The protection of the environment constitutes a key aspect of all countries’ policy. The variety of wildlife (animals and plants) of our planet is enormous, so we should not allow that its interaction with road networks could reduce this great natural heritage. Thus, it is essential that all processes of planning of new road networks and management of the existing ones have into account a key concept: the necessity of the environmental integration of roads. An ecological corridor is a linear open space that runs along a natural corridor (for example, a river or a stream in a mountainous area) or along an special route (for example, an old railway line turned to a recreational use) connecting two different areas with a high ecological value. From an environmental integration point of view, would it be possible to consider roads and roadsides as an ecological corridor?. Roads, far from being considered as unsurpassable obstacles, can and should be considered as elements integrated in Nature, even improving the environmental value of the area and increasing the diversity of wildlife. In order to make this real, it is necessary to define the maintenance and protection requirements of roads with high ecological value, so that management could be improved. Previously, an evaluation system should be developed to produce a tool for the estimation of the environmental and landscape value of these areas.
Spain
