The SYMBIOSIS Project will hold its next online Plenary Meeting as an open event on 18 June 2026, bringing together project partners, Advisory Board members, Technical Stakeholder Group (TSG) participants, and external experts to discuss the latest project developments, ongoing activities, and future perspectives.
For more information and registration, please click on the following link.
The event will feature presentations from Package Leaders about the technical developments of the project, highlighting recent achievements, ongoing activities, and next steps across the project. The plenary will also provide an opportunity to strengthen stakeholder engagement and encourage broader dialogue around the objectives and outcomes of SYMBIOSIS.
SYMBIOSIS Participation at TRA 2026 in Budapest/Hungary
SYMBIOSIS will also participate in the Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2026 through several oral presentations and poster contributions covering biodiversity integration, environmental impact assessment, climate adaptation, and nature-positive transport infrastructure. Among the accepted oral presentations are:
- “Towards Nature-Positive Transport: Embedding Biodiversity and Climate Considerations in Infrastructure Planning and Policy” on 19 May (16:00–17:30).
- “Barriers to Biodiversity Integration in European Railway Operations: A Multi-Round Assessment” on 19 May (14:00–15:30).
- “Operational tools for assessing environmental impacts and benefits in linear infrastructure: a systematic review” on 20 May (16:00–17:30).
The project will also present the following posters:
- “SYMBIOSIS: Integrating Biodiversity into the Future of Linear Infrastructure in Europe”.
- “Sustainable transport infrastructure: Climate adaptation through Nature-based Solutions. A cost-effective resilient approach”.
Latest SYMBIOSIS Deliverables & Surveys
Deliverable 3.1 “Impact Assessment Tools for Linear Infrastructures” and Deliverable 4.1 “Biodiversity and Habitat Monitoring Practices in European Railways” are currently under revision by the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail) and will soon be uploaded on the SYMBIOSIS project website once approved. Moreover, there is still time to participate in the project survey regarding societal challenges in sustainable transport development: click here to submit your answer
- Deliverable 3.1 analyses current environmental and biodiversity impact assessment tools used for linear transport infrastructure, based on a review of more than 100 case studies and a Delphi study with railway experts across Europe. The findings show that while many advanced assessment methods exist, biodiversity integration remains inconsistent and is still largely driven by regulatory compliance rather than proactive ecological planning.
The scope of the study covers all infrastructure life cycle phases from planning and construction to operation, maintenance, and end-of-life with particular focus on ecological connectivity, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity impacts, and assessment methodologies such as LCA, spatial analysis, and environmental indicators. The report also identifies key gaps, especially in benefit assessment, long-term ecological monitoring, and the integration of biodiversity into operational decision-making.
- Deliverable 4.1 evaluates current biodiversity and habitat monitoring practices across the European transport sector, with a particular focus on railways, based on a survey of infrastructure managers, operators, and environmental experts. The findings show that biodiversity monitoring is still largely driven by regulatory compliance, with many organisations relying on ad hoc surveys rather than systematic long-term monitoring, while key barriers remain limited expertise, high costs, and lack of standardised methods.
The scope of the report covers monitoring approaches across the full railway infrastructure lifecycle, including planning, construction, operation, and decommissioning. It also explores data management, reporting practices, monitoring objectives, and emerging opportunities for transformative change through Earth Observation, AI-assisted monitoring, remote sensing, acoustic systems, and automated biodiversity monitoring technologies to support more proactive and standardised biodiversity management in European railways.
- This survey, gathers stakeholder views on the societal, environmental, and biodiversity impacts of sustainable transport projects, with the aim of supporting more inclusive and environmentally responsible transport planning.
For more information about SYMBIOSIS’ technical activities, make sure to watch the videos in the Communication & Dissemination section of the project website