The goal of the BISON project (Biodiversity and Infrastructure Synergies and Opportunities for European transport Networks) in the period from January 1, 2021 to June 2023 will be to solve the issue of integrating biodiversity with the development of transport infrastructure including roads, railways, waterways, airports, ports or energy networks.
In Europe, there is an urgent need to build infrastructure that is more sustainable for biodiversity, while ensuring its reliability and efficiency. It is necessary to adapt the existing infrastructure to new climatic conditions (floods, droughts…), as well as to find innovative and sustainable solutions to reduce the impact of invasive species and to deal with the decline of native species and the fragmentation of ecosystems. The rapid increase in the development of new transport infrastructure, especially in Eastern Europe, aims to support economic development, but at the same time it must pay special attention to local biodiversity, which is often endemic. Facing these needs, the European Union is financing a project on the topic of transport and biodiversity for the first time in the amount of 3 million euros, within the framework of the “Coordination and Support Action”. As part of the last challenges of the H2020 program, the BISON project is to lay the foundations in time for the further improvement of research on these topics in the European framework program for research for the years 2021-2027 (HORIZON EUROPE).