By implementing infrastructural plans in a responsible manner, India can prove that it is possible to balance road connectivity with forest preservation without having to choose between them
Home to four global biodiversity hotspots and one of 17 ‘megadiverse countries,’ India’s forests are responsible for 7-8 percent of all recorded fauna species and hold massive cultural and historical significance. These forests, however, are experiencing extreme biodiversity loss. A key driver of this has been India’s road infrastructure. Covering over 6,600,000 kilometres, the linear nature of which has massive negative effects on wildlife abundance.
Forests provide a multitude of services to the land and area around them. Healthy forests sequester carbon from the atmosphere and store it in biomass like wood and leaf litter.
Forests provide a multitude of services to the land and area around them. Healthy forests sequester carbon from the atmosphere and store it in biomass like wood and leaf litter. Forests are also responsible for fixing nitrogen in the soil, a process that is essential for maintaining fertility and plant growth. These processes contribute to maintaining a healthy ecosystem that allows biodiversity and the survival of sensitive species like tigers, elephants, and rhinos. On a larger scale, forests act as a barrier against natural disasters; because of the efficiency with which they absorb and hold rainwater, forests act as both as a flood and drought prevention system ensuring healthy groundwater levels. Additionally, in hilly regions, forests bind the soil together and prevent landslides. However, a forest is not simply the sum of its parts; a large continuous patch of forest provides these ecosystem services with more efficiency than multiple small patches covering the same area.
The presence of roads in forests creates linear gaps, splitting a continuous area of the forest into smaller patches, reducing biodiversity and forest health for up to a kilometre on either side of the road. Since certain animals tend to avoid road infrastructure entirely, their movement is limited to a small fragment of forest, leading to a damaged gene pool, reduction in the availability of resources, and loss of habitable area. Animals with larger migration paths are forced to make multiple road crossings, putting them at risk of death or injury by collisions with cars. This is especially problematic because these animals are often important in maintaining an ecological balance and tend to have long lifecycles and low reproductive rates making each death count. Roads also make the animals of the region more accessible to poachers and increases the likelihood of animals coming in contact with humans.
Given the loss of 2.33 million hectares of forest cover in the past two decades and the degradation of 30 percent of its land, it is abundantly clear that India needs to protect its forests.
One approach is to implement infrastructural plans that are least disruptive to wildlife while maintaining efficiency for transport and connectivity. This can be done by dividing the establishment of road infrastructure into three distinct phases—planning, construction, and post-construction analysis and mitigation. In the planning stage, the most sustainable and efficient plan for maintaining the local ecosystems is to build roads that go around large forest patches, not disturbing them at all. However, since this is often not a realistic solution, a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the detrimental environmental effects of the road versus the positive economic impact must be conducted, accounting for not only the true value of the direct environmental damage but also the fluctuations in biodiversity and disruptions to the ecosystem and key ecosystem services. If a disruptive route must be taken, then appropriate conservation measures must be implemented. Routes should make use of features in the landscape to be less disruptive to the natural cycles of the forest while avoiding damage to key ecosystem elements like natural water cycling systems. This can be done by building culverts under the road for an uninterrupted flow of water and extra drainage measures in the case of floods.
Maintaining the health of larger patches of forest is the first priority, but smaller patches cannot be ignored either as it often serves as a key means of natural connectivity between large patches and expanding access to habitable areas for animals. Points of conflict with animal must be predicted and adequate animal crossings must be planned.
Maintaining the health of larger patches of forest is the first priority, but smaller patches cannot be ignored either as it often serves as a key means of natural connectivity between large patches and expanding access to habitable areas for animals.
One of India’s first examples of an animal crossing comes from the Hoolongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam, a canopy bridge constructed, courtesy of the Assam Forest Department, across a railway track that cuts through the sanctuary to allow safe connectivity between the forest patches for the endangered Western Hoolock Gibbon. The bridge, an iron structure over the railway tracks, tied to the trees using metal wires, went unused by the gibbons since the structure was not conducive to the highly evolved and specialized movement of the gibbons. Instead, the gibbons were observed traversing the forest patches using a canopy bridge formed naturally by two trees connecting over those same railway tracks. In a similar scenario at the Borajan Podumoni Sanctuary, Assam, the gibbons displayed a clear preference for a simple bamboo pole bridge. This illustrates the need for case-specific solutions that take into consideration the balances and unique features of each ecosystem.
Even when adequate mitigation measures are planned, the construction phase of the roads is a highly disruptive procedure. To minimise environmental damage, specific time schedules and stringent waste and material use/disposal restrictions must be followed. A clear timeline must be established and followed, the building of the mitigation measures must be prioritised. After the construction phase, active surveying of the road network/s to find points of human-wildlife conflict or disruptions in animal corridors must be conducted and appropriate mitigation measures must be taken.
That said, in the real world, there are bound to be mistakes and changes in the schedule and plan. Since such changes hold the potential to have a devastating effect on the ecosystem of an area, even with all the adequate steps taken, the building of road networks through wildlife zones is a high-risk endeavour and the expansion of already existing road networks must be strongly considered as an alternative to minimise the damage.
The US Dust Bowl stands out in history as a clear consequence of careless land usage and large-scale ecosystem destruction. This is an example India must learn from.
The US Dust Bowl stands out in history as a clear consequence of careless land usage and large-scale ecosystem destruction. This is an example India must learn from. In the decades post India’s independence, the need for connectivity and roads was a clear priority and as been one of the keys to India’s successful development, both economically and socially. Through years of successful development, India’s road network has now expanded to be the second largest in the world, standing out as a great success in connectivity and development. However, as the degradation of forests continues, the environmental costs of building new highways increase. The economic benefit must be carefully weighed against the harm caused and less disruptive alternative solutions must be taken into consideration.
Moving forward, India has the opportunity to show that it is possible to balance road connectivity with forest preservation without having to choose between them. India can set a global example, adding sustainable road development to its long and ever-expanding list of achievements.
Arjanvir Singh is a Research Intern at the Observer Research Foundation.
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Arjanvir Singh is a Research Intern at the Observer Research Foundation. ...
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