Note: Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Notes on contributors -- Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- About the companion website -- Chapter 1 The Ecological Effects of Linear Infrastructure and Traffic: Challenges and Opportunities of Rapid Global Growth -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 1.1 Global road length, number of vehicles and rate of per capita travel are high and predicted to increase significantly over the next few decades -- 1.2 The 'road-effect zone' is a useful conceptual framework to quantify the negative ecological and environmental impacts of roads and traffic -- 1.3 The effects of roads and traffic on wildlife are numerous, varied and typically deleterious -- 1.4 The density and configuration of road networks are important considerations in road planning -- 1.5 The costs to society of wildlife-vehicle collisions can be high -- 1.6 The strategies of avoidance, minimisation, mitigation and offsetting are increasingly being adopted around the world - but it must be recognised that some impacts are unavoidable and unmitigable -- 1.7 Road ecology is an applied science which underpins the quantification and mitigation of road impacts -- CONCLUSIONS -- FURTHER READING -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 2 Bad Roads, Good Roads -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 2.1 Land-use pressures will rise sharply this century and will be strongly influenced by roads -- 2.2 Agricultural yield increases alone will not spare nature - land‐use zoning is crucial too -- 2.3 Roads in pristine areas are environmentally dangerous - the first cut is critical -- 2.4 Paved highways have especially large-scale impacts -- 2.5 Roads can be environmentally beneficial in certain contexts -- 2.6 Roads are amenable to policy modification -- 2.7 A recently proposed global road-mapping scheme could serve as a potential model for these efforts -- CONCLUSIONS. , FURTHER READING -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 3 Why keep areas road-free? The importance of roadless areas -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 3.1 Roadless areas contribute significantly to the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services -- 3.2 Planning of new transport routes should identify existing roadless areas and avoid them -- 3.3 Subsequent ('contagious') development effects of road construction should be avoided in roadless and low-traffic areas -- 3.4 Unnecessary and ecologically damaging roads should be reclaimed to enlarge roadless areas and restore landscape-level processes -- 3.5 It is crucial to systematically evaluate the need for and location of proposed roads and implement the principle of 'no-net-loss' of unfragmented lands when there is no alternative -- CONCLUSIONS -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- FURTHER READING -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 4 Incorporating biodiversity issues into road design: The road agency perspective -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 4.1 Road planning, design, construction and operation are complex challenges that attempt to balance environmental, economic and social demands -- 4.2 Road projects have a typical series of stages that begins with strategic planning and ends with operation -- 4.3 Appropriate ecological input into a road project should occur in every stage -- 4.4 Standards and guidelines are critical to ensure a consistent and high-quality approach to roads and road mitigation -- CONCLUSIONS -- Chapter 5 Improving environmental impact assessment and road planning at the landscape scale -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 5.1 EIAs of road projects are generally poor -- 5.2 Landscape-scale effects of road networks are neglected in EIAs -- 5.3 There is a lack of knowledge of thresholds in the cumulative effects of landscape fragmentation and habitat loss on the viability of wildlife populations. , 5.4 Wildlife populations may have long response times to increases in landscape fragmentation ('extinction debt') -- 5.5 There are large uncertainties about many potential ecological effects of roads -- they need explicit consideration in EIA, and decision-makers should more rigorously apply the precautionary principle -- 5.6 Landscape fragmentation should be monitored because it is a threat to biodiversity and a relevant pressure indicator -- 5.7 Maintaining ecological corridor networks is less costly than paying for their restoration at a later date -- 5.8 Limits to control landscape fragmentation are needed -- 5.9 Caring about the quality of the entire landscape is essential, not just protected areas and wildlife corridors -- CONCLUSIONS -- FURTHER READING -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 6 What transportation agencies need in environmental impact assessments and other reports to minimise ecological impacts -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 6.1 The consultant must have a thorough understanding of the scope for the EIA -- 6.2 The EIA should include accurate and expert technical advice -- 6.3 Adequate methods are used to conduct EIA surveys and analyse the results -- 6.4 The EIA should be easy to read and comprehend -- 6.5 The EIA must adequately assess the potential impacts of the project or action on biodiversity -- 6.6 The EIA should follow the mitigation hierarchy (i.e. avoid, minimise, mitigate and lastly offset) and recommend realistic measures to protect the environment -- CONCLUSIONS -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- FURTHER READING -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 7 Principles underpinning biodiversity offsets and guidance on their use -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 7.1 Adhering to the mitigation hierarchy is essential for maintaining the legitimacy of offsets and compensatory measures. , 7.2 Early identification and understanding the limits of what can be offset is an essential step in offset mitigation planning -- 7.3 The concept of offsets requires an understanding of what is required to achieve 'no net loss' -- 7.4 Uncertainties and risks that might affect delivery of 'no net loss' are foreseeable and should be anticipated and accounted for in planning for offsets -- 7.5 Effective management and governance is imperative for achieving 'no net loss' -- CONCLUSIONS -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- FURTHER READING -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 8 Construction of roads and wildlife mitigation measures: Pitfalls and opportunities -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 8.1 Pre-construction planning and dedicated environmental staff are essential to identify opportunities and avoid mistakes -- 8.2 A pre-construction review of road and mitigation designs is important to assess constructability and identify opportunities for improvement -- 8.3 Clearing of vegetation must be carefully planned and strictly monitored -- 8.4 Early installation and regular maintenance of fauna exclusion fences can help to reduce wildlife mortality during construction -- 8.5 Early construction of fauna mitigation measures can minimise impacts and allow adaptation of designs if required -- 8.6 Effectiveness of mitigation can be reduced if the quality of the finishing is inadequate -- 8.7 Appropriate education targeted at the needs of different construction personnel can help to achieve the best ecological outcomes -- CONCLUSIONS -- Chapter 9 Ensuring the completed road project is designed, built and operated as intended -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 9.1 Road planning, design, construction and operation is a truly collaborative process. , 9.2 Engage ecologists and biologists with expertise on the ecosystems or species of concern at the earliest planning stages to ensure the best outcome for biodiversity -- 9.3 Large-scale or expensive mitigation measures need to be identified during the route selection process so that costs and benefits can be properly evaluated -- 9.4 Clearly define the ecological goals of the mitigation -- 9.5 Mitigation measures need to be identified during the planning or early design stages to prevent unnecessary costs -- 9.6 Misinterpretation of concepts and designs can (and often do) occur at each stage in a road project -- 9.7 Ensure that species or ecosystem experts continue to be included in each design and construction stage of a project to ensure the effectiveness of mitigation measures -- CONCLUSIONS -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- Chapter 10 Good science and experimentation are needed in road ecology -- INTRODUCTION -- LESSONS -- 10.1 Rigorous science is essential to assess, avoid, minimise, mitigate and offset the impacts of roads and traffic -- 10.2 Effective monitoring is an essential tool in road ecology -- 10.3 Getting the question right is a critical first step in research and monitoring -- 10.4 Study design matters -- 10.5 Monitoring should be seen as an integral and valuable part of road projects -- 10.6 Experiments investigating road impacts and mitigation effectiveness are an important way forward in road ecology and better management of roads -- 10.7 Research and monitoring should be strategically planned and coordinated across jurisdictional boundaries -- 10.8 The data and findings need to be accessible to relevant user groups e.g. scientists, planners and decision‐makers, ideally also the public -- CONCLUSIONS -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- FURTHER READING -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 11 Field methods to evaluate the impacts of roads on wildlife -- INTRODUCTION. , LESSONS.