Managing Multiple Linear Infrastructure Impacts

As Asia experiences unprecedented economic growth, much of the region’s natural landscapes are threatened by the rapid expansion of linear infrastructure development. Biodiversity loss in disintegrated landscapes is both a challenge and a major barrier to future developments. Investing in ‘biodiversity-safe’ development and ‘nature based solutions’ is the option for development gains at a landscape level. Innovative approaches, collaborative thinking and coordinated efforts are the keywords for responsible and nature-friendly growth. Assessment approaches such as EIA and strategic environmental assessment (SEA)—especially when applied together—may prove to be useful because when taken on their own, may prove inadequate in tackling the landscape scale complexity.