Greece shows the way for a roadless policy in Europe: links with the European biodiversity strategy

Abstract

Road sprawl is a key catalyst of land-use change, the greatest threat to biodiversity worldwide, and its negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function are well documented. Although Europe is the most fragmented continent of the world, the reduction of fragmentation from roads and artificial land does not appear in the key commitments of the European Biodiversity Strategy. In January 2022, Greece has endorsed the first national roadless legislation in the EU. The “Untrodden Mountains” governmental project has used scientific evidence to impede road and artificial land expansion in six large mountainous roadless areas (0.74% of Greek land) aiming at fragmentation mitigation and effective biodiversity conservation. Research is ongoing, involving extensive road mapping using satellite imagery. We have identified 55 roadless areas over 10 km2 (2.42% of Greek land), whilst over 60% of the 774 smaller candidate areas (1-10 km2) and 90% of the 3642 islands evaluated are expected to be added to the national roadless map when completed. We suggest roadless policy expansion in Greece and the EU, by integrating roadless areas in the criteria of (a) defining strictly protected zones, (b) expanding and interconnecting Natura 2000 sites, (c) defining rewilding restoration targets in the European Biodiversity Strategy.

Full text

Greece shows the way for a roadless policy in Europe:
links with the European biodiversity strategy
Kati V. , Kassara C. , Tzortzakaki O. , Petridou M. , Psaralexi M. , Galani A. , Gotsis D. , Papantoniou S. , Papaioannou H.
Biodiversity Conservation Lab, BAT Department, University of Ioannina, Greece.
ECCB 2022. Conservation at the science-policy interface. 25/8/2022.
Visit ROADLESS page: https://bc.lab.uoi.gr/en/research/projects/roadless/
Funding: Green
Fund /“Natural
environment &
Innovative
actions 2021”

What to talk about?
INTRO: Road sprawl as a
major global threat
Scale:
RESEARCH: The national
roadless map of Greece
POLICY: Time for an EU and
global roadless policy

Habitat loss & deforestation
Land take (sealing)
Landscape fragmentation
Land grabbing
“Contagious development”
Land use
change
Overexploitation
Mining
Logging
Overharvesting
Poaching
Illegal trade
Natural
resource
extraction
Air
Soil
Acoustic
Pollution
Spread along roads
Invasive
alien
species
Asphalt production
Greenhouse gasses
Microclimate alteration Climate
change
Roads are related to all top threats for biodiversity, including land use change –the top threat to biodiversity
Roads: where is the problem? INTRO
Roads penetrating wilderness = human footprint transfer deep in nature.
Ecosystem services
Ecosystem function degradation
Climate mitigation decrease
Soil erosion
Hydrological disruption
Wildlife
Collision mortality
Habitat loss
Genetic isolation
Dispersal barriers
Behavioural change
Population size ↓
Species diversity ↓
Genetic diversity ↓
Invasive species ↑
Human health Spread of diseases
Pollution
Van Langevelde, 2020.
ENVI - European Parliament
Roads have a negative impact on wildlife, ecosystem services and human health

Global scientific evidence
Roads have fragmented the Earth terrestrial surface to over 600.000 patches [1]
[1] Science Ibisch 2016. [2] IPBES 2019. [3] Science Diaz 2019 [4] Sci.Adv Haddat 2015. [5] Science Laurance 2017. [6] Nature Laurance 2014
The negative impact of roads to biodiversity extend to a buffer zone of at least 1 km from roadsides [1]
The length of paved roads is projected to increase by 60% until 2050 [2]
Nature and its vital contributions to people are deteriorating [2,3]
Road sprawl is a key underlying driver of biodiversity loss globally, especially when penetrating wilderness
Need for proactive road spatial planning and a global fragmentation minimization/ roadless policy [1, 5, 6]
Time-lagged negative responses of fragmentation (species extinction & ecosystem function debts)4]
INTRO

European scientific evidence
[1] Science Ibisch 2016, [2] EEA 2019 [Land take], [3] EEA 2020 [Imperviousness], [4] EEA 2019 [Fragmentation],
[5] EEA 2019 [SOER 2020], [6] EC 2020 [COM635] EC 2020 [BD strategy]
Europe is the most fragmented continent of the world[1]
©M. Hoffmann
Land take increases [2]
Soil sealing (imperviousness) increases [3]
Landscape fragmentation is increasing [4]
Europe continues to lose biodiversity at alarming rates [5, 6, 7]
Road sprawl is one of the key underlying drivers of biodiversity loss in EU,
yet not directly address in the Biodiversity Strategy and EU policy so far
Road sprawl
Land use change
Biodiversity loss
Land take
Soil sealing
Fragmentation

[1] SOER 2018, [2] EEA 2019 [3] Eurostat 2017
Fragmentation in Greece is half as in Europe but
increasing [1,2] and the country was ranked in the
first position of land take increase in EU28 [3]
Greece is one of the most biodiversity-rich EU countries but most threatened by artificial land and road expansion
RESEARCH
The Greek case
Greece is a biodiversity hotspot
6600 vascular plant taxa -endemic 22%
30,000 animal species -endemic 17.1%
Greek mountains and islands are centers of
endemism but currently prone to fast nature
destruction by RES development.

