Procedures for the Design of Roads in Harmony with Wildlife Eugene OBrien Roughan & O’Donovan Innovative Solutions, Ireland András Weiperth Centre for Ecological Research (MTA), Hungary Dennis Wansink Bureau Waardenburg, The Netherlands Georg Tschan National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), Sweden

CEDR Research Program – Roads and Wildlife The Conference of European Road Directors (CEDR) funded 4 projects in recent years: Harmony (www.harmony-project.net) SafeRoad (http://www.saferoad-cedr.org) SafeBatPaths and ECOROAD Three projects was selected: SAFEROAD – Safe roads for wildlife and people – Cost-efficient mitigation strategies and maintenance practices HARMONY – Procedures for the design of roads in harmony with wildlife and SafeBatPaths – Fumbling in the dark: Effectiveness of bat mitigation measures on roads They have presented some of their results at this conference allready

Roads in Harmony with Wildlife Harmony Topics Ecological Assessment - Environmental Impact Assessment - Appropriate Assessment Contract Procurement Project Appraisal Contract Performance and Follow up Maintenance - Road verges - Mitigation measures Today’s Presentation

Roads in Harmony with Wildlife Harmony Geographic Scope 7 main countries had all aspects examined: Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, UK. 4 further countries had some but not all aspects examined: Denmark, Norway, Germany, Greece.

Ecological Assessment – EIA National Guidelines on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA’s) Comparative analysis of national guidelines from 9 countries carried out using a review template of 20 questions. All countries provide guidelines that ensure compliance with EU legislation. 3 of the 9 countries did not have guidelines available for specific species or habitats. 4 of the 9 countries do not provide guidelines for all stages of EIA. EIA Analysis 100 EIA’s examined over 10 countries to identify the degree of implementation: Screening, Scoping, Identification of Habitats, Impact Assessment Methodologies, Mitigation measures and Monitoring

Implementation of each Stage Monitoring Mitigation measures Impact Assessment Identification of Habitats Scoping Screening

Ecological Assessment – EIA

Ecological Assessment – EIA Survey results For a significant proportion of the EISs, no surveys were carried out in the past two years. Cumulative impacts are not suitably addressed in a significant proportion of the EISs examined. Large proportion of the EISs examined do not include a plan for monitoring (not implemented in over 50%).

Ecological Assessment – AA National Guidelines on Appropriate Assessments Comparative analysis of national guidelines from 9 countries 2 of the 9 countries do not provide guidelines for AA’s Guidelines treat the significance of adverse effects, the difference between direct and indirect (external) impacts and mitigation. None of the guidelines have a paragraph about monitoring the impacts of a project or the effectiveness of measures. AA Analysis 44 Appropriate Assessments were examined in 10 countries. Experts examined each AA and filled out a 21 question template questionnaire.

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s Poor understanding of N2000? P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s Poor understanding of N2000? P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 Objectives of monitoring unclear?

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 Insufficient (or old) data to assess impacts?

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 Insufficient (or old) data to assess impacts? Poor because AA integrated in EIA

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 Insufficient (or old) data to assess impacts? Poor because AA integrated in EIA Significance of adverse effects objectively demonstrated?

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s Poor understanding of key terms? P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s Poor understanding of key terms? Cumulative effects not properly assessed? P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s Poor understanding of key terms? Cumulative effects not properly assessed? P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 Insufficient mitigation?

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s Poor understanding of key terms? Cumulative effects not properly assessed? P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 Insufficient mitigation? Overall poor quality?

Ecological Assessment – AAs % of AA’s Poor understanding of key terms? Cumulative effects not properly assessed? P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 P:\Proj\2014\14214\14214-54-WEB & DISSEM\Conferences\IENE 2016 Insufficient mitigation? Overall poor quality? Unclear conclusions on adverse effects

Contract Procurement and Follow-up Procurement Interviews Used phone interviews with a questionnaire to gather information. Questionnaire consisted of 27 questions, split into two parts: 10 questions on procurement. 17 questions on follow-up. 14 interviews carried out over the 10 countries.

Procurement – Contract Strategies Contracting Types Four contracting strategies:

Procurement – Recommendations Road Authority needs ecological expertise and resources to advise & monitor contractor Quality Assessment in the procurement process should include ecological requirements Specialist ecologists need to be engaged for implementation and monitoring in the procurement of large Works and Maintenance Contracts. The use of performance based specifications would lead to better ecological outcomes

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Contract Performance and Follow up Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) KPIs should be easy to measure and compare, taking the Environmental Impact Statement into account A baseline should be established for each KPI KPIs should be considered during procurement process KPIs should show if a mitigation structure is functioning KPIs should include incentives and penalties Two possible indicators are: Road kill (according to a pre-specified process of measurement); and Usage of crossings (using a pre-defined method of measurement and pre-specified target species)

Roads in Harmony with Wildlife Procedures for the Design of Roads in Harmony with Wildlife Website www.harmony-project.net Acknowledgement This project is being funded by the CEDR Transnational Road Research Programme