Pathways for improving the consideration of ecological connectivity in environmental assessment: lessons from five case studies

Case studies can highlight opportunities for mainstreaming connectivity into environmental assessment (EA) and reveal relevant conditions for success or failure. We examined five cases from Canada, Spain, Sweden, and the UK to address three questions: (1) What are major challenges? (2) What are relevant opportunities and lessons learnt? (3) What research directions should be promoted? We identified 15 challenges and 19 lessons that can help improve connectivity consideration. Common challenges include i) late consideration; ii) lack of resources; iii) lack of explicit requirements; iv) lack of guidance; v) limited recognition of the importance of connectivity; and vi) absence of a landscape-scale perspective. Lessons learnt include the need for rooting connectivity assessments in scientific knowledge and for considering multiple scales of analysis. The findings revealed multiple pathways that can lead to inclusion of connectivity, such as the involvement of knowledgeable EA practitioners, and governments providing a supportive framework. The findings can be applied to advance connectivity assessments in EA, emphasizing the need for guidance and the role of cumulative effects assessment and strategic environmental assessment.