A five-step approach to evaluate effects of infrastructure on biodiversity at Malmbanan, Sweden

Abstract

The Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) is planning a double railway-track along Malmbanan, between Kiruna and Narvik, due to increasing demands for iron ore from mines in northern Sweden. The project will lead to cumulative environmental effects in protected Nature 2000 areas with high values for nature conservation, the sami people, tourism & recreation and cultural heritage. Calluna AB, a nature conservation consultant, operating in Sweden, is in charge of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the planned railway. The aim of the EIA is to evaluate effects on listed species and habitats that are present in Nature 2000 and to suggest compensation requirements for habitat loss. Calluna has developed a five-step work process to evaluate effects on biodiversity: 1) uniform collection of biological data e.g. via SIS-certified nature value evaluation, NVI. 2) unbiased handling and grouping of collected data. 3) analyses of grouped data to evaluate effects on biodiversity, based on reviewed research-techniques. 4) evaluations of results based on comparison with reviewed results within the fields of biodiversity, landscape ecology, wildlife-management etc. and 5) reviews of results and conclusions from unbiased specialists. Using this five-step approach, the project has resulted in a gross-list with large number of "possible" species and habitats deriving from field data, historical records (e.g. from literature), reports in Artportalen (a web-based tool for public reports of species data) and findings reported from local NGO's. The gross-list was then sifted into a net-list, consisting species and habitats that are more likely present within the area today. Subsequently, analyses of functional habitats (e.g. possible breeding habitats and home range areas) will be performed for migrating species such as birds and free range wildlife on a landscape level. Metapopulation species (e.g. amphibians and insects) in patched habitats (e.g. taiga, alpine birch forest etc.) will be analysed with cost-distance-analysis to describe distance and inertia between isolated habitats of interest and the habitat network functionality. Analyses of wildlife will be conducted by open source circuit scape-analysis for better understanding of flows and directions of existing wildlife (e.g. from moose, otter, lynx). A habitat deficiency-analysis will be performed to describe the extent of missing habitats for maintaining a favourable conservation status for listed species and habitats present in Natura 2000-areas. Effects on birds from noise will be studied with a method developed by the Swedish Transport Administration. Finally, to describe cumulative effects on coinciding, multidisciplinary fields (e.g. conservation biology, rights of indigenous people, tourism & recreation and cultural heritage) a new method for evaluating ecosystem services in infrastructure projects will be used.