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Reducing the global environmental impacts of rapid infrastructure expansion
William F Laurance1, Anna Peletier-Jellema2, Bart Geenen3
1Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4878, Australia.
Current Biology : CB
|March 11, 2015
Summary
Explosive infrastructure growth, including roads and dams, causes significant environmental damage. Project developers should consider nine key issues to mitigate these environmental risks effectively.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Infrastructure Development
- Risk Assessment
Background:
- Rapid proliferation of infrastructure projects like roads, mines, and dams globally.
- Significant direct and indirect environmental impacts associated with these developments.
- Need for improved environmental risk evaluation and mitigation strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify critical environmental issues associated with infrastructure development.
- To provide guidance for project proponents in assessing and limiting environmental risks.
- To highlight nine key considerations for sustainable infrastructure planning.
Main Methods:
- Review of environmental impacts from major infrastructure projects.
- Identification of common environmental risk factors.
- Synthesis of best practices for risk mitigation.
Main Results:
- Nine critical environmental issues were identified for infrastructure projects.
- These issues encompass a range of direct and indirect environmental consequences.
- A framework for evaluating and limiting environmental risks is proposed.
Conclusions:
- Proactive consideration of environmental risks is crucial for infrastructure projects.
- Implementing the identified nine issues can lead to better environmental outcomes.
- Sustainable development requires integrating environmental risk management into project planning.
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