OHL collaborates in the scientific publication Ecological restoration of areas affected by transport infrastructure

Secretary of State for Climate Change, Teresa Ribera, together with the OHL Group Corporate General Manager, Luis García-Linares, and the CEO of Grupo Ferrovial, Álvaro Echániz, presented the book Ecological restoration of areas affected by transport infrastructure. The scientific basis for technical solutions (Restauración ecológica de areas afectadas por infraestructuras de transporte. Bases científicas para soluciones técnicas), a publication that benefits from the outstanding participation of OHL.

The report offers principles and guidelines for undertaking the design, implementation and maintenance of transport infrastructure in a more sustainable manner and addresses the new reality of its expansion, identified as one of the main causes of the loss of biodiversity.

Luis García-Linares emphasized in his speech that the publication is critical because it “covers the gap in information and technical literature on the restoration of areas affected by the construction of infrastructure.”

Specifically, the areas affected by transport infrastructure in Spain represent an area equivalent to about 5,000 km2, an area in which unique plant communities develop (ruderal and roadside vegetation), as well as exotic plant species which, if not controlled, can spread to new territories using the roads as corridors, becoming invading species. The restoration of these areas is necessary to help minimize the negative impact of infrastructure and thus conserve biodiversity, returning to the natural environment all those spaces that are not occupied by the infrastructure itself (cuttings, embankments, margins, etc.) and are compatible with the safety and operation thereof.

Along these lines, Luis García-Linares explained that “ecological restoration is a young discipline but one which I believe is of a growing relevance.” Aware of this reality, “the OHL Group has been active since 2003 in the research and development of the environmental integration of infrastructure and reducing the negative effects generated thereby.”

R&D&I Insignia Projects

The OHL Corporate CEO emphasized that the Group has significant ongoing research projects with very satisfactory results in this area, “from the standpoint of both scientific and economic and technical efficiency”, an area in which OHL currently holds a leading position in Europe.

As an example, Luis García-Linares mentioned that in the context of the areas affected by OHL transport infrastructure, there are has “three completed R&D projects -Hidrotal (Restoration of slopes through hydroseeding) Recotal (Ecological Restoration of Slopes) and CLEAM (Clean, Efficient and Environment Friendly Construction ) – two current projects -Oasis (Safe, Intelligent and Sustainable Highway Operation) and Roçada (Research and development on the handling of herbaceous vegetation on motorways) – as well as two other projects in the study and launch phase.”

As a result of different research projects launched for the development of these projects OHL, through the research of ecological restoration in collaboration with Complutense University of Madrid, has published several articles in this field in various international scientific journals (Restoration Ecology, Journal of Vegetation Science and Land Degradation & Development).