©CBCGDF-BCON
The Academy of Science and Research of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications recently issued a Letter on the “Technical Specification for Highway Greening (Draft for Comments) “ for public consultation, and the “Biodiversity Conservation in Our Neighborhood” (BCON) Working Group of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) responded positively to the call. After careful study, CBCGDF-BCON put forward the following 3 suggestions for its scientific decision-making reference.
Recommendation I. Regarding the part of [General Provisions].
1.0.1 Clause Suggestions:
(1) It is recommended to add ‘to promote the construction of highway ecological corridor’ as one of the purposes of the development of this specification.
(2) It is suggested to clarify the specific objectives of this specification, such as ‘improving the quality of highway greening and creating ecological and civilised highways’.
1.0.2 Suggestions for clauses:
(1) It is recommended to extend the scope of application to all classes of highways to reflect the comprehensive nature of highway greening work.
(2) It is suggested to add ‘city roads, highway service areas, highway ancillary facilities, etc.’ as a supplement to the scope of application.
1.0.3 Suggestions for articles
(1) It is suggested to add ‘focusing on the application of native plants and the protection of biodiversity’ as one of the principles.
(2) It is suggested to add ‘taking into account the greening of highways and the surrounding landscape’ as one of the principles.
(3) It is suggested to add ‘economising’ as one of the principles to avoid urban greening extravagance such as ‘planting southern trees in the north’ and ‘needing to wear cotton clothes in winter’.
1.0.4 Suggestions for clauses
(1) It is recommended to clarify the scope and standards of ‘proven and mature new technologies, materials, techniques and equipment’.
(2) It is recommended to encourage the adoption of new technologies, new materials, new techniques and new equipments that are ‘conducive to resource conservation, environmental protection and sustainable development’.
1.0.5 Suggestions for clauses
(1) It is recommended to add ‘complying with relevant national laws and regulations’ as one of the requirements.
(2) It is recommended to clarify the specific standards and norms of ‘national safety, environmental protection and civilised construction’ that highway greening should comply with.
Recommendation II. on the [Terminology] part:
Firstly, the term ‘biodiversity’ should be added to the terminology section. It is important not to emphasise only the percentage of vegetation cover but not the diversity of species and their ecosystem services.
Others:
2.0.1 Suggestions for terms:
(1) In the original text ‘…. …Planting and maintenance management activities’ in the original text is inappropriate. Example: According to this definition, only ‘doing something’ is considered as ‘greening the road’. If native vegetation was already growing there, should it be preserved? According to this definition, the previous native vegetation must be removed in order to plant trees. Therefore, this definition is not perfect, and it is necessary to add ‘preservation of native vegetation’, so that the preservation and protection of native vegetation can also be included in the scope of the concept of ‘highway greening’.
(2) It is suggested to add ‘including trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers and lawns’ as the specific content of highway greening.
(3) It is proposed to add ‘protecting biodiversity’ and ‘restoring and improving the ecological environment of roads’ as one of the purposes of road greening.
2.0.2 Suggestions for clauses
(1) It is suggested to clarify the index requirements of ‘physical, chemical and biological properties’ of planting soil.
(2) It is recommended to add provisions on ‘source, transport and storage’ of planting soil.
2.0.3 Suggestions for articles:
(1) It is suggested to add ‘specific application scenarios of landscaped greening’, such as ‘highway intersections, curves, overpasses, etc.’.
(2) It is suggested to clarify the selection principles and matching requirements of plants for permeable landscaping.
2.0.4 Suggestions for clauses:
(1) It is suggested to add ‘specific forms of regular planting’, such as ‘street trees, hedges, flower beds, etc.’.
(2) It is suggested to clarify the spacing, planting depth and other technical requirements of regular planting.
2.0.5 Suggestions for clauses
(1) It is recommended to add ‘specific application scenes of natural planting’, such as ‘hillsides on both sides of the highway, waterfront, etc.’.
(2) It is recommended to clarify the selection principles and configuration requirements of natural planting plants.
2.0.6 Suggestions for clauses
(1) It is recommended to add ‘selection principles of induced planting’, for example, ‘it is preferable to select plants with beautiful/eye-catching shapes and bright colours’, so as to reflect the meaning of ‘induced’.