Methods: designating the Roadless Land RESEARCH
1. OSM road database (green: 7/2021)
& our database (ROADLESS project)
2. Exclude lakes and reservoirs:
Greek land area 130.870 km23. Apply 1 km buffer zone (grey):
define target polygons (white)
4. Consider only polygons >1km2
857 candidate RCA
RCA: Roadless Core Area
Land patch over 1 km2at least
1 km away from the nearest road
RA: Roadless Area
Roadless land patch over 2 km2=
[RCA+ buffer zone]
RI: Roadless Island
Whole island
without roads regardless of its size
RL: Roadless Land
[RA + RI]
4. Digitize missing roads & correct
OSM within 853 candidate RA
Bing maps, World imagery, Google Earth
Roads: 4966 km and other boundaries 67 km Bing maps, World imagery, Google Earth
Roadless Islands
5. Inspect 3642 islands &
define fully roadless islands
Leipsoi
4. Apply 1 km buffer zone &
consider only RA>1km2
Roadless Areas (red) including
their Roadless Core Areas (green)
W. Macedonia

Roadless Areas cover 6% of Greek land
Mainland: 256 RA. Islands: 133 RAs
Results: the national roadless map of Greece RESEARCH
RCA size
(km2)
Number of
patches
Area
(km2)
% Greek
land
1-5 273 3308 2,5
5-10 65 1466 1,1
10-20 33 1243 0,9
20-50 11 640 0,5
≥50 71205 0,9
Total 389 7829 6,0
Island size
(km2)
Number of
islands
Area
(km2)
% Greek
land
<1 3459 102 0,08
1-5 52 115 0,09
5-10 645 0,03
10-20 458 0,04
Total 3518 319 0,25
Map completed in June 2022: Data available at https://bc.lab.uoi.gr/en/research/projects/roadless/
97% of Greek islands are fully roadless
Most of them are small islets
RFI is 6.25% for Greece
[Roadless Fragmentation Index-RFI = RL/total land]
Red RAs published in 2020 –suggested for strict protection
Kati, V. et al. 2020.Conservation policy under a roadless perspective:
Minimizing fragmentation in Greece. Biol. Cons. 252.108828

Greek roadless policy: from publication to legislation POLICY
Taygetos
143 km2
Tymfi
203 km2
Smolikas
103 km2
Saos
Samothrace
97 km2
Lefka Ori
382 km2
Hatzi
46 km2
Governmental policy:“Untrodden Mountains” project announced
in COP26. Since 2022 road construction and any artificial land
expansion is banned in six roadless mountains - 0.74%of Greek Land.
Good timing: The case of Greece
oPoor implementation of EU nature conservation legislation
No yet conservation objectives [EC-Case C-849/19]pending
No land uses defined yet in the Natura 2000 pending
Old and very poor SEA for renewables [EC-Open case 2014/4073]pending
Non independent EIAs (investor-assessor direct relationship)
oFast pristine areas destruction from RES infrastructure expansion
oHuge social reactions against RES expansion
local communities, local/ regional authorities, NGOs, scientists.
Rhodope
pending
Agrafa
pending
Factors of success
•Good science - sound scientific evidence
•Good science communication to government
(policy briefs/letters)
•Human factor: Politician with understanding and will
•Good timing: policy contexts
•Multilevel support (NGOs, local people, international organizations)
Completed in June 2022
Still a conflicting policy terrain
Political commitment for roadless
areas expansion

