Linear Transport Infrastructure Development Processes as the Objects of Harmonisation with Wildlife

Abstract

The most efficient way, how to avoid or to minimise the conflicts and negative effects of the transport on the wildlife is reflection of the needs to protect the wildlife in the processes of the development of the transport infrastructure. The effects and potentials for their minimizing differ depending on transport mode (car transport, pedestrian transport, bicycle transport, railways, air transport, cable lines, pipelines, waterways and channels), geographical contexts (landscape features, modes of use of the territory) and element of transport infrastructure (static and dynamic). This paper is focused on linear infrastructure represented predominantly by different categories of roads and railway lines (including supportive and complementary infrastructural elements like crossings, stops, stations, bridges, tunes etc.) as they are most common among transport infrastructure in the countryside and to big extend representative in dealing with the conflicts between transport infrastructure and wildlife. The process of the development of the roads and railway lines is very similar and includes the logic of steps starting with the scoping, via planning, designing, construction and use/maintenance and monitoring. The paper is discussing these five steps in three types of processes - development of new roads and railway lines or their parts, update of existing roads and railways (modernising, extension in former corridors, increase of capacities, speed ...) and improving ecological status of existing routes and railways. Individual steps within these processes are described and discussed with objective to illustrate the contents of the phase (identification/definition of qualitative and quantitative demand on transport performance, analyses of technical, technological, economic and other framework precondition for the respond on the demand), the main challenges and problems to be dealt with (realistic identification of current and estimation of future demand on transport performance mirroring the development of the society and its economy), the advised approaches, tools and measures to be used in reflection to the identified challenges and, lastly, the stakeholders relevant for engagement within the phase are listed together with scheme of appropriate participation to help to guide the players in the development.