Trends in Ecology & Evolution ( IF 16.7 ) Pub Date : 2020-03-12 , DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.02.005 Alice C Hughes 1 , Alex M Lechner 2 , Alexander Chitov 3 , Alexander Horstmann 4 , Amy Hinsley 5 , Angela Tritto 6 , Anthony Chariton 7 , Binbin V Li 8 , Delfin Ganapin 9 , Eugene Simonov 10 , Katherine Morton 11 , Kemel Toktomushev 12 , Marc Foggin 13 , May Tan-Mullins 14 , Michael C Orr 15 , Richard Griffiths 16 , Richard Nash 17 , Scott Perkin 18 , Raphaël Glémet 18 , Minsun Kim 18 , Douglas W Yu 19
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) represents the largest infrastructure and development project in human history, and presents risks and opportunities for ecosystems, economies, and communities. Some risks (habitat fragmentation, roadkill) are obvious, however, many of the BRI’s largest challenges for development and conservation are not obvious and require extensive consideration to identify. In this first BRI Horizon Scan, we identify 11 frontier issues that may have large environmental and social impacts but are not yet recognised. More generally, the BRI will increase China’s participation in international environmental governance. Thus, new cooperative modes of governance are needed to balance geopolitical, societal, and environmental interests. Upgrading and standardising global environmental standards is essential to safeguard ecological systems and human societies.