via Zoom, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Manila time (GMT+8)

World Environment Day Event Series

The Modern Road Ecologist’s Toolbox–Emerging Tools and Technologies for Biodiversity Assessments on Linear Transport Projects

Baseline Biodiversity Assessments (BBA) are a critical part of mitigation planning of transportation infrastructure projects. They are a key prerequisite to sustainable infrastructure development and ensuring environmental sustainability – both key components of ADB’s Strategy 2030. The Modern Road Ecologist’s Toolbox webinar is a three-part webinar series intended to share best practices in conducting BBA for transportation infrastructure projects (roads and railways). There are three modules that will present best practices such as study designs or tools used to understand the impacts of transportation projects on ecosystems. There is also demonstration of the use of Software As A Service (SAAS) and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) applications for collecting and communicating spatial information.

Explore the webinar hub which provides access to online mapping tools and resources discussed throughout the training program. Starting with Module 1, the hub directs to signing up for a free ArcGIS Online account. Join the group to access the exercises, data, and share web maps that were created in Modules 1 and 2. For Module 3, the hub also provide links and data to download, and open-source software for running analysis. The hub and the survey are examples of the modern road ecologist’s toolbox.

Key Learning Outputs

The program participants gained knowledge on:

• the importance of conducting BBA and what can be done to mitigate impacts of infrastructure development;
• the types of data, and how to collect and use data to inform BBAs;
• how the use web GIS tools can expedite and create well-informed BBA and science-based assessments;
• how data can be used to foster regional cooperation and integration, and strengthen governance and institutional capacity;
• how Apps and various data platforms can be used to collect, store, visualize and edit project data;
• creating own dashboard of live data, and share it with stakeholders;
• how to assess project progress, information integrity, and evaluate live data using filters, histograms, and tables;
• how data and tools can be utilized to conduct habitat suitability models, map habitat connectivity and potential wildlife corridors; and
• how the outputs of the analyses can be used to make mitigation recommendations.

These learning outputs is envisioned to contribute to achieving enhanced environmental sustainability as these strengthen environmental management capacity and facilitate integration of sustainable design principles and enhance environment safeguards compliance under linear transport projects.

Feedback from Participants

The sessions were well received, and most of the participants agreed that they acquired new knowledge or skills from the training event. Respondents suggested making the developed training hub available online without limits & using it as a learning platform for ADB Trainings. The webinar hub also had over 1,500 page views within 30 days since its launch.

Some of the feedback from the participants include:

• 75% of respondents agreed that the presentations are easy to understand,
• 62.5% shared their views that the duration of the webinar is just right,
• 56.25% agreed, and 37.50% strongly agreed that the objectives of the programs were achieved,
• 62.50% agreed, and 31.25% strongly agreed that they have acquired new knowledge or skills,
• 68.75% strongly agreed, and 25% agreed that they would recommend this program to their colleagues, and
• 81% positively agreed that the training hub was useful.

Participants also suggested topics for future training such as environment impact assessment, environment mitigation, environmental safeguard, GIS on project monitoring, how to design ecological bridges or green infrastructure for wildlife, developing maps for project areas, project impacts, techniques for field data collection and verification of species in study areas, and recording seasonal and temporal variance in species habitat.

Module 1 (Initial Assessment of Biodiversity Study Design and Data Needs)
29 June 2021, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Manila time (GMT+8)

In the first module, BBA was introduced as precursors that inform environmentally sustainable infrastructure design and development. Information needs in completing standard assessments and how to obtain the data were also covered. This included data collection, amalgamation, visualization and analysis using web GIS and online tools. Species occurrence data using camera traps and sign surveys using point and transect methods as well as arboreal species surveys were highlighted. Experiences were shared on integrating local indigenous knowledge and citizen science from Asia to feature good practices.

Module 2 (Managing and Analyzing Biodiversity Data)
6 July 2021, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Manila time (GMT+8)

When free or open-source data do not exist, the data needs to be collected through other means. The second module covered tools and best practices for rapidly collecting spatial data to inform biodiversity assessment for projects. It discussed the importance of sharing data with project partners and collaborators while also keeping it secure. Historically, sharing large spatial data files, creating static cartography and reports was an intensive and laborious task. Today, we can utilize dynamic dashboards to visualize spatial and tabular data. These dynamic dashboards can be accessed by project team members from anywhere in the world and enable smooth and efficient data collation, analysis and communication. Featuring an ongoing ADB project in Nepal as a case study the resource persons demonstrated how to build data collection tools and a secure project dashboard using the ArcGIS Platform. Spatial Data Analysis Explorer (SPADE), an interactive geospatial web-based data platform in ADB was also demonstrated in the module. Discussions were held on the advantages and opportunities for interlinking data sources and platforms such as those demonstrated in the module and other global data platforms.

Module 3 (Mapping Habitat Connectivity for Wildlife)
13 July 2021, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Manila time (GMT+8)

The final module of the Modern Road Ecologist’s Toolbox webinar series demonstrated how wildlife occurrence data collected from camera traps, sign surveys and other sources are used to inform a Baseline Biodiversity Assessment (BBA) and inform next steps towards planning sustainable infrastructure that minimizes impacts on wildlife and ecosystems. There were practical examples on ways to collect, visualize and analyze these data using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) including Maxent and Circuitscape. The webinar also highlighted the Foresight study on Reimagining the Future of Transport across Asia and the Pacific. This is the most technical webinar of the series covering tools that require some ability to understand spatial statistics and analysis.  The exercises on the webinar hub are also available to practice and apply these tools.