Study shows where on Earth roads should and shouldn't be built

An international research team has created a 'global roadmap' for prioritising road building to balance the competing demands of development and environmental protection.

More than 25 million kilometres of new roads will be built worldwide by 2050 and many roads will slice into the Earth's last regions of wildernesses.

The University of Melbourne collaborated with James Cook University and colleagues from Harvard, Cambridge and others for two years to map out the world's most important ecosystems and biodiversity, and where new roads would have the greatest benefits for humanity.

Dr Rodney van der Ree from the University of Melbourne and the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology was a key member of the team.

"The transport infrastructure we use tomorrow must also be strategically planned for today," he said.

"Ad hoc approaches that deal with one road at a time fail to see the bigger picture and this often results in poor outcomes for the health of the planet and people."

The study prioritised agricultural development because global food demand is expected to double by mid-century.

New or improved roads are vital for farming being more efficient and profitable.

The authors hope the global map, published in Nature, will be adopted by governments and international funding agencies to help balance development and conservation pressures.

More information:
phys.org/news/2014-08-global-r … omic-ecological.html

Provided by University of Melbourne