Nature-Positive Infrastructure: Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across the Transportation Lifecycle

About this Event

Transportation infrastructure is essential for economic development, regional integration, and access to services. However, roads, railways, waterways, and ports are also among the leading drivers of habitat loss, ecosystem fragmentation, and biodiversity decline. Infrastructure expansion can disrupt wildlife movement, degrade ecosystems and ecosystem services, and increase pressures on sensitive natural areas. As countries continue to invest in connectivity and transport networks, there is a growing need to ensure that biodiversity considerations are integrated into infrastructure planning and decision-making from the earliest stages.

The Greening Transportation Infrastructure Development (GRID) Integrated Program was established to support this transition toward nature-positive infrastructure development. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by WWF in partnership with UNEP and the Asian Development Bank, GRID promotes integrated planning approaches that balance transportation needs with biodiversity conservation and ecosystem resilience. Through national projects and a global knowledge platform, the programme supports governments, development partners, financial institutions, and practitioners in strengthening policies, planning processes, technical capacity, and decision-making tools that can help mainstream biodiversity into transportation infrastructure development.

This event explored how biodiversity considerations can be systematically embedded across the transportation infrastructure lifecycle, from strategic planning and investment decisions to design, procurement, construction, operation, and maintenance. Building on emerging experiences from GRID and broader international practice, speakers will discuss the policy, institutional, technical, and financial measures needed to advance nature-positive infrastructure development. The discussion highlighted practical opportunities for governments, development banks, conservation organizations, and the private sector to work together in ensuring that future transportation investments contribute to both sustainable development and biodiversity goals.

Speakers

By order of intervention

Kate NEWMAN

Vice President, Sustainable Infrastructure and Public Sector Initiatives, WWF

Evan FREUND

Senior Director, Sustainable Infrastructure, Forests, WWF

Rowan PALMER

Programme Management Officer, Infrastructure Unit, UN Environment Programme

Liesbeth CASIER

Lead, Public Procurement and Sustainable Infrastructure, International Institute for Sustainable Development

Diana RIZZOLIO

Coordinator, Geneva Environment Network | Moderator

Highlights

Video

Live from Palais des Nations

Documents

• Presentations made during the event

Links

• GEF funded Greening Transportation Infrastructure Development (GRID)

Directions to Palais des Nations, Room S-29

Play

Photo Gallery

Photo Credit

© Getty Images | Artur Debat / WWF-US