HOW CAN WE ENHANCE WILDLIFE HABITAT ALONGSIDE ROADS AND MOTORWAYS?

THE impact of roads and motorways on birds and other wildlife will come under the spotlight at a forthcoming conference.

Although their verges can provide a habitat for voles and their predators, such as kestrels, highways can present a barrier to the movement and spread of wildlife by fragmenting habitats.

While the UK’s road network forms an essential part of the UK’s infrastructure, ideally it should work in harmony with environmental surroundings.

The  Local Authority Roads (Wildlife Protection) Bill 2016, passed its first parliamentary reading in July 2016, seeking to place a duty on local highways agencies and local transport authorities to make provisions for safeguarding wildlife on roads.

However, the bill has now been dropped by MPs, leaving an absence of central legislation around this issue and absolving local highway and transport authorities from a statutory responsibility to safeguard wildlife.

The forthcoming conference - entitled Protecting Wildlife on Local Highways - will provide an opportunity for: local and national wildlife authorities, highway agencies, environmental groups, third sector organisations and others key stakeholders to explore the issues.

Delegates will:

• Scrutinise the future of Highway England’s Strategic Road Network for safeguarding wildlife 
• Analyse solutions on how to prevent animal-vehicle collisions
• Discuss measures for increasing habitats for local wildlife alongside highways
• Consider ways of increasing funding for wildlife protection
• Explore new methods of enforcing wildlife protection beside highways
• Assess existing records surrounding animal-vehicle collisions and develop ways of improving data collection
• Examine current green infrastructure developments such as animal over / underpasses
• Share best practice on how best to educate the public of the dangers of animal-vehicle collisions, and the importance of wildlife and animal protection

The event will be held at the Grange Wellington Hotel in London on Thursday, May 17. More at: http://www.publicpolicyexchange.co.uk/events/IE17-PPE