(2) It is recommended that the planting form and spatial arrangement of induced planting should be clarified.
2.0.7 Suggestions for clauses:
(1) It is recommended that the ‘calculation method’ of vegetation cover be clarified.
(2) It is recommended to clarify that wilderness/weeds/native vegetation should also be included in the calculation of vegetation cover.
2.0.9 Suggestions for clauses:
(1) It is suggested to add ‘specific implementation plan for renewal’.
(2) It is suggested to clarify the ‘acceptance criteria’ of the renewed greening.
(3) There should be an account, how much has been renewed? What is the proportion? These data should be easy to follow the statistical analysis, in order to avoid too frequent updating of public finances brought about by the problem of depletion.
Recommendation III. Recommendations on the [Basic Provisions] Section:
3.0.1 Suggestions for articles:
It is suggested to add ‘create an ecological environment favourable to the survival and reproduction of wild animals and plants’ to protect biodiversity.
It is suggested to clarify the specific scope and classification criteria of ‘greening zone’.
It is proposed to add ‘principles of selecting greening plants’, such as ‘preferably selecting native plants, saline-tolerant plants, drought-tolerant plants, etc.’.
It is suggested to clarify the specific contents and technical measures of ‘greening restoration’.
3.0.2 Suggestions for clauses:
On the basis of ‘reflecting localisation’, it is suggested to add ‘protect local ecosystems and maintain biodiversity’.
It is suggested to add ‘give preference to plants with ecological value’, such as ‘honey plants, nitrogen-fixing plants, soil and water conservation plants, etc.’.
It is proposed to add specific evaluation indicators of ‘economic simplicity, tolerance and easy maintenance’.
It is suggested that the specific requirement of ‘reflecting localisation’ should be clarified, e.g. ‘giving preference to common local plants’.
It is recommended that the specific criteria of ‘highly urbanised and economically developed areas’ be clarified.
3.0.3 Suggestions for clauses:
It is recommended to add the calculation method of ‘whole life cycle cost’.
It is recommended to clarify the definition of ‘high standard or excessive greening’.
3.0.5 Recommendation:
In ‘giving full play to the ecological functions of plants’, add ‘protecting biodiversity and maintaining ecological balance’.
Add ‘reflect the concept of ecological landscape and integrate into the natural environment’ to ‘create a safe, simple, bright and beautiful landscape effect’.
3.0.6 Suggestions:
It is proposed to add ‘consider biodiversity conservation and ecological connectivity’ on the basis of ‘different classes of highways, regions and engineering parts’.
It is suggested to add ‘Highway greening should be connected with the surrounding natural environment to form an ecological corridor’.
3.0.7 Suggestions for clauses:
It is suggested to add ‘biodiversity characteristics’ on the basis of ‘natural conditions of different regions’.
It is suggested to add ‘Considering the needs of biodiversity conservation in different areas and selecting suitable plants’.
©CBCGDF-BCON
Other suggestions
(1) It is suggested to add the chapter of ‘Highway Greening and Biodiversity Conservation’ to clarify the important role of highway greening in biodiversity conservation and put forward specific measures and requirements. In the planning stage of highway greening, biodiversity protection and ecological connectivity should be fully considered, biodiversity surveys and assessments should be carried out, and corresponding greening programmes should be formulated.
(2) It is suggested to add the chapter of ‘Highway Greening and Ecological Connectivity’ to clarify the important role of highway greening in the construction of ecological connectivity and put forward specific measures and requirements. In the design of greening, full use should be made of natural topography and landscape to create an ecological environment conducive to the survival and reproduction of wild animals and plants, and to avoid the use of materials and facilities that damage the ecological environment. In the maintenance and management of highway greening, biodiversity monitoring should be carried out on a regular basis to identify and solve problems in time and strengthen the prevention and control of invasive species.
(3) It is suggested to add the chapter of ‘Highway Greening Publicity and Education’ to strengthen the publicity and education of highway greening and improve the public’s knowledge and understanding of highway greening.
(This article is a record of daily work, basically based on machine translation, for reference ONLY.)
Editor: Samantha
Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776
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