Some common shortcomings in the treatment of impacts of linear infrastructures on natural habitat

This paper aims at presenting and discussing some of the main shortcomings that affect the assessment of impacts on biodiversity in current Environmental Impact Assessment practice. In particular, the analysis focuses on one specific type of projects, linear infrastructures, and on one specific aspect of biodiversity, natural habitats. The review highlighted a number of limitations, affecting the baseline study, as well as the impact prediction and the impact assessment stages. Among the most critical shortcomings are the delimitation of the study area on a non-ecological basis, the lack of measurable indicators and quantitative predictions, and the fact that the assessment of the impact relevance, if carried out at all, is unclear and poorly structured. The results of this piece of research reaffirm the need for further research in the field of biodiversity and ecological impact assessment. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.