TRANSGREEN Policy Recommendations

In the Carpathian countries – as elsewhere in the world – transport is regarded as one of the key factors driving economic development. The resulting increase in traffic flows and infrastructure often leads to the fragmentation of habitats and barriers for wildlife. This is of particular concern as the Carpathian mountain range is still harbouring species and habitats that are close to extinction in other parts of Europe. Loss of biodiversity due to unsustainable transport infrastructure is thus an unacceptable loss for all of Europe and hinders the attainment of the CBD Aichi Biodiversity Targets, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the objectives of the EU cohesion policy and the 2020 Strategy for Biodiversity. Reducing this risk is possible but hampered by a range of factors.

TRANSGREEN seeks to address these challenges by developing concrete environmentally-friendly road and rail transport solutions and by facilitating the experience and knowledge sharing of planners, economists, engineers, ecologists and landscape architects. TRANSGREEN also formulates these Policy Recommendations for countries working together under the Carpathian Convention. The proposed Recommendations aim at facilitating and promoting the implementation of the Carpathian Convention Protocol on Sustainable Transport. They are targeted at policymakers, politicians, ministries, institutes and consultancies, who work on planning issues linked to the transport and environment nexus at both national and regional levels.