Biodiversity risk assessment and management for infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has greatly contributed to the global expansion of infrastructure projects, and managing the impacts of its projects on biodiversity is critical to global biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. We rated BRI projects (691) based on their potential effect on threatened species and important biodiversity areas (protected areas and key biodiversity areas) derived from spatial analyses. Projects were categorized into three levels of risk to biodiversity: high (red), medium (yellow), and low (green). We also compared the impacts and risks of China-funded BRI projects with projects funded by multilateral development banks (MDBs). The potential impacts of BRI projects on biodiversity are high. An average of seven threatened vertebrates would potentially be affected in the average impact zone of every project, and 7.7% of the average impact zones of a project overlapped important biodiversity areas. Thus, more than half of BRI projects were rated red or yellow. Compared with MDB-funded projects, China-funded BRI projects presented similar risks to important biodiversity areas but presented higher risks to threatened species, highlighting the importance of managing the impacts and risks of BRI projects on species. We recommend that our spatially informed database and risk assessment method be adopted by the Chinese government to assist risk management of BRI projects and that biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning be adopted by countries with BRI projects to reconcile conservation and development.