New milestone achieved in exploring operational tools for assessing environmental impacts and benefits
The SYMBIOSIS project has completed a major review of 80 recent case studies (2021–2024) related to environmental impact assessments (EIA) in linear transport infrastructures, including roads and railways. This activity aims to identify, classify, and evaluate operational tools and methodologies for environmental assessment in real-world infrastructure contexts.
Key takeaways of this research include:
✅ Most tools are fragmented and lack standardisation across infrastructure types or regions.
✅ Operation and planning phases dominate assessments; maintenance and end-of-life stages are often neglected.
✅ Benefit assessment remains weak: impacts are measured, but benefits are rarely quantified.
✅ GIS and spatial analysis are widely used, but participatory tools and socio-ecological indicators are still limited.
✅ Target audiences remain focused on authorities and planners, with insufficient inclusion of local stakeholders or infrastructure operators.
✅ The review highlights significant opportunities to enhance existing tools and move toward more holistic, life-cycle-based and benefit-oriented approaches, aligned with the EU Biodiversity Strategy and Green Deal principles.
These findings will feed into the development of the SYMBIOSIS impact assessment toolbox, supporting biodiversity-smart infrastructure planning across Europe. As the number of reviewed publications continues to grow, the analysis will be updated to reflect new findings and conclusions to support further efforts of the project.
