, and other approaches to anticipating and managing impacts. It has readers in universities, government and public agencies, consultancies, NGOs and elsewhere in over 100 countries. It has editorials, main articles, book reviews, and a professional practice section.