Handbook to Mitigate the Impacts of Roads and Railways on Asian Elephants - Grid IP
Handbook to Mitigate the Impacts of Roads and Railways on Asian Elephants
Overview
Published by the Asian Elephant Transport Working Group, a collaborative effort between the IUCN Asian Elephant Specialist Group and the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group, this handbook outlines evidence-based strategies for mitigating the impacts of roads and railways on Asian elephants. It offers recommendations on crossing structures, site selection, and additional measures to improve safe movement across roads and railways.
Why It Matters
Asian elephants are endangered and increasingly threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and collisions resulting from expanding roads and railways. Integrating species-specific mitigation into transport planning helps conserve ecological connectivity, reduce mortality, and balance infrastructure development with biodiversity goals.
Key Insight
Elephants require large, connected landscapes to meet their ecological needs. Without proactive mitigation measures, such as wildlife crossings, roads and railways will continue to disrupt movement and contribute to population decline.
Who It’s For
This handbook is valuable for transportation planners, engineers, and decision-makers working on infrastructure projects in Asian elephant range states or in other regions where large mammals depend on connectivity.
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