Assessing the Effectiveness of Ecological Mitigation Practices in Public Construction with a Quick and Operational Assessment Framework

Abstract

Infrastructures (public constructions) are necessary for people’s lives, but large infrastructures can be harmful to local ecosystems and wildlife. The ecological mitigation practices of more than 5000 public construction projects in Taiwan were reviewed. Among these cases, the reduction practices were 38%–58%, and the avoiding, minimizing, and compensation measures were nearly 20%. However, the number of statistical measures did not reflect the actual performance. This study developed a quick and operational assessment framework to assess ecological mitigation measures. The four indicators were ecological concern areas, number of ecological conservation measures, number of ecological conservation objects, and habitat quality. The assessment indicators were applied to 54 construction cases, and their performance was classified into excellent, good, fair, and qualified. The developed assessment indicators were proven capable of serving as a preliminary tool to determine the performance of ecological mitigation practices, and the criteria standard can be adjusted as cases are updated.