Promoting biodiversity

In 2007, the German Federal Cabinet adopted the National Strategy on Biological Diversity (NBS) dealing with conservation, sustainable use as well as social aspects of biological diversity. The strategy specifies about 330 quality targets and action objectives and defines about 430 specific measures.

To a large extent, targets and measures of the NBS are related to transport route planning. The most important basis for the conservation and promotion of biological diversity in infrastructure projects are legal requirements of species and habitat protection. Several conventions and guidelines support the process at national and European level. Information usually relates to a specific mode of transport (e.g. roads or waterways) and is moreover species-specific. To what extent measures can be transferred other transport modes or species and species groups remains unclear in many areas.

Aim of the research and development project was to identify existing gaps in knowledge in this field and to describe possibilities to conserve and promote biodiversity in the area of transport infrastructure.

In this project, BioConsult SH collaborated with ANUVA Stadt- und Umweltplanung GbR (Nuremberg) and GFN-Umweltplanung (Munich) and was mainly responsible for the waters sector (federal waterways) within this consortium.