BACKGROUND

 

In Europe over the past few decades, there has been a rapidly increasing interest and research into the multi-faceted interactions between roads and the landscape. The issue of habitat fragmentation by infrastructure and its impact on ecological functions in the landscape was greatly enhanced by the emergence of the organization, Infra Eco Network Europe (IENE), which was founded at an international symposium in Maastricht in 1995. Based on input from IENE experts, COST 341 produced the handbook, Habitat fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure. Widely appreciated by roads authorities, the Handbook was subsequently transformed into national versions in several countries.

 

Although covering all major relevant aspects, the original COST 341 Handbook only superficially treated maintenance of mitigation measures and did not address the role of procurement of road structures, mitigation measures and their maintenance. The objective of the Harmony project is to address these three key issues missing from the original COST 341 Handbook.