Roads to ruin: expanding transportation networks imperil global biodiversity

Abstract

Here I evaluate the impacts of roads from a broad environmental standpoint. At the outset, I describe how and why economic globalization is promoting rapid road expansion in many previously road-free areas. I then highlight the manifold environmental impacts of roads on native ecosystems and wildlife. Finally, I consider some strategies to reduce the impacts and extent of roads. As will quickly become apparent, I hold a deeply ambivalent view of roads: they are a necessary part of contemporary life, but they are sometimes environmentally devastating.