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The Call 2013 Roads and Wildlife Manual

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The Call 2013 Roads and Wildlife Manual CEDR Contractor Report 2018-3 Call 2013: Roads and Wildlife The Roads and Wildlife Manual CEDR Contractor Report 2018-3 Call 2013: Roads and Wildlife The Roads and Wildlife Manual by Eugene OBrien (ROD-IS) Edgar van der Grift (ALTERRA) Morten Elmeros (AU-BIOS) Ryan Wilson-Parr (ROD-IS) Ciarán Carey (ROD-IS) CEDR Contractor Report 2018-3 is an output from the CEDR Transnational Road Research Programme Call 2013: Roads and Wildlife. The research was funded by the CEDR members of Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The aim of the CEDR Transnational Road Research Programme is to promote cooperation between the various European road administrations in relation to road research activities. The topics covered by this Call were developed by TG Research to fulfil the common interests of the CEDR members. The Project Executive Board for this programme consisted of: Lars Nilsson/ANDERS SJOLUND, STA, Sweden (Chair) VINCENT O’MALLEY, TII, Ireland OLA-MATTIS DRAGESET, NPRA, Norway ELKE HAHN, BMVIT, Austria HANS BEKKER/ADAM HOFLAND, Rijkswaterstaat, Netherlands TONY SANGWINE, Highways England, United Kingdom UDO TEGETHOF, BAST, Germany MARGUERITE TROCME, FEDRO, Switzerland MARIANNE LUND UJVÁRI, Danish Road Directorate, Denmark CONTRACTORS: ISBN: 979-10-93321-42-4 DISCLAIMER The report was produced under contract to CEDR. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of CEDR or any of the CEDR member countries. Foreword Roads are a crucial part of modern society, allowing people and freight to move to where they are needed. However, the effect of roads is not wholly positive as they do result in habitat fragmentation which has a detrimental effect on these habitats and the species therein. The COST 341 action recognised the need to mitigate against the effects of habitat fragmentation. A key output of that action was the COST 341 Handbook, “WILDLIFE AND TRAFFIC, A European Handbook for Identifying Conflicts and Designing Solutions”. Ten years after the 2003 publication of the COST 341 Handbook, the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR) released their transnational research call 2013: Roads and Wildlife. The call, which funded the projects “SAFEROAD”, “SafeBatPaths” and “Harmony”, aimed to address the conflict between roads and wildlife and to identify more cost-efficient methods for building and maintaining roads, and structures for reducing the impact on wildlife such as fauna passages. CEDR has now commissioned the ECOROAD project partners to produce this CEDR Roads and Wildlife Manual. This manual complements the work of COST 341 and is the result of an integration of the outputs of the “Harmony”, “SAFEROAD” and “SafeBatPaths” projects, along with further input from European road ecology experts. The aim of the manual is to update the information in COST 341 to reflect changes such as those in European Union legislation and policy. This CEDR manual also identifies best practice in areas such as procurement, maintenance and monitoring which received less emphasis in the COST 341 handbook. We envisage this manual acting as a companion to the COST 341 Handbook, providing a basis to consider the effects on wildlife throughout the various stages of the life of a roadway. We hope that the guidance provided herein goes some way to solving the conflict between roads and wildlife. Eugene O’Brien Coordinator ECOROAD: Ecology and Roads Director, Roughan and O’Donovan Innovative Solutions Table of Contents Chapter 1. Environmental Policy & Legislation for Road Planning ............................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Environmental Policy.......................................................................................... 2 1.3 Environmental Agreements and Conventions ............................................. 2 1.4 Environmental Regulations ............................................................................... 4 1.4.1 Overview .............................................................................................................. 4 1.5 Legal Implications for Road Planning and Design Phases ......................... 6 1.5.1 SEA ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.5.2 EIA .......................................................................................................................... 7 1.5.3 Article 6 and AA ................................................................................................. 8 1.5.4 Stages of AA ........................................................................................................ 8 1.5.5 Interaction of SEA, EIA and AA ........................................................................ 9 1.6 Summary of Key Issues in EIA ............................................................................ 9 1.7 Practical Guidelines for Effective Provision of EIA ...................................... 10 1.7.1 EIAR Should be prepared by Qualified and Competent Experts ........... 10 1.7.2 Gather Environmental Information ............................................................... 11 1.7.3 Describe the Project Characteristics ............................................................ 12 1.7.4 Legal Ecological Implications for Road Development ............................. 13 1.7.5 Describe and Predict Impacts in the EIAR ................................................... 14 1.7.6 Define Avoidance and Mitigation in the EIAR ............................................ 15 1.7.7 Consult and Collaborate ................................................................................ 17 1.7.8 Produce a Clear and Concise EIAR ............................................................. 18 1.8 AA Procedure ................................................................................................... 19 1.9 Practical Guidelines for Article 6 of the HD ................................................. 20 1.9.1 Screening for AA ............................................................................................... 20 1.9.2 AA ........................................................................................................................ 22 1.10 Protection of Annex I Habitats Outside of Natura 2000 ............................ 23 1.11 Green Transport Infrastructure Principles ..................................................... 24 Chapter 2. Road Mitigation Strategies ............................. 26 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 27 2.2 Guidelines for Road Mitigation ...................................................................... 27 2.2.1 Identify and Quantify the Road Impacts ..................................................... 27 2.2.2 Identify Clear Goals of Mitigation ................................................................. 28 2.2.3 Involve Stakeholders Early on in the Process and Aim to have the Goals Agreed Upon by all Stakeholders .................................................................................................. 28 2.2.4 Select Road Mitigation Measures for which Effectiveness is Proven ...... 29 2.2.5 Combining Fences with Wildlife Crossing Structures is Best Practice ..... 31 2.2.6 Select Mitigation Measures that have Proven to be Sustainable ........... 37 2.2.7 Explore the Economic Benefits of Road Mitigation ................................... 38 Chapter 3. Mitigation Measures for Bats .......................... 40 3.1 Bats and Roads ................................................................................................. 41 3.1.1 Road Impact ..................................................................................................... 42 3.1.2 Bat Conservation and Mitigation .................................................................. 42 3.1.3 Species-specific Considerations .................................................................... 42 3.1.4 Bat Surveys and Monitoring ............................................................................ 45 3.2 Bat Mitigation Measures .................................................................................. 45 3.2.1 Wildlife Overpasses .......................................................................................... 46 3.2.2 Modified Bridges ............................................................................................... 47 3.2.3 Bat Gantries ....................................................................................................... 49 3.2.4 Hop-overs ........................................................................................................... 50 3.2.5 Viaducts ............................................................................................................. 52 3.2.6 Tunnels and Culverts ........................................................................................ 53 3.3 Other Measures to Reduce Barrier Effect and Mortality........................... 56 3.3.1 Artificial Lighting ................................................................................................ 56 3.3.2 Noise ................................................................................................................... 58 3.3.3 Speed Reduction ............................................................................................
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