Resource Directory

This research analysed peer reviewed literature on development corridors, in response to three key questions:(i) how impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services are assessed; (ii) what mitigation measures are discussed to manage these impacts; and (iii) to what extent do these measures approximate to best practice. Conclusive evidence suggests from this analysis that academic literature on development corridors does not give sufficient consideration to comprehensive mitigation of biodiversity impacts. To change this, impact assessment research needs to acknowledge the complexity of such multi-project and multi-stakeholder initiatives, quantify biodiversity losses due to the full suite of their potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts, and follow all the steps of the mitigation hierarchy impact framework.

Key findings and lessons learned from across the research and capacity building initiatives of the Development Corridors Partnership

This policy brief identifies a critical need to decouple economic growth from the extraction and use of natural resources. Infrastructure development is particularly resource intensive, and contributes heavily to the global material footprint. Increasing the resource efficiency of infrastructure can be a major driver of the transition to sustainable development. It is now vital that policymakers and planners recognize the interlinkages between natural resources, material resource use, and the diverse and complex systems of infrastructure that are required to support economic and human development.

The large-scale expansion of built infrastructure is profoundly reshaping the geographies of Africa, generating lock-in patterns of development for future generations. Understanding the impact of these massive investments can allow development opportunities to be maximised and therefore be critical for attaining the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and African Union’s Agenda 2063 aims. However, until now information on the types, scope, and timing of investments, their evolution and spatial-temporal impact was dispersed amongst various agencies. We developed a database of 79 development corridors across Africa, synthesizing data from multiple sources covering 184 projects on railways, wet and dry ports, pipelines, airports, techno-cities, and industrial parks. The georeferenced interlinked tabular and spatial database includes 22 attributes. We expect this database will improve coordination, efficiency, monitoring, oversight, strategic planning, transparency, and risk assessments, among other uses for investment banks, governments, impact assessment practitioners, communities, conservationists, economists, and regional economic bodies.

This module (Module 2) will enable you to critically assess the sustainability of corridor decisions in light of the social and environmental risks and opportunities, exemplified through Kenyan and Tanzanian corridor case studies in Module 1. Comprehensive social and environmental considerations should be included by corridor financiers from the earliest stages of a project, for the best chances of mitigating biodiversity and ecosystems service loss, as well as establishing equitable social benefits. Financiers should also plan for iterative negotiation stages to enable more sustainable, inclusive, equitable benefits to result from the construction of development corridors for people and nature. The good news is that many of the tools needed for development banks and financing bodies to improve decision-making for more sustainable outcomes are available, accessible and ready to be used. Now, you have the opportunity to explore a selection of these tools and resources and assess how you might enhance sustainability within development initiatives

This module, Module 1, is split into three Sections based on corridor development stages, namely Planning, Implementation, and Monitoring and Evaluation, explored under sub-sections focused on People, Nature, and Climate. Each section will also have recommended tools and solutions at the end of each stage, as well as many links to additional reading and resources. You will then be able to apply these learnings in Module 2.

This research studied a major river basin in Tanzania, the Rufiji, which has multiple uses and complex interdependencies as it supplies a high proportion of the country’s electricity through hydropower, supports the agricultural livelihoods of millions of farmers, and masses of biodiversity as it flows through several wildlife parks. The consequences of decisions in the Rufiji basin cut across many sectors and can be hard to predict and even harder to communicate to non-specialist decision-makers. Examples provided show how a nexus approach can reveal that a country’s food imports are associated with unsustainable agricultural practices and where the use of innovative modelling and visualisation techniques can provide opportunities to convey the complex outcomes of decisions, capturing alternative perspectives and values.

In March 2019, during the Second United Nations High-Level Conference on South-South cooperation (SSC) and called for greater South-South cooperation to achieve sustainable development. This pamphlet, featuring the Development Corridors Partnership as a case study, showcases UNEP’s engagement in this approach through a variety of projects and initiatives conducted over the past few years. Key lessons learned in the implementation of these projects can help us to better structure and implement South-South and triangular cooperation.

This paper investigates the potential adaptability of three wheat cultivars in Ethiopia for the mid and late century under climate-change scenarios, taking into consideration two future GHG emission scenarios. The DSSAT CERES Wheat model was used.

Recent messaging around the role of infrastructure corridors in the delivery of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provides a solid foundation in principle for considering and balancing all three dimensions of corridor development: economic, environmental and social. Social and human rights issues are still considered the next frontier in infrastructure investments. This research briefly addresses key challenges in putting social and human rights issues higher up the agenda in infrastructure corridors and why it is important to do so.