Activities of Policy Committee of
SCB towards a roadless policy
2011: Roadless and low-traffic areas as conservation targets in Europe
Selva 2011.Env. Man.
2012: Roadless goes global. Gains support from MEP K. Arsenis,
SCB, IUCN, UNEP, Conservation International, Tebtebba.
2014: Roadless gains recognition from the transport sector.
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Initiative rises (inspired by US Roadless Rule and Rospuda case in Poland)
Meeting with European Commission / European Parliament
Green week in Brussels/ Conferences: EPBRS, ECCB
-
First paper/ Covered by Conservation magazine
Side event in Rio+20 / Side event in COP11, India
Side event at COP19/ Paper: Freudenberger 2013.Land. Ecol./ Conf. ICCB
IENE conference: Protect remaining roadless areas The IENE 2014 declaration
Conference : ICCB-ECCB / Handbook of Road Ecology
Science paper / Conference under the Carpathian Convention
Conferences, presentations, news in science.
Geodesign summit-ESRI/ Conference ECCB/ Roadless maps in IPBES reports
Bialowieza conference
Roadless policy paper
Discussion on the roadless legislation start in the Greek Parliament
Book chapter
PC-SCB webinar on roadless policy/ wind farm expansion. SCB channel-open
The first roadless legislation in Europe
Letter to Science
2016: A global map of roadless areas and their conservation status.
Ibisch 2016 Science
2020: Roadless Areas as Key Approach to Conservation
of Functional Forest Ecosystem.
Hoffmann 2020 Encyclopedia of the World’s Biomes [Book chapter]
2022: Greek roadless policy: A model for Europe
Kati 2022 Science
http://www.roadless.online/
2020: Conservation policy under a roadless perspective: Minimizing
fragmentation in Greece.
Kati 2020 Biol. Cons
2022: Six mountains are protected as roadless areas.

Greek roadless policy: a model for Europe
The Greek paradigm: legislation content
Roads & artificial land are banned to:
a. Halt land-use change
b. Halt expansion of artificial land,
fragmentation
c. Conserve species and habitats
d. Preserve landscape values
e. Maintain mild human activities
f. Promote ecological tourism
g. Promote mild and sustainable
development
Article 1 of Ministerial Decisions (Objectives):
https://bc.lab.uoi.gr/en/research/projects/roadless/
Nature Directives & Article 10 of Habitat’s Directive [1]
Ecological coherence of the Natura 2000 network
Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives [2]
EU Nature protection & EU restoration plan: key commitments by 2030
European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe [3]
Preservation of landscape natural, cultural … values. Not legally enforced.
No net land take milestone by 2050 [4]
Limit land conversion to artificial land and soil sealing
Address land use change resulting from renewable energy policy
EC roadmap since 2011! Not legally enforced
[1] 92/43/EEC [Habitats’ Directive [3] CoE 2000 (Landscape convention. ] [4] COM (2011) 571
The problem
EU policy does not directly address land take/road sprawl
in legally binding terms: the root of the problem
A tool for action
Ban new road construction and land-consuming projects
in pristine nature and natural landscapes
spend 20 billions €/year
to actively restore nature
and plant billions of trees
Let pristine nature
vulnerable to new roads
and “development” projects
A paradox
POLICY

POLICY
Time for a global and EU roadless policy: suggestions
Beneficiaries of roadless policy: countries in
Scandinavia, eastern Europe, Balkans,
Mediterranean basin and the Alps
EEA. 2019. Landscape fragmentation Effective Mesh Density time-series: major and
medium anthropogenic fragmenting elements (FGA2-S)
BD Strategy: Natura 2000 –strictly protected zones & connectivity[1]
•Map RAs at national scale and designate them as strictly protected zones
•Exclude new road construction from land uses in these zones (10%)
•Use RAs as a criterion for N2000 expansion and connectivity
[1] EC 2022: SWD (2022) 23 final –Guidance document linked to EU Biodiversity Strategy
[2] EC 2022. Nature restoration law linked to the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Forthcoming.
[3] EC 2022. COM (2022) 222 final. Proposal for a new Directive relevant to RES Development. Forthcoming
The fragmentation map of Europe
RAs into the 8th Environmental Action Programme
Roadless areas preservation and monitoring integration
BD Strategy: RA into the forthcoming restoration law [2]
Add road banning & removal sensu proactive and active restoration respectively
RA into the forthcoming Directive on RES[3]
Exclude roadless areas from the priority areas for fast renewable development
the so called “renewables go-to areas”
1
2
3
4
5Global CBD targets
Initiating roadless areas conservation in the new 2030 targets, in the
forthcoming SBSTTA and COP meetings

Banning road sprawl and land take
by priority within pristine roadless areas of Natura
2000 network. It is a simple, measurable, and
cost-effective tool to address biodiversity and
climate crisis as a proactive restoration strategy
Adopting a global roadless policy
Is needed more than ever, especially in pristine
wilderness areas –post Aichi targets
Resolving the biodiversity- RES conflict
Roadless policies can contribute
to win-win solutions
Dragon Lake. Timfi roadless area
Thank you
More on ROADLESS page:
https://bc.lab.uoi.gr/en/research/projects/roadless/
Funding: Green Fund of Greece: “Natural
environment & Innovative actions 2021”.
PROJECTS ROADLESS & NATLAND