Green Infrastructure Design for Transport Projects: a Road Map To
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GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN FOR TRANSPORT PROJECTS A ROAD MAP TO PROTECTING ASIA’S WILDLIFE BIODIVERSITY DECEMBER 2019 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN FOR TRANSPORT PROJECTS A ROAD MAP TO PROTECTING ASIA’S WILDLIFE BIODIVERSITY DECEMBER 2019 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) © 2019 Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 8632 4444; Fax +63 2 8636 2444 www.adb.org Some rights reserved. Published in 2019. ISBN 978-92-9261-991-6 (print), 978-92-9261-992-3 (electronic) Publication Stock No. TCS189222 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TCS189222 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. 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This CC license does not apply to non-ADB copyright materials in this publication. If the material is attributed to another source, please contact the copyright owner or publisher of that source for permission to reproduce it. ADB cannot be held liable for any claims that arise as a result of your use of the material. Please contact [email protected] if you have questions or comments with respect to content, or if you wish to obtain copyright permission for your intended use that does not fall within these terms, or for permission to use the ADB logo. Corrigenda to ADB publications may be found at http://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda. Notes: In this publication, “$” refers to United States dollars. ADB recognizes “China” as the People’s Republic of China. On the cover: Wildlife species captured on camera while carrying out a baseline biodiversity assessment in Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan. Center photo shows one of Asia’s first wildlife underpasses constructed on a new highway in southern Bhutan (photos by ADB). Printed on recycled paper ContEnts TABLES, FIGURES, AND MAPS --------------------------------------------------------------------- v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -----------------------------------------------------------------------------vi Abbreviations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vii ANIMAL Species REFERENCED IN THIS Report -----------------------------------------------viii EXecutive Summary ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- x 1. Introduction -----------------------------------------------------------------------------1 2. Terrestrial BIODIVERSITY OF ASIA ------------------------------------------------------3 A. Biodiversity’s Importance to the People of Asia ......................................................................................... 6 B. Impacts on Asia’s Biodiversity ............................................................................................................................ 8 C. Road Development Policy ................................................................................................................................... 9 3. Ecological Impact OF Roads AND OTHER Transportation Projects -------- 10 A. Direct Highway Impacts .....................................................................................................................................10 1. Loss or Degradation of Habitats ......................................................10 2. Wildlife–Vehicle Collisions ...........................................................12 B. Indirect Highway Impacts ..................................................................................................................................14 C. Traffic Relationships to Permeability and Wildlife–Vehicle Collisions .............................................16 4. GREEN Infrastructure AND OTHER Measures to MINIMIZE HIGHway Impact to WILDLIFE --------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 A. Motorist Alert Signage ........................................................................................................................................19 B. Reduced Design Speeds and Traffic Calming Treatments ....................................................................21 C. Wildlife Passage Structures ...............................................................................................................................22 1. Wildlife Underpasses ................................................................22 2. Wildlife Overpasses .................................................................26 3. Wildlife Passage Structure Effectiveness .............................................27 4. Asian Case Studies ..................................................................29 D. Wildlife Fencing and Alternatives ...................................................................................................................30 E. Arboreal Mammal Canopy Bridges ................................................................................................................33 F. At-Grade Crossings and Wildlife “Crosswalks” .........................................................................................34 iii iv Contents 5. LINEAR Infrastructure DESIGN AND Management Considerations --------- 36 A. Overarching Design Principles .........................................................................................................................36 1. Build the Roadbed Formation Once and Be Done ....................................36 2. Build to the Minimum Width Necessary ..............................................36 3. Limit Lateral Road Access ...........................................................37 4. Focus Infrastructure Investment Where Land Tenure/Control Is Secure ..............37 5. Keep it Simple—Minimize Maintenance .............................................38 B. Passage Structure Design Criteria .................................................................................................................38 1. Underpass Openness ................................................................38 2. Passage Structure Size ...............................................................40 3. Passage Structure Spacing and Placement ............................................41 4. Passage Structure Approaches .......................................................44 5. Underpass or Overpass—Which is Better? ...........................................46 C. Wildlife Fencing and Alternatives ...................................................................................................................48 D. Road Management Activities ...........................................................................................................................49 1. Evening/Dusk-to-Dawn Road Closures ..............................................50 2. Seasonal Road Closures .............................................................51 3. Roads as a Resource Protection Asset ................................................52 4. Monitoring and Adaptive Management ..............................................52 E. Reconstruction and Retrofitting Opportunities Benefit Biodiversity .....................................................53 APPENDIx: Conducting Biodiversity Baseline Assessments and Evaluating Road Impacts A. Asian Development Bank Safeguarding Framework ...............................................................................55 B. Desktop Analysis Resources .............................................................................................................................57 C. Biodiversity Baseline Assessment Experimental and Sampling Design ...........................................65 REFERENCES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 80 TablES, FigurES, and Maps TABLES 1 Scope of Asia’s Biodiversity Hotspots ...........................................................4 2 Comparative Impact of Three Road Alignments on Habitat Loss ...............................12 3 Wildlife Underpass Types, Size Categories, and Recommended Dimensions. .40 4 Passage Structure Spacing Recommendations for Asian Wildlife Species .......................42 5 Example Worksheet of Passage Structures for a 50-Kilometer Road ............................43 6 Wildlife Passage Structures in Premiere Highway and Conservation Projects ....................44 A1 Comparison Example of Three Road Alignments and Anticipated Direct Habitat Loss ..........63 A2 Recommended Biodiversity Baseline Assessment Sampling