Publication:
Alternative routes for a proposed nigerian superhighway to limit damage to rare ecosystems and wildlife

dc.contributor.authorMahmoud, M.I.
dc.contributor.authorSloan, S.
dc.contributor.authorCampbell, M.J.
dc.contributor.authorAlamgir, M.
dc.contributor.authorImong, I.
dc.contributor.authorOdigha, O.
dc.contributor.authorChapman, H.M.
dc.contributor.authorDunn, A.
dc.contributor.authorLaurance, W.F.
dc.date.accessioned2022-01-23T18:56:16Z
dc.date.available2022-01-23T18:56:16Z
dc.identifier.urihttps://open.fsc.org/handle/resource/743
dc.languageen
dc.rightsOpen access
dc.titleAlternative routes for a proposed nigerian superhighway to limit damage to rare ecosystems and wildlifeen
dcterms.abstractThe Cross River State Government in Nigeria is proposing to construct a �Cross River Superhighway� that would bisect critical remaining areas of tropical rainforest in south eastern Nigeria. We offer and evaluate two alternative routes to the superhighway that would be less damaging to forests, protected areas, and biological diversity. The first alternative we identified avoids intact forests entirely while seeking to benefit agriculture and existing settlements. The second alternative also avoids intact forests while incorporating existing paved and unpaved roads to limit construction costs. As currently proposed, the superhighway would be 260 km long, would intersect 115 km of intact forests or protected areas, and would cost an estimated ?US$2.5 billion to construct. Alternative Routes 1 and 2 are only slightly longer (?290 and ?353 km, respectively) and have markedly lower estimated construction costs (?US$0.92 billion). Furthermore, the alternative routes would have negligible impacts on forests and protected areas and would be better aligned to benefit local communities and agriculture. We argue that alternative routings such as those we examined here could markedly reduce the economic and environmental costs, and potentially increase the socioeconomic benefits, for the proposed Cross River Superhighway.en
dcterms.issued2017
dcterms.typeJournal Article
dspace.entity.typePublication
fsc.evidenceCategoryFSC relevant studies
fsc.focus.forestTypeNatural Forest
fsc.focus.forestTypePlantation
fsc.focus.forestZoneTropical
fsc.focus.sustainDimension2. Environmental
fsc.focus.tenureManagement(not yet curated)
fsc.focus.tenureOwnership(not yet curated)
fsc.issue.environmental(not yet curated)
fsc.topic.environmental2.2. Forest degradation
fscdoc.hashidden.adminyes
fscdoc.hashidden.useryes
is.coverage.countryNigeria
is.coverage.regionAfrica
is.evaluation.collection(not yet curated)
is.evidenceSubType(not yet curated)
is.evidenceType(not yet curated)
is.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1177/1940082917709274
is.identifier.fscdoihttp://dx.doi.org/10.34800/fsc-international387
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